Davey Johnson didn't seem overly concerned with the neck issues which have bothered Jordan Zimmermann for several weeks now, but admitted that they did factor into his decision to lift the Nats' 27-year-old right-hander in the seventh inning of last night's loss in Philadelphia. "He's awfully good even when he's not 100%," the Nats' skipper said, "He's got outstanding stuff."
Zimmermann was asked after the game if the injury affected his performance on the mound against the Phillies. "It was a little tight," Jordan Zimmermann told reporters. "But I've been dealing with that for a while now. But I got it loosened up and it was good enough to go out there and pitch." Asked if the lingering issues might keep him from pitching in next week's All-Star Game in Citi Field in New York, Zimmermann said it was possible that it would. "I'm not really sure yet what I'm going to do, but we'll see how the next few days go and go from there."
"I'd rather be healthy for the second half than pitch in that," Zimmermann explained. " I'd like to pitch in it, but I'm not going to go out there and just pitch an inning and have to battle the whole second half."
According to reports from Miami this afternoon, where the Nationals start a three-game first-half-ending set with the Marlins, Zimmermann will most likely not pitch in the mid-summer classic:
#Nats RHP Jordan Zimmermann will not pitch in the All-Star game because of neck issues. #MLB
— William Ladson (@washingnats) July 12, 2013
Davey is recommending to Bruce Bochy that Jordan Zimmermann attend the All-Star Game but not pitch in it. Had tests on neck done today.
— Amanda Comak (@acomak) July 12, 2013
Jordan Zimmermann, who will still go to NYC: "I'd rather be healthy than go up there and pitch one inning and have my second half be shot."
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) July 12, 2013
Davey Johnson, who is serving on NL Manager Bruce Bochy's coaching staff, told reproters he would recommend Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano as potential replacements for Zimmermann, who was named to the All-Star team for the first time earlier this week.