Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The M.A.S.H. report: Nats injury updates

Photo by USA Today
On Tuesday Davey Johnson gave a round of updates on the litany of current Nationals injuries, or what he calls the ‘M.A.S.H. report.’ Most notable was the fact Bryce Harper is still dealing with inflammation in his left knee due to bursitis and is now unlikely to be available as the team’s designated hitter when Washington travels to Baltimore.

“Harper’s still got the bursa” Johnson said. “It’s still tender, still a little bit swollen. The swelling is down a little bit.”

“I was probably being optimistic thinking he could DH up in Baltimore. It’s probably not looking good for that.”

Harper is continuing to rest after missing Monday’s matchup against the Orioles. He left Sunday’s game in the seventh inning after aggravating the injury. Johnson remains hopeful it will not turn into a stint on the disabled list.

“This is not something I think he would DL. If the inflammation gets out of there, the swelling gets out of there, he’ll feel 100 percent better. We’re talking about four days maybe. I was hoping it wouldn’t be that much.”


Update on Danny Espinosa's right wrist

Nats second baseman Danny Espinosa hit in batting practice for the second day in a row and is on track to return on Wednesday in Baltimore.

“The swelling is down from what it had been. Is it going to be 100 percent? No, I think we all know it’s not going to be 100 percent for the rest of the year. There’s no casting or surgery that they can do to make it 100 percent, it’s just a time thing.”

Espinosa said he has learned a bit of a lesson from playing through pain, understanding that it can sometimes delay the detection of something more serious. 

“It’s kind of like a tolerance thing. I’m not going to do the tolerance [stuff] anymore, I’m sick of that. I did it last year with tolerance and my shoulder, we didn’t know what was wrong.”

Playing through the pain last season may have delayed the discovery of his torn rotator cuff and Espinosa thinks resting more when he first hurt his wrist on April 14 would have been a smart decision.

“I’m not going through pain tolerance with a broken wrist just to say I’m playing every day.”

Espinosa said pain is the biggest problem, that he it does not affect his strength or physical ability.

“The strength is fine, the grip in my hand is fine. It’s just the stiffness. When you’re swinging and you’re feeling a constant clicking in your wrist, you’re kind of like ‘what’s going on?’”

Davey on Jayson Werth’s left hamstring

“JW is out running, if things go well with him running today he can go play somewhere. Possibly.”

*Johnson said it is possible Werth joins the team on the road in Atlanta, a series that begins on Friday


20 comments:

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Our medical staff has always a concern. Now we have a 20 year old who wants to play through injury.

Section 222 said...

Typical selfish Espi comment. Sorry, but the damage is done.

MurrayTheRed said...

Leave Lombo in, please. Until Danny is 100%

phil dunton said...

When Danny gets to 100%, send him to Hagerstown and leave him there.

phil dunton said...

When Danny gets to 100%, send him to Hagerstown and leave him there.

patrickhenry said...

Amen, MurryTheRed. And Lombo's been good in the clutch, which you can't say about Espi.

natsfan1a said...

Not meant for 222 only, but weren't folks calling Espi selfish for playing through pain and not speaking up? Now he seems to be saying he learned that's not a good idea and he's still selfish? Guy can't win for losing. Sometimes it seems as though we can be quick to ascribe negative intent and/or character flaws to those who don't act the way we think they should or perform up to our expectations. Feel better, Danny.

Less Platu said...

We're hanging in there inspite of all the injuries. Look at how well the Yankees are doing with a team cobbled together from nothing -- the Cards are killing the world with 3 of their starters long gone from injury --

Luck, chemistry, and good management!

Less Platu said...

Every one is right about the Espi and 20 year old's deciding when and where they will play --

Espi is a joke. Out for two days, and scared poopless over the prospect of a Lombo success, he wants to come back -- No, danny said "I will be back" .. haha this is getting too funny

Anonymous said...

Moore is a half tool player. He can't field, can't run, can't throw, can't make contact, but he does have a little power.

Eric said...

Still pulling for Espi. I think that guy has great things in his future... Hope we don't come to realize that after he's on the other team.

Section 222 said...

1a, absolutely Espi was selfish playing through pain (twice) and having a historically bad post season, and early part of this season. He cared about himself and his career only. His comments today don't say to me he's learned a lesson about the dangers of playing for yourself instead of thinking about how he's affecting the team with his poor play. Not a word about how playing through pain might hurt your team. Instead, he's learned a lesson that playing through pain might only make the injury worse. It's all about him. Still.

So yes, he's still selfish, and no, no contradiction. Go get fixed Danny. Rehab like an SOB, and come back next year fully healthy and a new approach. Sure, you might have to win your job back. But I just think a few days off is going to turn this season around for him.

Get Your Re(n)d On said...

Only one Nat struck out against the mighty O's pitching tonight. Who was it? Lombo. Doing an homage to Espi, perhaps?

Get Your Re(n)d On said...

So is a player always selfish if he plays through pain, or only when he plays through pain and fails to produce? Was Curt Schilling selfish playing through pain in the bloody sock game? And how is a player supposed to know if he's going to be able to produce when he's playing through pain unless he plays through pain in the first place? Isn't it ultimately the manager's decision on who gets to play? If a player wants to play through pain but his manager won't let him, is he still selfish? So many questions...

nats guy said...

No Caps Fan Espi is just not a very good hitter and when he got hurt he was deceptive about it. He needs to go elsewhere. I would prefer Lombardozzi any day of the week.

natsfan1a said...

Agreed re. the doubtful healing potential of a few days off in this case, 222. And I don't dispute that his (not) hitting is an issue. That said, I would opine that any given player could be the biggest [alpha hotel] in the world and many fans wouldn't much care as long as he was hitting the cover off the ball. :-)

Tcostant said...

Davey said last night after the game that Werth would be in Potomac tonight for a rehab game as long as it isn't wet.

Eric said...

Re: Espi, near as I can tell, some of y'all are making a lot of 30,000' assumptions about how damaged he is, how deceptive he's been, etc. Maybe you're right...maybe you're not.

biggoose said...

Omg. Now we are coomparing Espinosa to Curt Schilling. Why not Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth. This ios getting ridiculous. The fact remains that Espy is a minimum salaried .233 lifetime hitter who has never won a Golden glove or all star selectiom and went 1 for 16 in our only playoff shot. What makes him think that he (not Curt Schilling) could help the team while playing injured? He has never said a nice word about Lombo the way Zim did when Rendon played for him and struggled with errors and a low average. Those who call Espy selfish are correct

SonnyG10 said...

1a and Eric, I agree with you regarding Danny. You other folk really p*** me off!!!

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