Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Werth dealing with hamstring, ankle issues

USA Today Sports Images
Jayson Werth grimaces after fouling a ball off his left ankle last night.
ATLANTA — Stephen Strasburg's forearm tightness drew most of the attention after last night's 3-2 loss to the Braves, but Jayson Werth also was dealing with a pair of nagging injuries that could prevent the right fielder from starting tonight for the Nationals.

Werth fouled an eighth-inning pitch off his left ankle and was writhing in pain for several minutes afterward. He finished the at-bat, striking out, but then was replaced in the field by Roger Bernadina in the bottom of the inning.

Turns out the ankle injury wasn't the reason for that move, but rather a cramped hamstring that had been plaguing Werth throughout the game.

"It's tight all day, really," Werth said. "Just never really got loose. Started having some muscle cramps towards the latter part of the game. I think the inning before I had some action in right, just cramped up pretty good."

Werth told manager Davey Johnson he could hit in the eighth inning, but he'd need a pinch-runner if he reached base. Given how much his ankle was barking by the end of that at-bat, he certainly wouldn't have been able to run.

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "It's not like a strain or anything, just a cramp. Those things happen. Sometimes they happen and you guys never hear about them. The ankle probably made the situation worse."

Werth said last night it was "too early to tell" whether he'd be able to play in the second game of this pivotal series against the Braves. Johnson, as is often the case, seemed more concerned.

"Hopefully he'll need a couple days off and be all right," the manager said.

Meanwhile, Adam LaRoche finally snapped out of his 0-for-26 slump with a second-inning single to left. He later drove a liner to deep left that was caught at the warning track, drew a walk and then struck out in his final at-bat against lefty Eric O'Flaherty.

Above all else, the veteran first baseman was relieved to get off the schneid at last.

"Finally, first time in a while I thought I was in a position to hit," he said. "I was so tied up on some drivable pitches the past week, I was just borderline lost. So it felt good to kind of slow it down a little bit, to be able to pick the ball up and not try to hit it out of his hand. Slowed it down a little. That's a start."

All that happened, of course, after LaRoche spent more than 30 minutes breaking down video of his swing with ex-teammate Chipper Jones, who made a surprise appearance in the visitors clubhouse at Turner Field pregame.

"He knows my swing as well as anybody," LaRoche said. "He was just thinking back of what he remembered what it used to look like, and then watching a bunch of film, some good swings from last year and some bad ones from this year, trying to compare. So it was good, kind of reinforcing the things that [hitting coach Rick Eckstein] and I have been talking about. Just to hear it from a different angle, it always helps."

40 comments:

NatsLady said...

I really hope Adam heats up. RIght now he is at.143/.224/.273. He’s right there with the other Adams (Hicks and Dunn) and, ooops, BJ Upton. .146/.222/.281.

The Dans at second base aren’t doing so great either.

Dan Uggla .177/.308/.342
Danny Espinosa .182/.222/.251

So now everyone is chastising Clippard for giving up a run in the 7th and saying, “I walk the lead-off guy a lot of times.” Clip, just because you do it doesn’t mean you should do it. Find your fastball and all will be forgiven.

Get well, Jayson, we need you.

We can beat these guys.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "It's not like a strain or anything, just a cramp. Those things happen. Sometimes they happen and you guys never hear about them. The ankle probably made the situation worse."


Sounds like the same speech Ryan Zimmerman gave 2 weeks ago and he ended up on the DL. I hope JWerth is fine.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Eric, it looks like Marco Scutaro had a good game yesterday 3-4, double, walk, 2 runs scored, batting .237.

NatsLady, there are many players just struggling. Pitchers again are getting the upper hand.

I can't even imagine for all those for 3 years that wanted BJ Upton playing for the Nats and what negative impact he would have brought.

Dunn at least is still on pace for hitting 35 taters! Hard to believe.

NatsLady said...

Ghost--among them Josh Hamilton, who went 0-8 in the marathon last night/morning. He's at 202/.246/.298 and a lot more expensive than Danny or ALR.

As Marc Normandin of SB Nation points out in his dissection of last night’s performance, Hamilton is now hitting .236/.306/.446 in his last 543 plate appearances dating to June 1, 2012 and he has struck out 29 percent of the time over that span.

The Angels and Jays are in real trouble. The Nats just need to keep their heads above water, not fall too far behind, and get to the warm weather and some yucky teams.


