Bryce Harper’s Knee Improving, will see Dr. James Andrews tomorrow

Per the Washington Times, Bryce Harper’s knee is improving and the swelling has gone down. We still expect Harper’s knee to bother him all season long, and there’s still no timetable for his return. Harper will see renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews tomorrow, when we’re sure to learn more on this story.

But general manager Mike Rizzo said on Sunday morning that there is “no worry” about there being any structural issues with the knee and the visit was strictly “protocol.”

“It is our protocol that players get a second opinion on any part of the body that we feel is a disabled list type of injury,” Rizzo said. “Guys get second opinions all the time here.

“Every person we put on the DL has gotten a second opinion. We send them to our team physician, he makes his diagnosis, we start the rehab process and get a second opinion just for corroboration. That’s our protocol.”

You know what? I don’t think the Nationals know their ass from a hole in the ground on this one. First the manager and the General Manager told everyone that it was going to be ‘a day or two type injury, a nuisance injury’ and that ‘it was not a DL-type injury’. Then they played a player short for a week. Then Harper went on the disabled list a day after the organization said he had made some improvements, which was probably a lie.

There’s no telling what Andrews will say regarding Harper’s knee tomorrow. But we expect it to be something along the lines of ‘there is no structural damage to the young man’s knee, but a few more weeks of rest is still prescribed so that the injury doesn’t reoccur’. Doesn’t that sound par for the course? And then the Nationals will rest Harper until the beginning of July, at which point he’ll return and play a few games and his knee will start barking once again.

We’ve been around long enough to tell you exactly how this thing is going to go, and to know when organization-speak should be taken as a grain of salt. It’s a real shame, because Harper’s injury and reckless style of play has basically ruined his sophomore season in baseball, and the Nationals poor handling of the whole situation hasn’t helped him any.