Cla Meredith hurt again, Chien-Ming Wang pushed back

Reliever Cla Meredith's hard-luck spring continued today. Last week, he cut short his first bullpen session after he felt a sharp pain in his elbow, which had been operated on last October in order to remove bone chips. Meredith was supposed to throw off the mound for the first time since yesterday, but a small tweak in his back pushed him back to today.

But then Meredith suffered another setback. While fielding grounders, he hurt his back again and had to be taken off the field sitting up in a golf cart. The extent of Meredith's latest injury is unknown.

Meredith, a side-winding right-hander who pitched for the Orioles last season, is trying to make the Nationals on a minor league contract. His rough beginning isn't his fault, but it certainly won't help.

Meanwhile, the Nationals also pushed back Chien-Ming Wang's next live batting practice session, which was supposed to happen today, until tomorrow. Wang in no way experienced any kind of physical setback. Saturday just lines up with when the Nationals have him scheduled to pitch in his first game, which will likely come against a team of minor leaguers from the Nationals' accelerated camp.