District Daily: Zimmerman Taking Cautious Approach, Harper Not Headed to Minors
By Pablo Roa
Checkout some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web in today’s District Daily!
Zimmerman taking cautious approach to hamstring
(Bill Ladson and Daniel Popper, MLB.com)
WASHINGTON — It’s been a little more than two weeks since Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman sustained a Grade 3 hamstring strain against the Rockies.
Although he has made strides in getting better — he is currently running on a water treadmill — he doesn’t know when he’ll be back on the field. He is hoping that he can return by the end of the season.
“I don’t want to say I will, I don’t want to say I won’t. It’s so hard right now to put a date or a time range on anything,” Zimmerman told MLB.com. “We want [the hamstring] to heal and rest a little bit. We really won’t know much until we start doing active things. To be honest, I don’t know when we are supposed to start doing that. It’s in the near future. Read full article here.
Williams makes clear: Harper not headed to Minors
WASHINGTON — Nationals manager Matt Williams sternly clarified his comments regarding the struggling Bryce Harper, saying that sending him to the Minors is not a possibility being considered.
When asked if a temporary demotion for Harper was “in the realm of possibility right now,” Williams answered, “I will caution everybody in this room — the minute you think you can read my … mind, you’re sorely mistaken. It [ticks] me off to even think about the fact that somebody would take a comment that I make on the radio and infer that I am thinking one way or another. I’ve had it. Don’t do it anymore.
“Bryce Harper is one of the guys on our team. He’s a very important part of our team, just like everybody else is. Do we understand each other? It’s not fair to the kid. It’s not fair to the rest of the clubhouse to even think about sending Bryce Harper to the Minor Leagues or to cause a stir. It’s unacceptable. It won’t happen.” Read full article here.
Thornton adding valuable flexibility to Nats’ bullpen
(Bill Ladson and Daniel Popper, MLB.com)
WASHINTGON — In more ways than one, Matt Thornton is an inspired pitcher.
The left-hander, who the Nationals claimed off waivers from the Yankees on Tuesday, sustained an oblique injury in early August last season while with the Red Sox. The injury caused a major setback in Thornton’s 2013 campaign, and after he was unable to fully recover and return to form before the end of the regular season, Boston left him off the postseason roster.
The Red Sox went on to win the World Series. Read full article here.