Get better, Nick Johnson, we're really looking forward to you returning to our lineup with your great batter's eye!

I've always been a fan of NJ and it really sucks for him. I wish him a quick and easy recovery.

That being said, I think its time for the Nationals to just release him and move on. Sign Teixeira next season.

"Given the circumstances of Johnson's original injury, sustained May 13, this is stunning news."

You really are new to the sport, huh?

we kid, we kid.

In Nick Johnson-terms, am I correct in assuming that 100% ready for Spring Training 2009 means that he'll be taking his first swings just about the time I expect to return to the U.S. in the summer of 2010?

FARCK!

I'm so sorry, Nick.

Just heal. And don't lose the great shape you were in this year.

I can't imagine how bad this must suck for you. Hang in there and we'll try it again next year.

Is his contract up this year?

This stinks but like Pablo said it's time to cut your ties with Nick and Sign a Texeria or even Adam Dunn to play first because if he was to get hurt next year we likely won't have boone or young to fill in.

Nick is signed through 2009.

....as is Dmitri.

Yet another misdiagnosis by the Nationals crack medical staff... Chico, it might be time for a column about the amazing amount of mistakes the medical staff has made for us the past couple seasons, along with the amount of injuries-

Totally OT, but fans of sports and snark will enjoy this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624

Day-to-day = 4-to-6 weeks
Expected to miss a week = will miss a month
4-to-6 weeks = 3 months minimum
Should be ready for spring training in 200X = won't be ready until spring training in 200Y

sad to hear that about NJ, who seems like a genuinely good guy and who's enjoyable to watch play the game. but it's not the least bit surprising.

Bob L., what good is NBA draft coverage without Stephen A.? I WANT MY CHEEZ DOOODLES!!!

any coverage of anything is better without stephen a (and skip bayless and woody whateverhisnameis). bleh.

Start the movement - Fire Lenny and make Nick the Stick the batting coach. He seems to be the only one in the entire Nationals organization that has any understanding of how to approach an at bat.

Guess I will renew my subscription to Baseball America afterall. It will be the best way to figure out who the Nats should take with the first pick of next year's draft.

It seems that $4 to 5 M contracts are the problem. Guzman missed essentially 2 years, as did Nick. Dmitri missed time and has health problems. LoDuca ('nuff said). The very thought of trying to give Zimmerman a $5 M contract put him on the shelf.

I am not using this as a suggestion to be cheaper, by the way. Just sayin'.

OK, not like a lot of us didn't see this coming. Move him to the 60-DL to clear a slot on the 40-man, then wait to see who heals first, or who drops next to fill it. It's not like we have any everyday players in the minors right now that would have an immediate impact on the ML level.

going rate on the #1 pick for next year = strasburg. and yes he is a pitcher. and yes we need him.

going rate on the #1 pick for next year = strasburg. and yes he is a pitcher. and yes we need him.

big, big, shocking surprise about Nick.

"The team release issued this afternoon said that Johnson would be 100 percent for spring training. "

this should be the default Scouting Report on him from here on out.

It's not like we haven't seen this NJ movie before. Nicky, please encase yourself in bubble wrap this winter so you can at least make it to Florida healthy.

sweet, a doublepost. now i know i belong here...

so I'll be competing with him for the job in '10?

it's natsluck, i tell ya. no nj, no zim, no chad. natsluck!

Agreed 231, it's a joke. Stephen A. is a very "popular" figure on the Internets. Unfortunately he has been relegated to off-stage interviewing for this year's NBA draft coverage. Google Stephen A. Smith cheez doodles for just a taste of his "popularity," it is juvenile but humorous stuff.

glad it was a joke (sorry i missed it, i try to ignore anything with his name associated with it). if you were serious, i was going to have to move you down a few notches on the "respect" pole... ;)

Not a bad concept, but seeing as he is signed for 2009, I wonder if he's over slot for a hitting coach?

*********
Start the movement - Fire Lenny and make Nick the Stick the batting coach. He seems to be the only one in the entire Nationals organization that has any understanding of how to approach an at bat.

Posted by: macman | June 24, 2008 4:00 PM

There was genius in at least one of those posts. Why not make him the hitting coach? What else is he going to do...ride the exercise bike for a year?

