Jeff Kent broke a bone in his wrist while washing his truck at a self-service car wash in Arizona on Friday night. He was reportedly straddling the cab of his truck, more than six feet off the ground, when he fell and used his left hand to brace himself, causing a chip fracture near the end of the vancular bone.

He did not report the injury until the next morning when he showed his now swollen and sore wrist to Giants' trainer Stan Conte. In fact Kent, nicknamed Clark with the obvious Superman connections, finished washing his car before returning home that night. From his quotes, Conte seems to be quite irritated that first, after all he's done to keep the players healthy, an accident of this nature happened, and secondly that he wasn't notified sooner.

Kent will be out at least four to six weeks. The wrist will be set in a cast, though the cast is to be removed at times to check on the progress. There is some concern that there could also be ligament damage that would slow the process. In this particular case, I'm not in a position to question that timeline, as this isn't a common injury. My concern is that after Kent has had the cast removed and has gone through rehab, he will return to the lineup with lingering problems.

Wrist injuries are historically notorious for zapping power from a player's swing. While this injury is different from Nomar Garciaparra's, Garciaparra's power outage was noticeable when he came off the DL last season and he is only now beginning to return to form. The wrist is vital to bat speed, and while the effects will almost certainly wear off by next season, Kent could have serious troubles this year.

Considering Opening Day is less than a month away, I don't think he will be able to break camp with the club, regardless of how quickly he rushes his recovery. Kent will need to undergo some rehab after having the wrist in a cast for that long.

Dusty Baker has been very stoic about the matter. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Henry Schulman reported Baker as asking, "What good is me getting upset going to do?" and saying, "It doesn't change anything. It's a wasted emotion. I don't have time to get upset. I've got to use my time to try to figure out a solution and try to keep the rest of the team focused until Jeff's return. Right now I'm counting on playing Jeff, then if not Jeff I'll go Plan B, then Plan C, then D, E and F like I always do. I know you want me to come up with something, but this is March 2, and the season doesn't start until April 2."

Almost like reciting the old adage that "there's no use crying over spilt milk," but Baker takes a sensible approach. Someone should check the next San Francisco telecast to see if his ears seem a little pointy.

David Bell has expressed a willingness to cover second if needed. Ramon Martinez, who was expected to make the team as an infield back-up, also has plenty of experience at second. Before they acquired Bell, I was recommending a platoon of Pedro Feliz and Damon Minor at 3B, and I still think they would be very qualified to take over the 3B duties if Bell were occupied elsewhere on the diamond.

Minor league shortstop Nelson Castro is in camp with the team, so they might decide to carry him as an extra middle infielder. However, he's shown horrendous plate discipline at AA, so he would be entirely a defensive addition to the team and an offensive liability.

As Baker pointed out, he's adept at finding the right combination of players to optimize the club's production. Therefore while I think this will have a negative impact on the Giants production this season, I'm of the opinion that their primary problems will not come during April or even parts of May when Kent may be absent from the lineup. San Francisco will be in trouble when Kent returns but can't perform at his former levels. Kent will naturally attempt to rejoin the team at his first opportunity because of his importance to the organization, as well as the added incentive of playing for a new contract.

Fans frequently complain about pampered athletes, but I think the Giants' followers will testify that they would much prefer the team provide complimentary car washes to all the players than for someone else to fall victim to this kind of silly accident.

When I first read of the accident, I almost immediately jumped to the conclusion that Kent wasn't washing his vehicle, described by the AP as a "white pick up with 4-inch lifts", because he wanted to save money. The guy is a multi-millionaire after all. I was sure that he was just one of those people who didn't like other people touching his toys and therefore wanted to care for his "baby" himself.

However, after reading the following quote from Kent, I will readily admit that I was incorrect as to his intentions. Also in Henry Schulman's San Francisco Chronicle article, Kent said, "I was bored. I wash my own trucks. Paid the price this time. Self-service. Put a quarter in the machine, as cheap as I am. I'll have my wife wash my car from now on." Does he think his spouse is immune from the dangers of car washing? There is sound logic behind signs that read, "slippery when wet".

The Giants should post someone at his home(s) to insure that in an effort to further reduce expenses, he doesn't attempt to mow his own grass or fix a garbage disposal. His fingers and toes are valuable commodities to the organization. Then again, maybe they should just let it be someone else's problem next season.