at explaining that he had not been involved in the selection process.I have long wondered about the effect of exclusion on a cricketers psyche

MILWAUKEE -- Jordan Zimmermann put on a pretty good show for his family and friends in the stands. The Auburndale, Wis., native earned his career-high 13th win and Bryce Harper hit a home run and the Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 on Friday. "You always want do to well in your home state and in front of your family and friends," he said. "I was happy to put up some zeroes, get the month of July over with and into a new month." Zimmermann (13-6) was 12-8 in 2012 after 32 starts. Fridays victory came in his 22nd start. He went six innings, struck out four, but walked a season-high four. "Every inning, there was a double or a walk and a guy would steal a base," Zimmermann said. "There he sat on second with no outs, but I was able to get a few ground balls and some easy outs when I needed them." He worked out of jams in the first and third innings, each time stranding Rickie Weeks at third. The Brewers finished 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. "It wasnt that much pressure," Zimmermann said. "I just needed a good start after the last three or four I had that were just brutal. It was nice to go out there, go six and put up zeroes. We got the win. That was the main thing." Washington scored a run in the fifth off Alfredo Figaro (1-3). Harper made it 2-0 in the sixth with his 16th homer of the season. "Thats just Harp," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "I expect stuff like that out of Harp. He had a good game." Anthony Rendon singled home a run in the seventh. With runners at the corners, Harper added a run when he reached on an error by second baseman Weeks that allowed Denard Span to score in the ninth. Jonathan Lucroy spoiled the shutout when he hit the first pitch from Tyler Clippard in the eighth for a solo home run. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 27th save. Ian Desmond doubled over centre fielder Carlos Gomezs head in the fifth. With Span batting, Desmond stole third and then scored when third baseman Jeff Bianchi failed to field the throw from Lucroy. "We made some mistakes again today," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Desmonds steal hurt us. You get behind, you get behind on these guys and if go into the ninth inning and you have to score three runs to tie it, it makes it tough. Really we gave them a couple of runs. We need to play better." Jayson Werth went 3 for 4 with two singles and a double for Washington. Figaro was in the game because starter Tom Gorzelanny left in the second inning after being hit on the left wrist by a line drive. Werth led off the second with a sharp liner right back at the left-hander as he completed his follow-through. At first it appeared the ball struck Gorzelanny on the wrist and then rolled toward the third-base line. He raced after the ball holding his left arm, but made no effort to pick it up. Gorzelanny was examined by the teams training staff and was removed from the game. He was replaced by Figaro. The club said that Gorzelanny has a left elbow contusion. X-rays were negative. "Its a contusion of the left elbow," Roenicke said. "Its day to day. Well see how he is tomorrow. Hopefully, and for us, obviously, he can make his next start, but Im not sure." Its been a tough week for Brewers starters. Yovani Gallardo left Tuesdays game against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning with a strained left hamstring. He went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. NOTES: Spin Williams, the Nationals minor-league pitching co-ordinator, took the place of pitching coach Steve McCatty, who did not make the trip. McCatty became ill on Sunday just before the game with the New York Mets. Williams said the two are in constant communication about the pitching staff. McCatty is expected back for Mondays home game against the Atlanta Braves. ... Zimmermann made his fourth career start against the Brewers. ... It was Figaros third straight relief appearance after four consecutive starts. ... The game started at 7:29 instead of the normal 7:10. The Brewers honoured Hall of Famer Robin Yount on the 20th anniversary of his retirement. ... The Nationals are 13-1 this season when Harper hits a home run.Randy Johnson Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Joe Morgan Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/ . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Roy Oswalt Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Hector Rondon Jersey . