Wright mired in defensive slump
David Wright #5 of the New York Mets throws for an out against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. (Sept. 15, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Until Jayson Werth's ninth-inning hot shot bounced off his glove for an error, David Wright had actually been the Mets' defensive star Thursday, handling three chances cleanly and making a diving stop on an infield single.
But Werth's ball did bounce off Wright and over to the shortstop position. It was the Mets' third baseman's sixth error in his last six games and eighth in 10.
"Right now," manager Terry Collins said before the Mets' 10-1 loss, "he's just having a crappy homestand defensively."
Over the last six days, Wright's errors have led to six unearned runs and contributed to four Mets defeats.
"I feel fine," he said. "It's not about snapping out of it. It's about going out there and making the plays. I haven't been doing that. No matter what the circumstances, you've got to go out there and try to make the plays."
He did Thursday. Until the ninth. He made a spectacular full-body diving catch on an infield single hit by Wilson Ramos leading off the fifth (Wright wisely didn't throw) and a barehanded pickup and throw on a roller by Michael Morse in the eighth.
"He's just having a bad time right now," Collins said. "As you go through the season, you're going to have a slump in any phase. Right now he's going through a little bit of a defensive slump. He understands his importance to the team. It brings him down so much because he's not doing what he's capable of doing."
Wright, who went 1-for-4 and slammed his helmet down after flying to left with the bases loaded in the seventh in a 3-1 game, has not been hitting much, either. He was 6-for-30 (.200) on the Mets' nine-game homestand. That came soon after he was named NL Player of the Week.
"He'll tell you fatigue is not an issue," Collins said. "It may be an issue."
Wright, who missed 58 games with a fracture in his back, has played nearly every day since returning on July 22.
"It's the middle of September, so I think obviously everybody's a little tired, including me," Wright said. "But you try to go out there, you try to make the plays. Sometimes you make them. Sometimes you don't."
Wright, who won Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2008, has committed 18 errors in only 90 games. His career high is 24, but that was in 160 games in 2005.
