When Michael Morse was first experiencing lat discomfort, the word was that he might have to miss one day, two days max. It was nothing. This was in spring training, and Morse looked like he'd be fine come opening day. Given that, it's kind of remarkable the way this has blown up.

Morse went on the disabled list to open the season. During a rehab assignment, he seemed to aggravate the injury. He got tested, the test results were reviewed, and now look at what Morse and the Nationals are dealing with:

Michael Morse will be shut down for six weeks. Aggravated his lat injury by throwing. Rest now, then ramp up. Full timetable indefinite.

— Amanda Comak (@acomak) April 12, 2012

Six weeks of inactivity. Morse isn't out for another six weeks. Morse isn't active for another six weeks. Then he'll need to build back into shape, provided the injury heals the way everyone wants it to. We're looking at one heck of a timetable.

It's a big blow for a Nationals team that's missing Morse's presence in the middle of the lineup. Somehow a Mark DeRosa/Xavier Nady platoon doesn't quite strike the same amount of fear. Maybe if this were 2008. In 2008, DeRosa had a 117 OPS+, and Nady had a 127 OPS+. Fantastic! It's not 2008. DeRosa and Nady so far are a combined 5-for-28 with five singles.