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Did You Know Bergmann's Hurt, Too?

Well, he is. Kind of. Hopefully not seriously -- but serious enough to miss a turn in the rotation. From Nats.com:

. . . Nationals right-hander Jason Bergmann had an MRI on Thursday after experiencing tightness in his right elbow. The results were negative.

Bergmann will miss his next start on Saturday but will not be placed on the disabled list, according to general manager Jim Bowden.

. . . "It was stiff," Bergmann said by phone. "I told the trainers immediately. It's just precautionary."

According to the Nats.com report, the club won't fill Bergmann's spot by rushing a young pitching prospect "such as Collin Balester and Cory Van Allen" -- which is both a relief and quite laughable, especially in the case of Van Allen, who is currently hurling at Class-A Hagerstown. According to the article, "it most likely will be a veteran pitcher getting the call" -- meaning we could be seeing the triumphant big league return of Tim Redding, our presumptive No. 2 guy at the start of the spring -- or perhaps Billy Traber, who's pitched a couple relief innings since making his way from Columbus. Speculation aplenty can be found at Nationals Journal (and Barry Svrluga emphasizes the It's Just Precautionary, Bergmann Could Pitch But It Was Considered Unwise angle).

For the record, I vote Traber. But either way it's dumb flippin' luck, though Harper might preemptively dispute that characterization.