Rick

Short

The homer was the first of his major league career. Short hasn’t been playing even with Jose Vidro out, so he’s not going to have any value.

The 32-year-old Short finished up at .386/.459/.574 in 373 AB for New Orleans. He’s another option at second base if Jose Vidro is done, but it’s likely that he’ll be used primarily as a pinch-hitter.

Jamey Carroll replaced him at second base.

Deivi Cruz also had two hits and an RBI. Hector Carrasco, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch, Gary Majewski and Chad Cordero combined on the shutout of San Francisco.

Short will be iffy for the start of spring training. It seemed the Nationals were leaning toward carrying him on their 40-man roster and letting him compete for a job in March, but this may tip the scales the other way.

He’s 32 years old and the Nationals want to find out if he’ll play a part in their lineup next year. ''Let’s see what has kept this guy where he’s been,’' Frank Robinson said. ''Is he a usable part for next year?’' At best, he’s a 25th man.

''I don’t see him being back from this in the short period of time that’s left,’' Nationals manager Frank Robinson said. ''It’s too bad.’' Jamey Carroll and Deivi Cruz will get what playing time Jose Vidro doesn’t at second base.

We wonder what Brendan Harris did to upset the Nationals when he was in the majors. The 32-year-old Short will be making his major league debut after hitting .341/.414/.514 in 51 games for the Zephyrs.

We’d still rather see Brendan Harris up to get at-bats at second base, but it is nice that the 32-year-old Short is getting a chance to make his major league debut. He’s probably not going to hang around for long.

Short, who had a pinch-hit single yesterday in his lone appearance for the Nationals, will likely go unclaimed. The Twins could use him for a few days, but they’ll probably just make do with what they have until Nick Punto and Luis Rivas return.