Regeln » hings I discussed with Jos were two things

WASHINGTON -- Yes, that was Bryce Harper, not a mirage, in the Washington Nationals clubhouse, ready to return from the disabled list. Manager Davey Johnson wanted to be sure. "I went in there and said, Is that really you? Are you OK? Are you ready to go?" Johnson said. "He shook my hand and said Im ready. It seemed like I hadnt seen him in half a year. It seems that long." The 20-year-old sparkplug of a slugger was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list Monday, following his recovery from a knee injury that stemmed from a collision with the Dodger Stadium fence. Harper missed 31 games with bursitis, diagnosed after he reinjured the left knee several times after he kept trying to play for two weeks following the mishap in Los Angeles on May 13. He pronounced himself fit after going 4 for 11 with a double, a triple and a home run during a four-game rehab assignment last week with Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg. "A little swelling, but not much," Harper said. "Nothing to be cautious about. I feel good, and its to the point where I want to play." Harper said he will wear padding to protect the knee. He was in the starting lineup, batting third and playing left field for the homestand opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Nationals were 25-19 when Harper played, 16-21 when he didnt. That added up to a middling 41-40 mark at the halfway point for a consensus preseason pick to repeat as NL East champions. He was batting .287 with 12 homers and 23 RBIs when he went on the DL. "Not only his bat, but I think the energy he brings, he takes a lot of the focus and hes a competitor," Johnson said. "Just to have that 20-year-old energy running around 100 per cent, Im sure hes still probably going to run into the wall, Im sure hes going to dive headfirst. ... I dont want to put a damper on that. Thats who he is, and thats how he plays the game, and thats great." The return of Harper was the last thing the struggling Brewers needed. Milwaukee arrived in Washington on a five-game losing streak. "Well see after the series how bad of a break it is. ... What it does is it adds a guy who can drive the ball out of the ballpark," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He can hit any pitch, and you have to be really careful with how you pitch him." Harpers return puts Johnson closer to the lineup envisioned at the start of the year, except that Anthony Rendon has replaced the demoted Danny Espinosa at second base. All thats left is for catcher Wilson Ramos to return from a left hamstring injury. Ramos was scheduled to catch seven innings at Potomac on Monday and could return to the major league club as early as Thursday. Johnson moved Rendon from second to seventh in the batting order to create a left-right-left-right-left top of the order consisting of Denard Span, Jayson Werth, Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche. "Its all about matchups late in the ballgame that you want to create," Johnson said. NOTES: Johnson said LHP Ross Detwiler had a good bullpen session Monday and is on pace to start Wednesday as scheduled. Detwiler had stiffness in his lower back after his last start. ... The Nationals optioned RHP Erik Davis to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Harper. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Fake NFL Jerseys Wholesale . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. https://www.fakenfljerseys.com/ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Fake NFL Jerseys Discount . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Fake NFL Jerseys China . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Toto Wolff said his controversial phone call to Jos Verstappen was supposed to be a private chat between racing enthusiasts and was not intended as advice or a warning to pass on to Max Verstappen.The Mercedes boss called the Red Bull drivers father ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix and discussed the possible ramifications of Verstappen damaging the chances of title protagonists Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg at one of the remaining rounds. But Wolff said the phone call was never meant to be made public and that the content of the call has been taken out of context in the media.This thing is really blown out of proportion, he said. I dont think even Lewis and Nico care, and they dont expect him [Verstappen] to race in any way differently to before, and thats why they will not change their approach [either]. In the same way, this wasnt meant as advice for Max, its just that two racing enthusiasts had a private discussion that has been dragged out in the public.It is a complete non-story for me. I had a really nice conversation with Jos like I have had many nice conversations in the past about many things like driving, young drivers and on everything including his daughter and karting, Ive had him for dinner at my house! So whats all that nonsense?Asked whether he felt Verstappen should back off around the Mercedes drivers, Wolff added: Ill tell you what I said: I think he is a great driver who has incredible skill and is refreshing as a character. He is spontaneous and intelligent. OOutside of the Red Bull team I am a really big fan and he is just what the doctor ordered in Formula One.dddddddddddd I think that a lot of positive stuff in Formula One is created around headlines and the last thing I want is to change his approach because it is important for Formula One.I didnt say that he should move out of the way or to race in a different way, the things I discussed with Jos were two things: First of all I felt, unfortunately for Max, there was a negative spin in some of the media around his driving, which I said was unjustified in my eyes and that I felt it needed to be counter-steered somehow.I did it only out of sympathy for Max and Jos and nothing else, and I think that him [Jos] being at the race was an important factor and it was the set-up of the Verstappen family for 20 years. Thats why Jos being present was, I think, important for Max. It was a personal opinion, not as someone from Mercedes, and just a personal conversation I would have with him regularly. And he acknowledged it. Number two was that there are two races to the end and if an accident would happen it would add to the negative spin from the media, which could be avoided. It was just to consider that this is not as important for Max as it is for the other two and we are in a very fortunate position that whoever wins is going to be a Mercedes driver so it was out of sympathy for Max. ' ' '