Only a month into the offseason, and already there's something different about David Wright. It's the facial hair. A no-no under the Willie Randolph regime, Wright wasted little time flexing his freedom heading into the winter months. "This is my playoff beard for 2006," Wright said. The Mets' third baseman was smiling at the time, but he was only half-joking. Winning is serious business for Wright, and he's all in favor of the team's interest in signing both Billy Wagner and Rafael Furcal, even if the latter means displacing Kaz Matsui in the process. Wright, who keeps an apartment in midtown Manhattan, has had a busy few days during this most recent visit to the city. Earlier in the week, he was in Teaneck, N.J., to raise awareness for the David Wright Foundation, which has been set up to raise money in the battle against multiple sclerosis. And yesterday, Wright was giving kids tips on fielding grounders as part of a promotion for Glaceau's Vitamin Water - one of his multiplying endorsements - at Chelsea Piers. Wright was dodging throws as much as catching them, but when the talk turned to Furcal, he was intrigued by the idea of him alongside Jose Reyes at second base. "It's just exciting to think about a 1-2 punch of Reyes and Furcal, in any order," Wright said. "Those guys provide so much of a spark, they bring so much speed to a game, and you wouldn't get any better defensively up the middle than those two. If [Furcal] can play there, and he wants to come to New York, we'll welcome him with open arms. That's fun to think about. That's almost like fantasy baseball right there, those two in the same infield."