After America’s elimination in the World Baseball Classic and David Wright’s injury to his intercostal muscle on his left side, many questions and rumors hang in the balance. Was playing in the WBC worth the injury? What is the severity of the injury? But, most importantly for Mets fans, will he be ready for opening day?
As of right now even Wright himself isn’t sure about the last one. “It’s just a question of how quickly my body responds to these treatments and how quickly I can kind of get pain-free in that rib-cage area,” Wright told reporters outside of Tradition Field on Sunday.
What was a minor injury keeping Wright out for 3-5 days has morphed into an injury that could delay the start to his season. Wright has undergone the necessary precautions receiving a cortisone injection at Manhattan’s Hospital for Special Surgery.
Wright felt pain before even playing a game in the WBC. Clearly, his performance was not affected, hitting .438 with 10RBIs and a homerun over the course of four games. All contributing to Wright being labeled Captain America. (Even BaseballReference.com called him that)
As all Mets fans are optimistic about this continuing into the regular season, others think that once the $138 million man rejoins his team he will “lead” the Mets to an inevitable sub .500 season. Now with the attention of a nation, will he step up and return to his ’07, ’08 form?
If I could look into my crystal ball and say he will hit .320 with 33 homers and 115 RBIs while playing 160 games in Blue and Orange this year, I would. However, nobody, not even Wright himself, knows what will happen in two weeks, none the less the duration of the season. All we can do is what Mets fans have done best since 1962: hope and believe.
