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Team Wins One for Nick
Robert Fick, Ryan Zimmerman, Alfonso Soriano, Nook Logan and George Lombard sock it to New York, honor Nick Johnson.
(By Kathy Willens -- Associated Press)
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"If he didn't have any swelling," Shaffer said, "there's no reason he couldn't put weight on it today. But he still has some blood in his thigh, and that's going to be painful. In a couple of days, there should be no concern about putting weight on it. The earlier we get people up, the earlier we start them moving around, the more problems you can minimize."
On Sunday afternoon, Johnson had trouble believing he would be walking around soon. He said he remembered the entire collision, in which he and Kearns ran into each other in the eighth inning while pursuing a pop-up.
"I've never had pain like that," he said by phone. "I thought it was my knee. I tried to move it, but when I tried, nothing happened. It wouldn't do anything."
Still, he spent Sunday watching the ballgame on TV. He saw right-hander Tony Armas Jr. win for the first time in more than a month, allowing one run over his six innings, not allowing a walk for only the third time in 29 starts this season. He saw rookie third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hit two doubles and drive in a run. And he saw the jersey, courtesy of catcher Brian Schneider, displayed where the television cameras could see it.
"Guys said they wanted to go out and win it for Nick," Manager Frank Robinson said. "It was good. It kind of got the guys up a little bit, a little fired up."
After the victory, a bus load of Nationals headed to the hospital to check on their teammate. They carried optimism that Johnson would be back by spring training. Even those who saw him on Saturday night before the surgery said his spirits were good.
"He was trying to throw in some jokes," Schneider said. "He was being Nick," added right-hander John Patterson.
So Sunday, even in a groggy, drug-induced haze, he continued being Nick.
"I just got to get this thing fixed," Johnson said, "and get back out there."
