"The psychology of David Wright, simplified, is basically this: Work hard, crave success, fear failure. That defeats him at times, but it has served Wright in his return from the disabled list after two months away.

With the stress fracture in his lower back finally healed, Wright expected to need an adjustment phase, as he reacquainted his bat with the speed and trickery of major league pitching. Instead, he drove in two runs in each of the three games over the weekend, and homered Sunday in a close-and-late moment that could have won the game for his team had Bobby Parnell not blown it in the eighth.

"What drives you a lot is kind of that fear of failing, or fear of coming in and not being able to get that big hit," Wright said as he prepared to leave with the Mets for Cincinnati.

He knew he was healthy enough to play. But there was no way to know how he would do. That anxiety drove Wright, and perhaps provided a boost of focus."