Nick,
You gotta drink your milk. It builds strong bones.

Tonights lineup

Guzman SS
Dukes RF
Milledge CF
Young 1B
Flores C
Belliard 3B
WMP LF
Harris 2B
Hill SP

such a bummer.

Yes, yes, that's what we need. A hitting coach who had a great batting approach as a player and was very successful at that. He can learn on the job!

This really saddens me. Nick is my favorite player and I don't care what anybody says - his injuries are freak ones - not like the "sore calf" or "pulled hamstring". And it's not like he does it on purpose. He is a gamer! Hurry Back Nick - I miss you so much! Stay in great shape and hurry back we need you.

This really saddens me. Nick is my favorite player and I don't care what anybody says - his injuries are freak ones - not like the "sore calf" or "pulled hamstring". And it's not like he does it on purpose. He is a gamer! Hurry Back Nick - I miss you so much! Stay in great shape and hurry back we need you.

Wow, 4-6 weeks turns into 4-6 months, seriously. Being that the '09 season is a contract year, any odds on whether he'll get to the elusive 500 at-bat club next year??

Nick Johnson with an injury is never "shocking". Nick Johnson and being healthy is "shocking". Too bad for him, but the Nats gotta move on and get someone else for next year.

ARRRGGGHHH! This is really a blow. Nick was one of the few bright lights in a very dim year. I am really running out of patience for 'the plan', we need to have some talent on the field, and we need it sooner rather than latter. Anyone seen what Schneider and Church have been up to in NY this year? And what did we get for them? Oh, right...Seriously, next season is the time to open the checkbook and sign some guys who contribute today. (well, okay, 'today' meaning April '09, but you get my drift...)

Schneider is swinging the bat we all knew he had and Churchie is big-timing the headache he picked up a few weeks back. If you think things have changed with Ryan, give it time.

Are you all really going to let a Waiting for Godot reference slip right by you? Standards have fallen...

Bleep-bleeeep-bleep-bleeeeeep-bleep-BLEEEEEEEEEP!!!

I like the idea of NJ becoming the hitting coach. He can't do any worse than Lenny, can he?

So sad to hear that about Nick. It was so great to see him back on the field this year after recovering from that horrible collision at Shea. I've always liked the guy, and the way he plays the game. Plus, let us not forget the thunderbolts! Now who's gonna shave thunderbolts in their head?

I got it, 506, but didn't have the heart to try to come up with a reply in kind.

Time to get rid of:
WMP (trade)
Lopez (trade)
Kearns (trade)
O. Perez
LoDuca (trade)
Estrada (trade)

Need to sign:
Orlando Hudson (2b)
Ben Sheets

Need to trade for:
Matt Kemp

Anything else, Mr. Right? A pink Cadillac perhaps?

[crickets]

Also need to trade:
Meat Hook
Nick "Mr. Glass"

Need to also sign:
Teixeira (this should be the top thing they do)

Need to fire:
Lenny the non-hitting coach

Maybe we should sign Ted Williams in his prime!

john patterson deja' vu all over again

time to move on....enough is enough !!!!!

he 's got DL stamped on his forehead....

as well as:

Keep Manny Acta for 7 more years. He's the best.

Would not mind tradeing Cordero and having the big guy (Jon) close.

oh, and also, would not mind one of those $9 5-guys bacon burgers right now along with a a bigger payroll....

Yea, as much as I hate to say so...it's time to Patterson NJ (the action and person, not city and state)

Washington Nationals = Auto Chop Shop
......buy wrecked or re-po'd pieces cheap at auction to turn around and sell for $ to buy more wrecked or re-po'd pieces

Nick Johnson should look at a career as a pinch hitter. I bet he can beat Lenny Harris's record and won't tear up his body doing that. I wish we had need for someone of his caliber coming off the bench. There's still a place in baseball for a smart batter like him, but it's not with the Nationals and it's not as a starter.

mmm, bacon burgers

Washington Nationals = Auto Chop Shop
......buy wrecked or re-po'd pieces cheap at auction to turn around and sell for $ to buy more wrecked or re-po'd pieces

Posted by: Corey | June 24, 2008 5:16 PM
__________________________________

Wait, isn't that what we tried to do last year? And the year before? No one wants our crappy players.

