Hurting Wright happy to get a day off
New York Mets third baseman David Wright (5) throws his helmet in frustration after flying out to end the first inning. (April 19, 2011) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
DENVER -- Perhaps the strongest indicator of how badly David Wright's back is bothering him is that he didn't disagree with Terry Collins' plan to rest him for Wednesday's series finale against the Rockies.
Wright has been getting daily treatment for his sore back since colliding with the Astros' Carlos Lee on April 19, but this will be his first day off this season. Only Wright, Jose Reyes and Ike Davis have been in the starting lineup for all 36 games. With Thursday's scheduled day off for the Mets, the two-day break will be a rare opportunity for Wright, and one that he welcomes to deal with the back pain.
"With the two days in a row, I'll have a chance to knock this out," Wright said.
Collins plans to have Daniel Murphy make his major-league debut at third base -- his natural position coming out of college -- with Justin Turner at second. The timing is unfortunate for Wright, whose .379 average and .684 slugging percentage at Coors Field is the best for him at any ballpark. But he sees this break as a no-brainer.
"I think I'd rather be healthy than have another game here," Wright said.
Thole's final tweet
Josh Thole signed off Twitter for good Tuesday with the simple tweet, "I'm out." When asked why he quit the social network, Thole explained that it just wasn't fun anymore and the negativity became tiring.
"It was a lose-lose situation," Thole said.
Thole joined during the offseason as one of the few Mets to do so along with Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana. But a frustrated fan base apparently spawned too many personal attacks, and Thole no longer had a use for subjecting himself to it.
