Palladino: A Productive Wright Would Be Great Gift For Mets
By Ernie Palladino
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Baseball teams get only so many gifts in the course of the season.
The latest one, a really big one, came when Washington lost four games in San Francisco to close not one iota on the Mets' division lead, despite New York's dropping of a three-game set to Pittsburgh.
If all goes well, the next one might come as next week against the Phillies. It is possible that David Wright will be ready to join the major league roster from his rehab assignment in Single-A St. Lucie. On paper, that would seem a plus as Terry Collins' offense approaches the September playoff push.
For Wright to come back as a productive regular would add another element to a lineup that at last found a pulse after Sandy Alderson's trade maneuverings around the July 31 deadline. It is still erratic, as the Juan Uribe-Kelly Johnson-Yoenis Cespedes-infused group produced only six runs in 33 innings against the Pirates.
That underscores the problems the Mets have had against winning teams. The second-place Pirates' sweep made them 3-17 on the year against St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Chicago, the top three teams in the NL Central. And they're 16-27 overall against teams with winning records.
The potential of Wright's bat alone would further improve matters. If, that is, if he is truly healthy. And that brings up the question of how much good fortune one team can expect in such a short period of time.
When looking at the captain's season, it's not hard to see that Wright has just as good a chance of adding nothing than he has of becoming that added offensive spark all true playoff contenders need. It's simply a matter that the Wright who comes back probably won't be the same as the Wright that went down April 14 after a slide into second kicked up the spinal stenosis in his neck.
Since then he has rehabbed, suffered a setback, and rehabbed some more before finally swinging a bat in anger for the first time last week.
Wright went 4-for-15 (.267 ) in five rehab games, one as a designated hitter. He has slid successfully. He dove for a ball Saturday.
And yes, he made two errors in four games in the field.
Chalk that up to rust. He did. But that is secondary to the uncertainty that surrounds his offensive potential. He is 33 now, a rather old 33 at that. Although he had a .333 average in the eight games before his injury, he still had much to prove before worries about a career decline vanished.
That situation hasn't changed. He knows it, too, which is why he and the front office don't want him to return until he's in as optimal shape as possible, whenever that is.
He's already had this weekend's tentative return date postponed until the four-game Phillies series that starts Monday.
"At this point, I don't know what's realistic," Wright told MLB.com. "The last thing I want to do is rush this and not be ready, and then go up there and I'm not doing anybody any good."
A productive Wright would certainly help matters, though. The Mets may not be amazing against the winners, but against losers they're outstanding. So the 16 games after this current two-game, interleague set against the winning Orioles should prove bountiful. All come against losers -- last-place Rockies, last-place Phillies, last-place Red Sox, and fourth-place Marlins.
Their combined 48-29 record against the NL East and West bodes well for that stretch. The Mets can certainly make a lot of hay by the time the string ends Sept. 6. Maybe even stretch out that division lead to turn the last week of September into a ceremonial walk into the postseason.
It would make things a lot easier if Wright took an active part in that.
He can't guarantee that will happen, either as a regular or as a force off the bench. Even if his ailing back cooperates.
No one can.
And really, if he doesn't, how much good fortune can a team like the Mets expect in the course of a season?