Don't chop shops usually steal cars? Can we steal some players and cut off their limbs for use by our players?

Lopez with Wright's glove?

Willie Harris with Ortiz's arms?

Nick Johnson with Jeff Francoeur's body?

Yes, Nick Johnson is a notoriously slow-healer, and he has had more than his share of bad luck regarding injuries.

But when he was initially evaluated - heck, even during the follow-up when he was told he needed to keep his cast on longer - the "small split tear in a ligament on the ulnar side of his wrist" was not diagnosed. It was a tendon sheath injury, Nats doctors said.

To me, this says less about Nick being a slow healer or failing to meet health projections than it does about a Nationals medical staff that is going out of its way to show how downright insufficient it is.

This is bunk.

Too bad for Nick. I'm sure no one is more disappointed than he. There is no reason to Patterson him, however - he is under contract through next year anyway. We should plan on seeing him again in ST but his days as the primo 1B should be done. He will make a nice LH hitter off the bench and can spell the everyday 1B, whomever that may be. Who besides Texiera is a FA this year?

Curious about the description of the injury. A split tear in a ligament sounds different than a split tendon sheath that we had been hearing. A missed diagnosis? Did he try to play with it (I forget)?

Chico, I saw in one of the southern papers today that Destin Hood was expected to be in town to meet with the Nationals today. Any news on this?

Like pretty much everybody here, I'm sorry but not surprised to hear about Johnson. Best hitter on the ball club; too bad.

As lineup time approaches, I wanted to mention: the lineup post by the fill-in guy over the weekend designated the starters as "LHP" or "RHP." I found that handy, as it gives some insight as to the choice of who's in the lineup, and I can picture which way the switch hitters will go. A small thing, but I liked it.

Yeah, now I'm back, ready to go at
All those Nats fans who think that I'm really whack.
Try to put me down, try to playa' hate.
But go ask your wife about our last date.
Like that time she said she stayed at her sisters.
Nick Johnson gets DL'd simply for blisters.
But back to the O's and their rise to 1st place.
Or that time when your wife coaxed out my 'O' face.
Will the Nats ever win, well that's a maybe
Oh by the way, how's your wife and my baby?

Peace, I'm out!

P.S. Kobe, how's my #$@ taste?

Need to also sign:
Teixeira (this should be the top thing they do)

Need to fire:
Lenny the non-hitting coach

Posted by: Mr. Right | June 24, 2008 5:09 PM

==========================================

Man what's with all the comedy on this blog lately? HAHAHAHAHA, signing Teixeira? Oh man what a laugh. There's no way he signs here. And no I'm not saying he'll sign in B'more either. Plus 1/2 of you on here can't even spell his name right. It's spelt T-E-I-X-E-I-R-A. Not, T-E-X-E-I-R-A.

If the Nats somehow sign Tex I'll fly back to DC, and work with the Nats to have somesort of event at the stadium where all of you can come up and throw rotten tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, eggs, dog doo, or whatever else you want at me all day long at a game. Afterwards, infront of everyone, I'll burn all my O's gear, and from then on to the end of time buy nothing but Nats gear (when I buy MLB merchandise). That's how confident I am that TeIxeira won't sign with the Nats.

Much better, O's Exec, though next time you have to do it all by yourself.

I'll come up with a rebuttal on the ride home.

spelt?

No matter what the injury is from here on out in his career, im just going to assume the timetable to return is at least one season.

Re: Andrew

spelt?

-----------------

Hahahahaha

They should arrest Nick Johnson for stealing money.

With total recognition that no one is more disappointed in this latest injury that Johnson himself, the bottom line is that he has been drawing salary for almost total non-performance for nearly four full seasons now. Wish my job would do the same for me. It would be nice if perhaps Nick would go to the mike himself and tell the Nats fans that he understands our frustration that his slow-healing has caused us also. Does that ever happen?

Just stating the obvious, but today is not a good Nats day. I'm so not surprised by NJ's injury that it's scary. Hopefully, Marrero doesn't become as fragile...

I just looked at the DL for the Nats. WOW! Can we start a "Fire the Trainers" drive? These guys must be hacks. What is happening? Invest millions in athletes and let amateur bandaid pushers tear them apart? C'mon.