MIAMI — The latest in a string of ailments that has plagued Alex Escobar during his career left the Washington Nationals outfielder unavailable to play last night against the Florida Marlins.
Escobar’s left elbow began giving him problems Sunday in Philadelphia. When he arrived at Dolphin Stadium yesterday, it was swollen more than twice the size of his right elbow and had red inflammation stretching all the way to his wrist. He was rushed to the hospital three hours before the game, where he was diagnosed with an infection and treated intravenously throughout the night. Ryan Church started in center field.
“I didn’t hit it,” Escobar said. “It just started swelling up. I have no idea [what happened]. It’s pretty sore, and right now I can’t flex it all the way. I can’t bend it all the way. It’s probably the swelling.”
Injuries have robbed the 27-year-old of two complete seasons (2002 and 2005) in the past five years. He’s already missed 42 games this season with a strained left hamstring.
Nationals manager Frank Robinson sensed there was something wrong with Escobar in the weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I watched him, and I mentioned to [bench coach] Eddie Rodriguez in the series he’s not swinging. He’s getting jammed on off-speed pitches,” Robinson said. “It’s not just the swelling; it’s the redness. It looks like it’s some type of bite from an insect, but there’s no outward break in his skin. It’s weird.”
“It’s worse today,” Escobar said. “Yesterday it was pretty sore, but today it’s even worse than yesterday.”
Escobar is hitting .325 with four home runs and a career-high 16 RBI this season.
Progress for Eischen
Reliever Joey Eischen, who underwent season-ending rotator cuff surgery in early June, was excited yesterday to be with the club again and said his rehab is going ahead of schedule.
“I feel like I could start throwing today, but they’re going to take it slow with me,” he said. “I’m way, way, way ahead of the curve. Everything feels better than it did before surgery. My strength is getting close. I’ve got full range of motion. I’ve got no pain, and all my strength is coming back.”
Eischen, who lives in Tampa, Fla., said he will spend most of today with the Nationals before returning home tomorrow to continue his rehab. The left-handed specialist was asked whether he thought he could pitch again this season.
“I’m retarded, but I’m not that retarded,” said Eischen, who went 0-1 with an 8.59 ERA in 22 appearances for the Nationals.
Top prospect sidelined
Class AAA New Orleans first baseman Larry Broadway is out for the remainder of the season after injuring his right shoulder. Broadway, one of the top prospects in the Nationals’ minor league system, was placed on the disabled list and will fly to Washington sometime this week. He will see Ben Shaffer, the Nationals’ primary physician, and have an MRI. Broadway was hitting .293 with 15 home runs and 77 RBI for the Zephyrs.
Speed of the game
Robinson acknowledged it’s difficult for a seldom-used bench player to stay prepared and be able to keep up with the speed of the game as a hitter. However, the manager said there was no excuse for Damian Jackson’s three errors Sunday against the Phillies.
“The offensive part of it is more difficult than the defensive part of it because you can almost simulate game conditions as far as your workout on defense — groundballs, flyballs, whatever — but it’s very difficult to do that offensively,” Robinson said. “You’re not seeing the speed. You’re not seeing the break. You’re not seeing the pressure of the situation to hit a baseball.”
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