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March 5, 2012 11-12 Offseason Joe Janish

David Wright Out – But for How Long?

A day after learning that Ike Davis likely has Valley Fever, the Mets announced that David Wright is “out indefinitely” with discomfort in his rib cage.

Is anyone else concerned about this issue?

This pain in the rib cage is not necessarily an injury. On the surface, the news seems innocent. Right? But as a Mets fan, do you believe any physical problem can be innocent? Are you like me, and have been conditioned to expect the worst, and to wonder if the Mets are hiding something — or denying reality?

If so, you can’t be blamed. After all, the Mets have been less than honest with injuries in the recent past. Even before their dire financial issues became public, the Mets regularly misrepresented the true nature of player injuries, presumably to keep optimism high (and tickets selling), or flat-out misdiagnosed them.

A few examples, in case you forgot:

Jose Reyes‘ hamstring
Carlos Beltran‘s knee
J.J. Putz‘s elbow
Ryan Church‘s concussion
Jason Bay‘s concussion
Johan Santana‘s elbow, and later, his shoulder.

After a while, we figured out that the Mets’ injury woes were not due to bad luck.

So forgive me if I have my doubts about David Wright’s rib cage discomfort being minor, or a simple “day to day” thing.

It’s entirely possible — and in fact I’m hopeful — that Wright’s issue is a mere blip that will be completely forgotten by next week. But there’s that seed of doubt in the back of my mind that I can’t seem to ignore — one that tempers my enthusiasm and suggests “hey, this could be a chronic, lingering problem that keeps David out of the lineup for MONTHS.”

The unfortunate plight of a Mets fan: we’ve reached the point where we’re incapable of optimism, even in spring training.

What’s your feeling? Is this rib cage discomfort a minor issue that will disappear quickly? Or are you like me, and have been trained to expect the worst? Answer in the comments.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Joe Lefkowski March 5, 2012 at 8:03 am
    It’s amazing that the key players like Davis and Wright don’t take better care of themselves. These players come in and one week into Spring Training there is serious doubt about their health and ability to perform.
    • nym March 5, 2012 at 9:47 am
      I don’t see how you can assume it has anything to do with them not “taking care of themselves”. Injuries happen. Its not only the Mets.

      Wright’s been a pretty durable guy over the course of his career. If this was an in season injury we probably wouldn’t have even heard anything about it since he’d be playing.

      And Ike’s “illness” has nothing to do with taking care of himself either.

  2. Mike B March 5, 2012 at 9:24 am
    Just when you think it cant get any worse. I was just getting over(well not getting over but moving on) from Reyes and telling myself ok lets get behing Wright and make the best of it and then bam like clockwork Wright gets hurt. You cant make this stuff up. Now for 3 months we are going to see David struggle and here rumbling on how he is playing hurt blah blah bla.
  3. Joe March 5, 2012 at 11:31 am
    A sports columnist for the NY Daily News recently took Joe’s “we need to expect the worst” sentiment when talking about Ike Davis et. al.

    The Mets treatment of health issues needs a full length magazine type article that covers the issue from a long term point of view. Not just citing current issues as if they are frozen moments in time, but the long term nature of the problem. There has been some coverage, but from my vantage point, not enough.

    Anyway, my bet is that worrying about playing Turner will not be an issue. One of the corner outfielders will be out and Murphy will be filling in, Turner filling in at 2nd.

  4. DaveSchneck March 5, 2012 at 12:28 pm
    As difficult as it is given the history, we need to try not to overreact to Ike and David. Ike breathed in a microscopic fungus in Arizona, like thousands of others in his home state. Wright’s ribs are little tender, and the Mets are being cautious. Albeit they have lesser roles, but Hairston and Havens have real injuries, and Havens’ back is very concerning given his potential and his history.
    • Joe March 5, 2012 at 12:53 pm
      The question becomes what “overreacting” means in this context. When dealing with someone with a questionable past, additional distrust is not always unwarranted.
    • HobieLandrith March 5, 2012 at 2:18 pm
      You mean like how everyone was “overreacting” when Jose Reyes was “day to day” with a “minor hamstring strain” a few years ago? And “day to day” turned out to be four months?
      • DaveSchneck March 5, 2012 at 5:54 pm
        As Joe said above, based on the recent history, we are conditioned to fear the worst. Regardless of what occurred with Jose’s hamstring two years ago, these are separate incidences that will hopefully be non-issues. At this point they are quite different from torn rotator, a dangling ulnar, or blown out ACL.
  5. argonbunnies March 7, 2012 at 3:06 am
    The thing that concerns me most is that Wright and Collins are saying “if it was the regular season, he’d be in there, 100%.” Yes, and he’d be 100% awful. You can’t swing properly with sore ribs. Compensating will mess up your mechanics, and oh by the way, your ribs will never heal.

    Why is it only during spring training that Mets can heed the wisdom of recovering to the point where they can play WELL? Give me 130 games of a healthy star and 32 games of some AAA scrub over 162 games of a crippled star (er, make that FORMER star).

    The macho MLB culture, where Chipper Jones demands that Heyward come play with a bad shoulder which predictably ruins his hitting, is just ridiculous.