What’s the line from Hamlet? – “When sorrows come they come not single spies, but in battalions.” Yeah, well Shakespeare pretty much just summed up the Nationals 2009 season.
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Even in the middle of an eight-game winning streak, bad news just seems to find the Nats. General Manager Mike Rizzo confirmed to the Examiner on Monday evening that top pitching prospect Jordan Zimmermann will miss 12-to-18 months after he undergoes right elbow ligament-replacement surgery.
It was the worst case scenario for Washington. Zimmermann, 23, is supposed to help top draft pick Stephen Strasburg, 20, anchor the starting rotation in the coming years, Now, he likely won’t throw a pitch again until next summer and won’t be at full strength until 2011.
The promising rookie, who was 3-5 with a 4.63 ERA, has dealt with elbow pain on and off all season. He had a start pushed back in June. On July 19th the Nats put him on the 15-day disabled list. Zimmermann returned to pitch well in a minor-league rehab start at Single-A Potomac, but the pain persisted. An MRI last Friday worried team doctor Wiemi Douoguih, who sent the test images to renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. He confirmed the diagnosis of a torn ligament and the need for Tommy John surgery.
On top of everything else that has gone wrong over the last 12 months – failing to sign their first-round pick in 2008, finding out a top prospect was a fraud, firing their GM because of the ensuing scandal and last month capping manager Manny Acta – losing Zimmermann is an added dagger. But don’t say things can’t get worse. After all, the Nats still have to sign Strasburg by next Monday’s deadline or lose his rights. That one-two punch would be tough to recover from.
Rizzo was philosophical about Zimmermann’s injury, feeling more disappointed for the player than himself. But this isn’t just any young pitcher. Zimmermann was ranked the team’s No. 1 prospect by Baseball America in February and has a ceiling as a No. 1 or No. 2 starter. He probably still does. Tommy John surgery has a success rate of about 90 percent. But you don’t get back the time lost and there is no guarantee a pitcher’s stuff remains the same. All in all, just another crummy day in Nats Town.
