NATIONALS NOTEBOOK
Dehydrated Patterson Receives IV
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 25, 2007; Page E16
VIERA, Fla., March 24 -- Washington Nationals right-hander John Patterson felt dehydrated Saturday afternoon, one day after his penultimate Grapefruit League start, and, according to Manager Manny Acta, "almost passed out" after a routine morning in which he shagged fly balls during batting practice.
Patterson was treated with intravenous fluids and driven home without a visit to the hospital, team officials said. Acta said he believes Patterson will be able to make his scheduled start Wednesday in preparation for his turn on Opening Day, April 2.
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VIDEO | Nationals Spring Training ON THE FIELD Jesus Flores' two-run, ninth-inning double gives the Nationals a 4-3 win over the Marlins. Notebook: The Nationals trade left-handed reliever Ray King, the most veteran member of their pitching staff, to the Brewers for a player to be named. Boswell: The statistics show a return to normalcy in baseball and the end of the Steroid Era. Minor Leagues: Justin Maxwell has come out of the slump he was in after straining an oblique muscle by sneezing and is now hitting .423 with 24 homers. NATIONALS REPORTBy the Numbers89: Errors for the Nationals through Monday. Through 138 games a year ago, they had 113 errors. Personnel Dept.OF Ryan Langerhans hit his first homer of a 14-game stint with Class AAA Columbus on Monday, just before he was called up. "I felt a lot more comfortable," he said. "My approach was a lot better." Langerhans will be used primarily as a defensive replacement. ... The club activated LHP Micah Bowie, who hadn't pitched in the majors since June because of a hip injury. ... The club announced that Centerplate would replace Aramark as the concessionaire at the new ballpark in 2008. Quotable"He certainly was a good influence on our young pitchers, had a lot to do with some of their developments. Our clubhouse was a better place with Ray King a part of it." -- GM Jim Bowden NATIONALS JOURNALBarry Svrluga provides the latest news on the Nationals. MULTIMEDIA Podcasts: Postgame audio from Barry Svrluga and video from Washington Post Live. Slideshow: A crowd of 40,389 pack into RFK Stadium to open up the 2007 baseball season. Photos: Manny Acta returns home. Webcam: Check back daily and follow the progress of construction on the stadium. |
Still, the incident was somewhat alarming for Acta, who was speaking with Patterson in the dugout moments earlier.
"It's scary," Acta said. "Almost every year, whether it's football or baseball, something happens on the field. You don't take anything lightly."
Acta said Patterson, who was unavailable to comment, would report Sunday to Space Coast Stadium for further evaluation.
In May 2005, Patterson received three injections to help relieve back pain. He said then that he felt "woozy" and nearly passed out. He received oxygen, an IV and was placed on the disabled list.
Hill's Toughest Critic
Right-hander Shawn Hill's spring continued down the same path: tremendous results, a mediocre evaluation from Hill himself. "I'm just not throwing the ball where I want to," Hill said after a 5 1/3 -inning stint in which he allowed two unearned runs in a 4-2 loss to St. Louis.
Hill said he had particular problems locating his curveball, which led to three walks, but was very pleased with the movement on his key pitch, the sinker.
Hill threw 77 pitches, the most he has thrown all spring, including 47 for strikes. His ERA is now 0.93 over 19 1/3 innings.
Simontacchi Still Hurting
With right-hander Jason Simontacchi still battling a strained groin -- "We've kind of hit a plateau," he said Saturday -- the Nationals will start Jason Bergmann in Monday's game against Detroit in Lakeland, following him with Levale Speigner.
With Tim Redding struggling to a 11.42 ERA, those would be the two most likely candidates to start in Simontacchi's place in the regular season.
Hey, What's Up?
For the second straight day, the Nationals hosted a famous coach from another sport. Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight, a good friend of Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa, was on the field for batting practice and sat next to La Russa throughout the game. This a day after former NFL coach Bill Parcells visited Detroit Manager Jim Leyland at Space Coast Stadium. . . .
A crowd of 7,253 -- including thousands of Cardinals fans -- filled Space Coast Stadium, the first sellout of the spring.
Pitcher of the Day Reliever Ryan Wagner took the loss by allowing two ninth-inning runs in a 4-2 loss to St. Louis, though he was hurt by SS Josh Wilson's fielding error -- the Nationals' fourth error of the day. Up Next vs. Braves at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., 1 p.m.
