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Nationals notebook Date published: 4/26/2008
BY RICH CAMPBELL WASHINGTON --The minor-league portion of Bret Boone's comeback attempt is indefinitely on hold, according to Bob Boone, Bret's father and the Nationals' assistant general manager.Bret, a three-time all-star, hasn't played for Triple-A Columbus since April 17, and is currently on the temporary inactive list. Bob Boone said Bret left Columbus, returned home and is waiting to see if he can land a spot on a major-league roster. "He's not going to play in the minor leagues," Bob said. "He's going to play in the big leagues if he can get a job." Bret, 39, ended a two-year retirement and signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Feb. 18. He was promoted to major-league camp five days later, but he returned to minor-league camp on Mar. 21. After he first signed with Washington, Bret said he would retire if he didn't make a major-league team out of spring training. However, he changed his mind and accepted the assignment to Triple-A, saying that he needed more time to determine whether he could play at the major-league level. In 13 games for Columbus, Bret hit .261 (12-for-46) with eight RBIs and 11 strikeouts. "Certainly, to himself, it was successful," Bob said. "He proved to himself that he could play at the major-league level. Now it's whether anybody else believes that or not. "I'd probably rather have him be playing now, but he's just not going to do that. I don't know. You never can tell. Somebody goes down somewhere and a team has a need, he could possibly get a chance." Nationals general manager did not respond to an inquiry about Bret's future with the organization. But it appears his minor-league days are over. Said Bret's brother, Aaron, an infielder for the Nationals: "I just think he wasn't going to play down there forever." Kearns kept out Right fielder Austin Kearns was not in the starting lineup yesterday for the first time this season. He began the day hitting .193 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. He singled in a pinch-hit at-bat in the ninth and scored on Wil Nieves' walk-off home run. "I'm not upset or anything," Kearns said. "It's just a little blow, I guess. I don't look into it any more than that."
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