Hamilton

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/4/30/4285410/josh-hamilton-angels-athletics-rangers

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Something is going on with Josh Hamilton. I've seen him a few times in person recently.

He lost a lot of body mass from last year to this year. What's up with that? It wasn't like he was fat.

He's lost at the plate and the situational hitting. The Angels are in trouble with their entire team offense struggling.

Joe Seamhead said...

He does look like something is up. Hope he isn't on the sauce.
OK, Ghost, we duked it out, let's shake and be friends, OK?

BigCat said...

Hmmmm.....interesting about Hamilton. Always thought there was something wrong when he hit like 26 homers in the first round of the hr derby a few years ago. I still think there was a secret juice out there that couldn't be traced.

well if Werth needs some time, move Harp to right and get Moore in left. If Stra needs to miss a start or two, lets get Peric's boy Karns up here and see what he can do.

Kirbs said...

Looks like harper to RF and Moore in LF. Or will moore play right?

BigCat said...

Why can't we hit with men on base? Why do we repeatedly chase balls out of the zone for strike 3. These aren't hall of fame pitchers we are seeing. How long do we go with Espi. He had a good first half back in what 2010?...2011? And he's been puke since then. When he swung at that ball over his head for strike 3 in his first AB I'd had it. He hasn't changed. He can't hit

Rabbit34 said...

If Werth is out of the lineup, let's put another .100s hitter in. Davey seems to like them. Maybe in 80 more losses they'll be up around .200! Boring team. Sigh. Zzzzzz.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Joe Seamhead said...
He does look like something is up. Hope he isn't on the sauce.
OK, Ghost, we duked it out, let's shake and be friends, OK?


Friends for sure. That's not duking it out, just a disagreement where you saw my side which is good. I can see where some may be hyper-sensitive about any comparison to Nyjer but just like I made a comparison of hamstring injuries between RZim and Werth, it's just a comparison. Look how I have made LaRoche comparisons lately to guys like Adam Dunn egats.

I love Span's game. I love his small ball approach and now he's playing more conservative on defense and in a few days turned around his game there. Stealing bases is great but only if you are good at it. Staying on base and scoring is his main goal. Yes, I do want him wreaking havoc and that is probably more important than actually taking 2nd base on a steal. We need him to be a pest but do it knowing your situation with a pitcher with a great move and Bryce up at bat.

BigCat said...

On a lighter note : A buddy of mine's son plays on a local travel team and the boys and parents got a tour of Nats stadium. They couldn't get in the locker room but they did get in the dugouts and runway. Thought it was funny that they have hung a boxing dummy in the runway where Harper smashed his bat and cut his eye last year.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

BigCat said...
Why can't we hit with men on base? Why do we repeatedly chase balls out of the zone for strike 3.


It is poor approach. How's about Desi up with men on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Does Davey want to bunt since Desi is 2-2? Probably not, but we saw Desi last week bunt for a hit.

Instead he K's and the Nats go on to score ZERO that inning.

Our Aces deserve better. Look Stras didn't pitch great but he is so good he can pitch so-so and still only give up 2 over 6 innings.

That was close to a must-win game for the Nats. I'm very disappointed in how the Nats approached that game. 10 hits + walks and horrible situational hitting and baserunning.

The biggest blunder goes on Strasburg how couldn't get the bunt down which then turned into a doubleplay with the pickoff of Tracy.

Who was thinking in that situation that it was time to pinch-run Lombo who could take over at 3rd? While Tracy got 2 hits of the BABIP in his favor variety, he is a lead weight on the base paths. Even with a perfect bunt I wasn't sure he could even make it to 3rd. When are we going to see the power from Tracy? He is now 5-27 and no XBHs.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Big Cat, it's swinging for the fences when you just need a hit. If you saw Dan Haren, a bleeping pitcher, shorten up his swing and a doink a RBI single oppo field.

This team outside of Bryce Harper and Werth seem to be situationally deficient on the art of situational hitting.

A DC Wonk said...

It is poor approach. How's about Desi up with men on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Does Davey want to bunt since Desi is 2-2? Probably not, but we saw Desi last week bunt for a hit.

Instead he K's and the Nats go on to score ZERO that inning.