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria.The most miserable experience of your cricket career would be touring abroad with the Indian team and not getting to play a single match. The man who spoke these words had kept wicket in all of Indias five Tests in the West Indies in 1971.I had got into the star-studded SBI team when P Krishnamurthy was touring the West Indies, and when I first met him on his return to Hyderabad, after Indias first series win in the Caribbean, he was brimming with confidence. Happily for me, he had liked what he saw of my bowling and lent me great support in my quest for a regular place in the team as an offspinner.But this was five years later, and Murthy was no longer quite the impressive wicketkeeper he had been as a member of Ajit Wadekars triumphant team. In fact, after his debut series he never played another Test match, with first Farrokh Engineer and later Syed Kirmani replacing him in the XI. He was part of the squad that went on tours of New Zealand and West Indies in 1975-76, and he barely got a game on either trip.A similar fate befell young Karnataka batsman Sudhakar Rao, who had impressed the selectors with a double-century against Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy. He never played Test cricket for India despite scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket.Murthy had been specific about the loneliness and travails of an Indian cricketer on tour if he wasnt in the playing XI, but I wonder if it could be very different for players of other nationalities, unless the team management handles the situation differently--with tact and genuine understanding of the players psychology.I think Murthy felt left out and unwanted during the long tour, and that was perhaps the failure of the tour management. When the India Under-19 team won the World Cup in 2000, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Arjun Yadav did not get a single game as the team kept winning every round and there was no scope for changes. The youngsters must have been treated very well during the championship because they came back quite cheerful. Winning of course helps, and I believe much of team spirit is fostered by the habit of winning rather than the other way around.Is your loyalty to the team tested when you are regularly kept out and unfairly so, at least in your mind? How difficult is it to keep up your morale and enjoy the success of your team and the company of your team-mates? Well-managed teams seem to prove successful in keeping the reserve players in good mental and physical shape. The captain and coach play vital roles in this.The Indian team in recent times has been quite effective in this regard if you go by the way players like Amit Mishra managed to stay positive enough while on the reserve bench and made the best use of their chances, however belated.A spectacular example from recent history has been that of Ajinkya Rahane, who waited for 16 Tests as a reservve before making his Test debut.dddddddddddd This was a tribute as much to the players sterling mental qualities as to the way the management must have handled him.I had a personal taste of loneliness during the 1975-76 domestic season, when as a member of the South Zone squad, I sat out one tour game against Sri Lanka, followed by a Duleep Trophy game and a Deodhar Trophy match, both against Central Zone. We were 16 of us, and everyone except me played at least one match for the zone in that fortnight or so. Some of the seniors were not very kindly disposed towards me, and I felt rather low in spirits, when, as 12th man for the one-day match, I was told I would carry drinks but fellow reserve Kirmani would replace an injured fielder. Sure enough someone got injured, but there was no sign of Kirmani. I ran on to the field only to be called back frantically as by now Kiri was charging on to the ground. On my way back, a spectator in the pavilion gave me a dirty look and called me a bastard with unmistakable venom. I did not know this guy from Adam, but I will recognise him any time anywhere, even though the incident took place 40 years ago. My mood did not exactly brighten when I received the news that I had been dropped for the Duleep and Deodhar finals.I experienced yet another low when I was the only player among 33 in an Indian probables camp at Chepauk not to be picked for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, the unofficial trial before the 1977 tour of Australia. The South Zone team had been picked at the ground where we were training, and I felt as if I had been slapped.To come back to my ethical question: was my loyalty to my team tested? It came pretty close, but in the first instance, my Bangalore room-mates, Narasimha Rao and Jyotiprasad, not to mention our daily visitor, a diminutive genius named GR Viswanath, kept my spirits up with their unstinting friendship. In the second, young wicketkeeper Bharath Reddy brought the South Zone skipper S Venkataraghavan to my hotel room, and they both consoled me, with Venkat explaining that he had not been involved in the selection process.I have long wondered about the effect of exclusion on a cricketers psyche and the damage it can do to morale, team spirit and loyalty. I know my late friend Krishnamurthy was quite a wreck after a couple of long, lonely tours, at a time when we had less understanding of such troubles as depression. At the same time, I feel such factors as resilience, the comfort you can draw from the kind words of your colleagues, and the caring guidance of coaches and mentors can all help a player stay in the fight. Indian cricket seems to be faring quite well in this aspect of management - a healthy development in its history. ' ' '