Yesterday, I was looking through the flickrstream of rhilton4u of Nationals Nation and noticed in one of the photos that there was sign that said “NATS FANS 10” behind the scoreboard. I wondered if the Nats were going to be retiring the number 10 for the “10th man” like the Seattle Seahawks did for #12. rhilton4u reminded me that Ronnie Belliard wears #10, so it is probably symbolic.
As I mentioned earlier this week, #33 is almost certainly going to be retired by the Nats for Frank Howard (it was “retired” by Bill Collins in the early ’90s during a exhibition pregame) and #20 could be as well, presumably for Frank Robinson, but possibly Josh Gibson.
No Time to Rest in the Homestretch – The Post
Ballpark Crews Rush to Meet This Month’s Deadline
Today’s lead sports story is about the race to finish Nationals Park. Mark Lerner, principal owner, is pleased with the progress. My advice to the Lerner’s — don’t get too nit picky with the District when it comes time to take the keys.
Arm Soreness Bothers Nats’ Hill Once Again – The Post
Ex-No. 1 returns, but Hill is hurt – The Wash. Times
Hill’s health takes another hit – Florida Today
THOMAS BOSWELL – Curves Are Coming Fast – The Post
Does this sound familiar? Pitcher comes back from injury. Pitcher throws reports he feels fine. Pitcher than says he is sore. Fans are skeptical. Team says he is fine, nothing but usual soreness. Fans exhale. Pitcher says that maybe he isn’t fine, fans wonder why they didn’t trust their first instinct.
RHP Shawn Hill is the pitcher in the scenario above. The Nats other “ace” with injury problems, RHP John Patterson is not hurting (so far as we know), but he did not pitch great in is two innings of work yesterday vs. the subsidized franchise from the other end of the B/W Parkway. Mike Flanagan, a lackey for Peter Angelo$, and an expert on pitching told Boswell that he thinks Patterson is hurting.
Estrada, Lo Duca battling injuries – The Wash. Times
Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, expected to be #1 and #2 behind the plate this season, are both ailing. Lo Duca is supposed to be ready by March 15 after offseason surgery on his left knee. Estrada is completely shut down with elbow tendinitis. Jesus Flores, last year’s #2 catcher, would take either of their places if or both can’t make it. The plan was for Flores to spend the first part of the season at AA Harrisburg so that he could catch every day. He just might do that in the big leagues if Lo Duca and Estrada are not healthy.