''With a nondisplaced fracture, it should heal fairly quickly," said McCue, who did not examine Crisp. ''Ten days might be too soon, but in three weeks it should heal.
''You protect it. It's sore to a varying degree. It shouldn't cause any long-term problems."
McCue said the area of the finger that Crisp hurt is the proximal joint, which controls the finger's side-to-side movement. A nondisplaced fracture, McCue said, indicates that the joint surface is smooth, not broken. The concern with these types of injuries, he said, is that there may be ligament damage, in which case surgery might be needed. But Epstein said no ligament was damaged.
Crisp's injury appears to be less devastating than similar injuries incurred by other players in recent seasons. In March 2004, Baltimore's Jerry Hairston suffered a fractured dislocation of the knuckle on his right ring finger sliding into third base (as Crisp was doing) and missed more than two months. Last April, San Diego's Khalil Greene broken his ring finger just above the knuckle and missed more than three weeks. Luis Rivas of the Devil Rays sustained a broken knuckle in mid March that necessitated surgery, and he has been labeled out for eight weeks. In hockey, Keith Tkachuk of the Blues was hit in the hand by a puck in December, broke a knuckle, and missed nearly two months.
''We're not going to speculate on any timetables," said Epstein, adhering to the club's new policies, inspired by Bill Belichick.
Crisp is expected to be spelled in center field by a combination of Adam Stern (who started Sunday, hit leadoff, and went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs), Wily Mo Peña, and former White Sox utilityman Willie Harris, who Epstein hinted would be called up today from Pawtucket.