Ian seems to be feast or famine these days. He has 26 K's (second only to ALR's 29), but he's also batting .303, with SLG of .836 (second only to Harper). (Leads the league in doubles, 3rd in NL for XBH's)

A DC Wonk said...

Speaking of underperformers (Josh Hamilton, Uggla, etc.) -- Morse is now back up to . . . .234

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

BigCat said...
Hmmmm.....interesting about Hamilton. Always thought there was something wrong when he hit like 26 homers in the first round of the hr derby a few years ago. I still think there was a secret juice out there that couldn't be traced.


The last sauce is HgH but there's also more testing for 'roids. From what I have heard that the frequency of testing was known by players that once they got their first test they would cycle back on the 'roids and go off 2 weeks before their next test and use masking agents. I guess Melky missed that memo. Now baseball may have finally snuffed that out with more testing and also the testing for HgH.

I don't know anything for certain about any of these players but it sure is interesting why a power hitter would drop all that muscle mass especially moving him from CF to a corner OF position. It should be the opposite, bulk up!

Speaking of bulking up, how's about Mike Trout. He's probably 20 pounds heavier and it ain't all muscle!

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

A DC Wonk said...
It is poor approach. How's about Desi up with men on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Does Davey want to bunt since Desi is 2-2? Probably not, but we saw Desi last week bunt for a hit.

Instead he K's and the Nats go on to score ZERO that inning.

Ian seems to be feast or famine these days. He has 26 K's (second only to ALR's 29), but he's also batting .303, with SLG of .836 (second only to Harper). (Leads the league in doubles, 3rd in NL for XBH's)


Yep, it's certainly the anomaly that Desi is this year. The BA is great and the Slugging and OPS are great but his BA w/ RISP stinks.

He put up amazing numbers last year in clutch. This year he is freezing in those moments which is why maybe instead of swinging for the 3 run HR he just needed to shorten his swing.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

NatsLady, why do you think Clip has totally abandoned his riser fastball to the top of the strike zone?

He had a couple of batters who were aggressive who probably swing through that pitch.

He still seems to have not recovered from that Jordany Valdespin HR on his high fastball last year.

Diz said...

If the Nats fail to win the Division, you will be able to point to the games against the Braves as the reason why.

It may only be April, but every game counts and I can see a scenario where we are 1 or 2 games back at the end of the year and this will be the reason we are a WC versus the NL East Champs.

BigCat said...

Ghost....agree 100% about the hitting approach. Which is why I have been saying for two years that Eck has to go. I understand he throws a great BP in the cages and works hard and everyone loves him....but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

BigCat said...

You watch these other teams and their hitters work our pitchers to death. Ever wonder what would happen if our pitchers pitched against our hitters? I don't think it would be pretty

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Diz, I agree and had hoped that Davey would start thinking more out of his comfort zone to beat these guys and when you do something out of character like a squeeze play or a bunt for a hit (or worse case sacrifice) you maybe change the momentum too.

It was a win-able game last night as both teams had screwed up, but the Nats in their recent style couldn't deliver the knockout punch to Teheran.

Teheran was not pitching great and the Nats just time and again let him off the hook.

EmDash said...

Bos on Stras, from Twitter: "Strasburg’s arm is “structurally perfect.” He merely felt “irritation in his forearm” Monday. "No problem," said Rizzo. Will make next start. Strasburg irritation may have been caused by normal pre-game use of electrical stimulation on forearm. "Strong as an ox," said GM Rizzo."

So that's hopefully good news. But I don't see how they could've done a real medical evaluation quite this quickly.

NatsLady said...

Ghost, I don't think he has abandoned the FB, and there was nothing wrong with his velocity either, which was 93-94. Problem is, he didn't locate his first three FB's (all high) so why would Laird chase? The word is out that he's having trouble with the FB, so the hitters wait to see if he can throw it for a strike (which he couldn't--although he got jobbed once, with a FB RIGHT in the center of the zone that was called a ball).

He K'd Upton on a FB, that was in the zone.

