August 17, 2009, New York Mets story for Metro NY Newspaper
Mets win, could lose Wright for year
"That’s a possibility. I do believe we have to be cautious with this.” Jerry Manuel on shutting down Wright for the year
MLB. One day after David Wright was hit in the head by a 94 mph Matt Cain fastball, the mood in the Mets’ clubhouse was one of tacit acceptance.
Anger and rage was nowhere to be found. Instead, the handful of players who were in the clubhouse when it opened, lounged at their lockers or on clubhouse couches; a reliever fooled around with a remote control car before yesterday’s 3-2 matinee win over NL playoff contender San Francisco. Daniel Murphy drove in Jeff Francoeur from second with a ninth inning single for the game-winning run. Luis Castillo added a two run homer in the fifth, his first of the season and first since May 30 of last year. Francisco Rodriguez (3-4) struck out the side in the ninth to earn the win. Starter Mike Pelfrey threw 7 1/3 fantastic innings, limiting the Giants to five hits and two runs. San Francisco reliever Sergio Romo (3-2) was charged with the loss, having allowed Francoeur to reach base in the ninth.
It was one of the few bright moments for the Mets this season. Still, the specter of the missing third baseman loomed over the Citi Field.
Wright was hit in the head with a Cain fastball in the fourth inning of Saturday’s 5-4, 10 inning-loss. The All-Star was taken to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and stayed overnight. According to team spokesman Jay Horwitz, a neurologist diagnosed Wright with post-concussion symptoms including headaches. Wright was released in the morning and should be at Citi Field “in the early part of the week.” However, according to Horwitz a timetable does not yet exist for Wright’s return to the lineup. After the game, embattled GM Omar Minaya announced that Wright was placed on the 15-day DL.
“It shackles us in a sense. We just have to do what we do. Play good baseball and get after it. Keep fighting,” Jerry Manuel said of the loss of a third baseman who had played in all but two games this year. He noted that he and Wright had communicated via text message between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
The 2009 Mets have been a milquetoast collection; a group whose on-field lack of fight often matched their lack of conviction. That was not an issue for the mid-to-late 1980s Mets, the brash, brawling group that authored the organization’s first extended run of sustained success.
No one in baseball operations and on the coaching staff knows better than Howard Johnson how his former teammates may have reacted to a teammate and the organizational cornerstone having been beaned. In nine seasons with the Mets between 1985 and 1992, Johnson his .251 with 192 homers and 629 RBI.
“I think when it first happens, you’re in shock. Our guy got drilled. You don’t know how you’re going to react. I think Johan handled it right. He tried to send a message to them later on in the game,” said the Mets’ hitting coach before yesterday’s game. Santana threw behind San Francisco slugger Pablo Sandoval and hit Bengie Molina in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon before being pulled by Manuel. “That’s part of baseball. Last thing you want is a bunch of guys getting hurt. I think it was handled properly yesterday.
“It’s one of these things where it’s hard to imagine what one team would do in a situation. I just know it’s very difficult this year,” Johnson said.
With 45 games remaining, the Mets do have the option of erring on the side of caution and shutting down Wright. Sitting the All-Star (and, perhaps, John Maine, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran) could be interpreted as waving a white flag on the 2009 campaign. However, without anything substantive to play for, why would the organization not allow Wright to use the winter to fully recover?
“I think that depends on how the tests come out. I think if there’s any question, then that’s a possibility,” suggested Manuel. The manager couched that statement by saying he, and by proxy, the organization, “would give him the benefit of the doubt” if Wright decides he is able to play.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 11:25 AM
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