David Wright Injury: Wright Fractures Pinkie, DL Possible

Well, Mets fans have been on cloud nine since the season started a week ago, with the franchise off to its best start since the 2007 team, but everything came crashing back down to reality on Tuesday night. New York dropped their first game of the season to the Washington Nationals, but more importantly, they have lost their best hitter, David Wright, from their lineup for an unknown amount of time. The timing of all injuries are unfortunate, but this one couldn’t be worse for the Mets because they have created so much momentum with the way that they have been playing. Wright said to reporters that he knows this team can continue to play the high level of baseball and win without him for the time being, but he hates to be the player that disrupts the flow.

After the X-rays came out that Wright’s jammed pinkie was indeed fractured, the Mets stayed pretty vague with his prognosis and how many games they’re anticipating to not have their third baseman, mostly because they’re still trying to figure it out themselves. His finger will be re-evaluated by doctors sometime today and it will be in a splint for the time being. How did this happen? On Monday night, Wright was leading off first with his mind set on stealing second. Edwin Jackson surprised him with his pick off throw, leading him to sliding back into first base too aggressively, jamming his finger. Post game treatment didn’t help much and since Wright couldn’t swing a bat effectively, he resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t be in the lineup for at least the next few days.

Being even more vague than before, Mets officials were asked when he would be permitted to start baseball activity again, and they said he would return to that activity “as tolerated.” What the heck does that mean? That could mean anything from two weeks to two months from now. I have no problem with officials saying that they are unsure of his return because they need to evaluate his injury further. It’s OK to say things like that, I just wish some of them would do that.

The bottom line is that if Wright is out for an extended period of time, the Mets will be losing the hottest hitter in their lineup. He’s currently hitting .583 with one home run and four RBI in four games, while leading the team in on-base and slugging %. With him out of the lineup for the time being, there will be a little more pressure on Ike Davis and Jason Bay to kick into high gear and start producing in his absence. Should the loss to the Nats last night make anyone worried? Absolutely not. Dillon Gee just didn’t have his best stuff and Washington was able to get to him. Not only was Wright missing from the lineup last night, but both Davis and Josh Thole were getting routine days off with a lefty on the mound. So, they were not near full strength at all.

The good that comes from all of this? It could be a lot worse. At least this is only a fracture and it does not require surgery to heal. We all know that David is one of the hardest workers in the league and once he feels that he can play at a high level again, he’ll be ready to go. That’s the difference from David today and David four or five years ago. When he was younger, he would try to play through anything and everything. Now, he realizes that in order to get back to the way he was playing, he needs to chill for a second and heal. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Wright has a speedy recovery and he will be back in the Mets lineup card in a flash.

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