Harper: Wright wrong to play through injury

(If Playing You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Wright (Homer bank’s closed)

Even so, Wright should have known better. After all, while downplaying the idea that he felt any real pain, he admitted that it was enough to wake him up at night for a period of a week or so.

So he had to know he was putting himself at risk by continuing to play, especially since he had virtually the same injury a year ago in spring training. Captain America or not, as Wright was being hailed for his heroics in the World Baseball Classic, his first responsibility is to the Mets, all the more so after signing that eight-year, $138 million contract in December.

Now, however, there’s a pretty good chance Wright won’t be ready for Opening Day, or even for the first couple of weeks of the season.

GM Sandy Alderson was trying to sound more optimistic than that on Friday, saying the diagnosis called for three to five days’ rest for a strained intercostal muscle. But Terry Collins was far more realistic, saying that anytime there’s an injury of this nature, involving the rib-cage area, the player almost always winds up missing about a month — mostly recently Daniel Murphy.

... The problem here is that Wright found himself in a tough spot, caught between the pull of playing for his country and that of being the leader of a Mets ballclub that simply can’t afford to have him sidelined.

Such is the nature of the WBC. Indeed, this is an obvious reminder of why major league teams are so reluctant to allow their highly paid stars to play in the tournament, fearing that preparation for high-intensity games in March will lead to injuries.