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?s_type=3&sp_type=1&batterX=0&inning1=y&inning2=y&inning3=y&inning4=y&inning5=y&inning6=y&inning7=y&inning8=y&inning9=y&month=04&day=29&game=gid_2013_04_29_wasmlb_atlmlb_1%2F&year=2013&pitchSel=461325&prevGame=gid_2013_04_29_wasmlb_atlmlb_1%2F

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

BigCat said...
Ghost....agree 100% about the hitting approach. Which is why I have been saying for two years that Eck has to go. I understand he throws a great BP in the cages and works hard and everyone loves him....but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

April 30, 2013 11:59 AM


I still think Eck needs to stay but there has to be an emphasis on McGwire-like philosophy of know your situation before you get into the batter's box. It's as elementary as what you teach young fielders of always saying to yourself before the next batter steps into the batter's box, "what am I going to do if the ball is hit to me".

The Nats employ that outdated Earl Weaver philosophy of waiting for the 3-run HR to bail you out. It's cute, it's funny, it's cliche and there's a greater chance you will strikeout or roll over that GIDP then you will be to hit that 3-run HR.

There's certainly a time for that and they had the personnel to pull that off last year for big innings, but it's that all or nothing approach which has ruined Espinosa.

The double to start an inning should be the strategy in hitting solid line drives, and you keep the line moving and the pitcher throwing from the stretch. You have to get the pitcher out of his comfort zone as that leads to big innings.

NatsLady said...

Also (I didn't watch the game), it may be that Clip's deception is not there. But it may be simply that hitters are guessing right. If he can't throw the FB for strikes, he throws too many change-ups. EIther he needs the cutter to work, or he needs to demonstrate that he can get strikes with the four-seam.

peric said...

No offense can be attributed to two 33 year olds (one close to 34) who were never more than average major leaguers as anchors in the heart of the order. And paid like it. You lose one of sub-30 Harp or Zim and you lose all run production. No big bat in the lineup.

With Zim still out and Harper's bat silent no offense period. And the ATL changes their statement to an imperative with double exclamation points and the gauntlet is now a joust knocking the Nats off their feet with eight straight wins.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

NatsLady, Clip also needs 1st pitch strikes and lead-off walks are just unacceptable. I'd rather see him give up a single than to issue a lead-off walk.

Dave said...

I was saying last night, I'd rather see Clip give up a solo homer than a lead-off walk.

That may have been overstating it a bit. But certainly we'd prefer a single to a walk, that's for sure.

Candide said...

EmDash said...Strasburg irritation may have been caused by normal pre-game use of electrical stimulation on forearm.

It's pretty well established that electrical stimulation can cause muscle spasms.

Don't tase me, bro!

NatsLady said...

Ghost, exactly. If he'd thrown one or two of those first fastballs for strikes the inning would have been completely different (even if he had eventually walked Laird). If you don't have one of your pitches available--and the hitters know it--that messes up your whole pitch selection/sequence.

PDowdy83 said...

Do you guys who are all doom and gloom about the way we are playing the Braves remember how last season went? We dominated them the first half of the season and they dominated us the second half. We were red hot at the beginning of the year and not so much towards the end. If a team is going to be streaky like the Nats tend to be I will take mediocre in the first half and hot in the second half over the opposite.

NatsLady said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NatsLady said...

If you could guarantee that with a 3-0 or 3-1 count the guy is ONLY going to hit a single, and that none of your fielders are going to throw it away, then, sure, I guess you prefer a single (I'm not sure why, though, unless you're including the chance the runner could pull a hammy on the way to first).

Seems to me if you get to a 3-0 or 3-1 count with the bases empty, you might want to just try for the next guy rather than give him a pitch he'll be looking for. The problem is getting in that count in the first place.

Clip walking the lead-off guy doesn't irritate me nearly as much as pitchers not shutting down a hitter with 0-2 or shutting down an inning with 2 out.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

PDowdy83, I just want consistency and a sound approach and fundamentals.

The team that usually wins it all isn't usually the team with the best record during the season but they are consistent with a sound approach and fundamentals and that's what usually wins it in the post-season.

BigCat said...

Well, lets load up for another run at it tonight. Thats the good thing about having MLB in your town. Its every night.

MicheleS said...

And yet another Hammy injury, it happens even to the young guys.. Stanton is out now.

http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/players/playerpage/1630093/giancarlo-stanton

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

This just in per Kilgore: STEPHEN STRASBURG IS JUST FINE

The Real Feel Wood. Accept no substitutes. said...

"Ghost Of Steve M. said...

This just in per Kilgore: STEPHEN STRASBURG IS JUST FINE"

Maybe so. But his mechanics have sucked the whole season long. When will they be fine?

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