It’s a funny thing about injuries – we never really know what’s going on. Baseball isn’t hockey, Bryce Harper isn’t listed has having an “upper body” injury, but things aren’t exactly clear. Soon after hitting the wall, we get this
https://twitter.com/masnKolko/status/334180601655599105
Which I kind of took at face value. By the way – not singling out any reporters here, they all reported the same thing, these are just a sampling of the tweets. So I go about my merry way, thinking he just smashed everything but his head into the fence – and it’s not like the camera angle really showed his head hitting the wall. Anyway, last night I see this
Feeling nauseated, #Harper out of #Nats' lineup http://t.co/iYolZ8jodU #MLB #Nationals
— William Ladson (@ladsonbill24) May 15, 2013
and all of a sudden things take a turn, at least in my mind. Nausea the day after hitting the wall like that isn’t something to take lightly. But there is radio silence from the reporters. Frankly I’m surprised I didn’t see my twitter feed blow up with Harper discussion at this point. But it was a late game, so maybe fans just weren’t paying much attention.
Of course, there was a certain amount of negativity, as there always is in this case. I won’t get into the random tweets ripping the organization because those things always happened. The Nats administered a test, it came back negative. They have yet to say anything else on the matter. Deadspin, in it’s usual, often awesome, sometimes infuriating (like in this case, in my opinion) way, said the Nats are “pretending Bryce Harper doesn’t have a concussion” which is utterly ridiculous.
Keep in mind, the Nats did not let Harper stay on the field in Monday night’s game, and Harper did not play in Tuesday night’s game. They have yet to say anything on the matter beyond what the initial tests say, but if they were pretending he didn’t have a concussion, he’d be in the lineup tonight. And with his reports of nausea I can’t imagine that happening. Keep in mind exactly what this team’s history is with taking precautions sitting young players who have years ahead of them. It leans towards conservative to the point that the much of the national media rips them for not playing guys. So let’s slow down on the “Nats are pretending he doesn’t have a concussion” argument for just a minute.
I’m surprised none of the writers explored this more, although maybe they did and the organization just blew them off. Either way, I’d very much like to hear what Rizzo says on the matter, and hopefully someone will ask him.
@nationalsreview @chasehughesCSN We'll clear it up tomorrow morning. Rizzo is on at 11:30.
— Holden Kushner (@Holdenradio) May 15, 2013
Ah, there you go. That’s on 106.7, by the way. And if he does have a concussion, well, let’s just hope it doesn’t last too long. After all, these things can sideline players for months. Maybe because the first tests came back negative, it is a sign that even if there is a concussion, it’s not a really bad one, and he’ll recover quickly, who knows. Hopefully we’ll get some answers. But it’s injuries and sports, so, maybe not.