Quick Hits: On David Wright’s Injury

UPDATE, 3:52 PM – Per the beat writers, David Wright has a “moderate intercostal strain” on his left side.  He has been advised to rest for 3 to 5 days and then take it from there.  He has NOT been ruled out for Opening Day.

…that’s why you don’t flip out for no reason.  Daniel Murphy had an intercostal strain that was more serious than the one Wright has.   Murphy received anti-inflammatories and was initially shut down for 7 to 10 days.  It hasn’t been reported that Wright received anti-inflammatories, and he has been told to rest for half the time Murphy was advised to.

In Murphy’s case, he felt pain when swinging.  Wright reported no pain while swinging, noting that he only felt sore when he would lay down.  It took Murphy 25 days to get back in a game after suffering his more serious intercostal injury.  There are 17 days until Opening Day.

If Wright misses Opening Day, so be it.  If he’s there, great.  Either way, this injury never sounded serious and it apparently isn’t serious.

Get back soon, David.

ORIGINAL POST, 9:24 AM – David Wright was scratched from the lineup last night, minutes before Team USA was set to take on the Dominican Republic in the WBC.  Wright took batting practice and then sought treatment on his ribcage area.  Whenever a player seeks treatment in the WBC, their organization is alerted.  Despite the fact that Wright took batting practice and felt well enough to play, the Mets did the proper thing by not permitting him to.

Mar. 9, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: USA third baseman David Wright hits a grand slam home run in the fifth inning against Italy during the World Baseball Classic at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The mainstream media will have a field day with this.  It’s their job to sell papers and/or get clicks, so them blowing this out of proportion before anything is known is to be expected.  The media will try to stir up controversy by attempting to get Mets officials to demonize Wright for not telling them about his discomfort sooner.  They’ll say things such as “David Wright is out indefinitely” before he’s even examined.  Technically, that’s true.  The media will also drive fear into fans by speaking in ominous tones, and predicting who will take Wright’s place in the event he’s out for an extended period.

David Wright could be out for a day, a week, a month, or the season.  No one has any clue.  What is known, is that he felt well enough to play last night.  That doesn’t mean this issue should be taken lightly, but it’s something to consider.  Here’s some of what Sandy Alderson told reporters this morning:

"It was yesterday we became aware of the problem. And when we became aware of it, we contacted Team USA immediately and had him reexamined. In addition to the medical track, on the administrative side we contacted other team officials. So he was examined. The determination was he would not play…we had conversations as late as about 6:30, 6:40 before game time. I’m not sure when exactly this was first experienced. He had hoped it would go away. It didn’t. He felt a responsibility to deal with it. Again, when we were alerted, we took what we thought was the right course of action.This is something that just came up last night. There’s no reason we need to jump to conclusions today about whether he’ll be available or not. We’ll know a lot more tomorrow."

Despite what Alderson says, the majority of fans will jump to conclusions.  It was first reported that Wright would be traveling back to Port St. Lucie today.  Instead, he’ll be going to New York to be examined by the Mets’ team doctors.  This is protocol, and shouldn’t lead to the ringing of alarm bells.  Jenrry Mejia was recently sent to New York due to an issue with his thyroid, and was back on the field almost immediately after he returned to Florida.

The plan is for Wright to be examined today, before flying to Port St. Lucie tomorrow.  Once the doctors reach a conclusion regarding the severity of Wright’s injury, it’ll be time to properly react.  Until then, it’s a waste of energy.

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