ATLANTA -- Washington Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman
will miss the rest of the season following surgery Monday to repair
a torn ligament in his left thumb.
The kid was torn emotionally. He was destroyed, basically. Because he
had two rough seasons over here and finally he's playing great and
being a big part of this team. That was the first thing out of his
mouth: 'I want to play through this.'
Manny Acta, Nationals manager
Guzman sprained his left thumb in the fifth inning Sunday while
tagging out Cleveland's Josh Barfield at second base on a steal
attempt. He did not leave the game.
"He came in and right away he showed me his thumb," Nationals
manager Manny Acta said Monday. "It didn't look right. I was going
to take him out of the game; he refused. He said 'No! No! No! I can
play. I'm fine.'"
Guzman, who hit .329 with 31 runs in 43 games, went on the
disabled list Sunday and was operated on by Dr. Richard Barth at
Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington.
After signing a $16.8 million, four-year contract with the
Nationals, Guzman batted just .219 in 2005 and frequently was
booed. He missed 2006 because of a shoulder injury.
Guzman was sidelined for more than a month this season after
straining his left hamstring on opening day. Acta said Guzman
didn't want to give in to the latest injury.
"It's not right. His thumb can go all the way back," Acta
said. "It's a freaky thing. [Surgery] was the right decision. The
kid was torn emotionally. He was destroyed, basically. Because he
had two rough seasons over here and finally he's playing great and
being a big part of this team. That was the first thing out of his
mouth: 'I want to play through this."'
Acta moved center fielder Brandon Watson into the leadoff spot
for Monday night's game against the Atlanta Braves. Felipe Lopez
moved from second base to shortstop and Ronnie Belliard moved into
the lineup at second.
"We just didn't want to disturb too many things in the
lineup," Acta said.
Washington purchased the contract of infielder D'Angelo Jimenez
from Triple-A Columbus on Monday to fill Guzman's roster spot.
Starting pitcher Shawn Hill had a cortisone shot in his right
elbow during a visit to Dr. James Andrews on Monday. Acta said no
structural damage was found, and Hill is expected to be cleared to
throw in about 10 days.