Vizquel out 6-8 weeks, may miss rest of season August 28, 2000
(AP) WASHINGTON--The Sea Dogs' joy over acquiring Omar Vizquel may have
taken a turn.
Vizquel injured his wrist in the fourth inning of his last game in New
Diggens sliding into second base. X-rays later revealed that Vizquel, who
was set to join the Sea Dogs right after the game, had a fracture and
would be out a minimum of six weeks.
"This is obviously a major blow to the organization," GM Aaron Weiner
said. "We were hoping to have Omar in the lineup for our stretch run."
Weiner said that despite the high price surrendered for Vizquel, there
were no plans to call off the deal.
"Omar will be a very important part of our organization for years to
come," Weiner said. "We have several players who have played short in the
past and this season, so while Omar will be missed, he's not
irreplaceable."
But Weiner did concede that Vizquel's injury will cause a crunch for the
Sea Dogs.
"It's hard to ignore his worth," Weiner said. "We were hoping he could
come in and help jumpstart the offense."
Vizquel's injury is just another pitfall in the various mishaps that have
befallen the Sea Dogs this year. Jim Eisenreich, the second hitter in the
lineup, lost his ability to hit. Then, Washington was without their best
pitcher, Mackenzee Leefenhaufenhauz, for nearly three months. And Mickey
Kelly, a rising star, batted below .240 before being sent to AAA.
Even despite all this, they held a solid lead in the wild-card race. But
cleanup hitter Larry Walker went out with injury and the team slumped.
"It's a miracle we're still leading the wild-card," Weiner said. "We've
gone through so many mishaps this year, it's hard to believe we've played
so well."
Frighteningly enough, it's possible that Vizquel may never play a single
game in Sea Dogs uniform. Because of his injury, Washington may choose
to protect another player in the free-agent plan, meaning Vizquel, an
obvious choice from the Sea Dogs, would be in another uniform next year.
"We're not sure yet that we're going to let that happen," Weiner said.
"But his injury makes it difficult to judge that right now."
To counteract Vizquel's injury, Washington recalled Kelly, who was batting
.289 (4-14) in AAA with two doubles, and has a four-game AAA hitting
streak.
"I'm hoping I can get it on track," said Kelly. "It's been a disaster so
far for me this year."
Washington won twice admist all the confusion today, starting an 8-game
homestand by defeating Coos Bay 4-3 and 3-1. With losses by both their
closest wild-card rivals, Washington managed to extend their lead to two
games over Binghamton and five games over Battle Axe. Washington is 72-57
(.558) and will host Coos Bay twice before key series with Phoenix and
Battle Axe.
