Nats' Guillen Provides The Fire

Then the manager went on to rave about the way Guillen has been.

"It's important to me what he's done here," Robinson said. "He's been great in the clubhouse and great with the guys and great as a teammate. That's what's important."

A few minutes later, with the clubhouse music still thumping, Guillen explained his situation with his seventh team before the age of 30 like this:

"We'll see. If I have a [lousy] year then I won't be here."

He wants to be good for his new team, he said. He wants people to see him at his best, the way he has not always been.

"I've been playing through really, really tough injuries the last few years," he said. In Oakland at the end of 2003, "I played the last 20 games with a broken hand. Last year, for the last month, I had a blood clot in my shoulder. My circulation was messed up.

"A lot of people don't realize that," he added. "I've been playing through injuries."

Then his face brightened and he waved his hands.

"I feel fine now, I feel fine," he said.

Which is what the Nationals have to trust is their salvation for this year. A healthy Jose Guillen. A happy Jose Guillen. Because on Wednesday night, they got a glimpse of how important he can be.