Written by Gabe Lacques at USA Today.com
Bryce Harper’s left knee did not succumb in the waning, rain-swept hours of Saturday evening. Nor did the very real World Series hopes of his Washington Nationals.
Yet even as Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo declared Sunday morning that Harper suffered only a “significant bone bruise,” and no structural damage to his knee in an ugly engagement with the first base bag the night before, the unique challenge facing Harper and the Nationals became evident.
Harper faces a tight, but manageable window to return for the final days of the regular season, playoffs and, hopefully, the World Series.
The Nationals, meanwhile, will have about a month to integrate nearly an entire lineup of infirm players from the disabled list.
For a team running away with their division, and facing six weeks of what could largely be meaningless baseball, they will not lack for drama.
Now, much of it will revolve around Harper.
He insisted on testing his knee only moments after his injury Saturday, performing his own stress tests in the clubhouse and figuring, “If it buckles, it buckles.” He then stayed up deep into the early hours of Sunday morning to undergo an MRI and learn the results.
The verdict: He can still have it all — a playoff run, a World Series berth, perhaps a second NL Most Valuable Player award.
Sunday afternoon, between games of the Nationals’ doubleheader with the Giants, Harper let loose on all of the above, and more.
“The World Series is definitely on my mind,” Harper said after the Nationals’ 4-2 loss to San Francisco. “Playoffs, things like that.
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