Baker says report regarding Harper's shoulder is "inaccurate"

MIAMI - Nationals manager Dusty Baker declared before Tuesdays game that an article written by Sport Illustrated's Tom Verducci on right fielder Bryce Harper's shoulder causing problems in his swing was not accurate. Baker also said his quote about Harper's shoulder causing lingering issues was taken out of context.

"The story is inaccurate," Baker said. "They asked me about his shoulder problem before. I said exactly that, we gave him four or five days off. I don't even know how long ago that was, six weeks ago? They said he was playing shallow because he couldn't throw the ball; that's totally inaccurate. I don't know where they got that from. I know they had some quotes behind me on that, but I was talking about the past, I wasn't talking about the present. I don't know how it came out.

"That was inaccurate reporting. Bryce said that it didn't come from him. Nobody knows where it come from because it's not on the injury report. Our trainer said no. We treated that shoulder already in the past. And if I did make a mistake, it was in his neck, which is connected to the shoulder."

Baker said the neck has been an issue for Harper, and obviously that part of his body is close to his shoulder.

"It was in his neck, but at that time he couldn't throw," Baker said. "It's connected to the same thing. You can't have one without the other. You've seen him throw. He's throwing pretty good. If he had a shoulder problem, Bo Porter wouldn't have held up the runners four or five times in Atlanta and that was just three days ago."

Baker said Harper's shoulder is fine because he is still swinging quite a bit, but most of his pregame batting practice is done in the cage away from the public who watch the players warm up on the field.

"He's been hitting a lot. He's been hitting a lot extra in the cage," Baker said. "What I did say is I felt that his balance was off and that's my opinion. I'm not changing that. I see what I see."

Baker said he believes Monday's "mental day off" for Harper will help tonight. Harper did not speak with the media during pregame clubhouse availability.

"It usually does," Baker said. "We can't afford to have him and Murphy out of the lineup tonight both against this tough guy (Jose Fernandez) tonight. This guy is one of the best in the league and he's been hard on us."

Harper is back, but second baseman Daniel Murphy will miss his third straight game with left leg soreness.

"Hopefully, he'll be better tomorrow," Baker updated. "Do you keep nagging that? I didn't even want to hit him last night really. I asked Murph, 'Are you OK to hit?' I could tell he was OK to hit because he was walking up and down with a bat and getting his psych on. Murph's a legs hitter, a legs fielder.

"Everything he does is with his legs more than almost anybody. That's why I've tried to give him days off in between to give his legs a rest. Depends on how this day comes out and if we have to give him another day tomorrow, then that's what we'll do."