Attention AL: Mets' DH Carter is an 'Animal'

The "Animal" does yoga. Camel, crab, downward-facing dog. Every day, after an intense cardio workout, Chris Carter twists himself into a variety of poses, part of an intensive pregame ritual that usually has him exhausted before the first pitch."Flexibility is not one of my strong suits," Carter said, "and yoga helps."

It's also one of the few times during the day that Carter stays in one place for more than a couple of minutes, other than the batter's box. That's where Carter hopes to be more frequently during the coming week as the Mets' designated hitter in Baltimore, Cleveland and Yankee Stadium.

Not many players head to the ballpark shortly after breakfast for a night game. Carter breaks his first sweat roughly six hours before the national anthem.

His regimen begins with the cardio machines set on 10, followed by yoga, then weights, then hitting, then shagging balls in the outfield, then more hitting. Without fail, Carter is the first of the Mets to have his uniform on, often before others have even arrived at the ballpark.

"I feel like I need to work as hard as I can," he said. "It makes me a better player. And I feel kind of awkward not doing it."

That unrelenting attitude is why Jerry Manuel gave Carter the nickname "Animal" during spring training after seeing him push a stationary cycle to its limits one morning. But Carter is no blunt instrument. He went to Stanford, and initially he was a little taken aback by the manager's pet name.

"At first, I was like OK . . . does he think I'm weird or what?" Carter said. "But it grew on me. I like it now. I think it means a lot of good things - that I work hard. And when it comes down to a situation, he knows I'm going to give it my all and do whatever it takes. So I appreciate it. I'm cool with it."

Manuel has jabbed plenty of his players - most notably Oliver Perez and John Maine. But in Carter's case, it was a compliment. He intends to give Carter the bulk of the DH duties during the next nine games, while also mixing in Fernando Tatis or giving a position player, such as David Wright or Jason Bay, a breather.

As Manuel explained, "the DH is like having four pinch-hit opportunities," which is how NL teams look at playing by AL rules. And using that perspective, Carter, who has been primarily a DH ever since his Stanford days, should thrive in that role. He is 4-for-15 with a double and three RBIs as a pinch hitter for the Mets this season, and staying sharp between at-bats won't be a problem.

While regulars like Wright often are resistant to DH duties because they can't handle the waiting, Carter's bench mentality is an asset. Keeping busy is something that he's used to doing - and apparently enjoys. Last night Carter made only his fourth starts since he was called up on May 11 to replace Frank Catalanotto, and during that time, he's worn out the runway behind the dugout by doing laps to keep a sweat going during games.

"I'm always rooting for the team," said Carter, who doubled in his first at-bat last night. "I'm always positive. Even though I'm not in it, I'm mentally in the game. I don't zone out. I'm always thinking what I would do in a situation. I never turn it off so I don't have to worry about turning it on again."

This part of the interleague schedule is always challenging for NL teams, who must turn to players like Carter or Tatis or even Jesus Feliciano as their DHs. Just as AL clubs must deal with sending pitchers to the plate, NL clubs are usually at a disadvantage when it comes to the DH. "Yeah, because we're not built that way," Manuel said. "With AL teams, the DH is usually in the three, four or five spot. Not with us."

During his more experimental days, Manuel actually batted Carter in the cleanup spot - twice. But now that Ike Davis has settled into that role, there's no need to go that far outside the box. Still, that doesn't make it any less significant to Carter.

"For me, on a personal level," Carter said, "it will be a good opportunity to show what I can do."