It was definitely hard to come back to DC after a baseball and sunshine filled week in Florida. Getting back into the daily work routine has been tough, but knowing that opening day is just 26 days away makes it a little easier.

Watching the four practice days was a great way to catch a glimpse of all the guys, especially the non-roster invitees, most of whom where unfamiliar to me. It was also cool to watch the team concentrate on the basics. The competition for every spot except third base was evident as well. Most of the guys showed a lot of dedication and heart even during those days of just drills.

For me things got exciting when we attended the first spring training game against the Marlins. Seeing Nick Johnson make his 2008 debut at first base was one of the best moments of my trip. When a Marlin hit a pop up down the first base side and Johnson, Belliard, and Dukes all ran for the ball, I held my breath and hoped for the best. Dukes made the catch and no one was hurt. Johnson must have had some scary flash-backs in that moment. The battle for first base isn’t won yet. With Dmitri out due to abdominal soreness for most of our trip, we saw Nick Johnson, Luis Jimenez, and Josh Whitesell start at first. Jimenez was impressive with the bat during BP session and made an unbelievable pop-up catch during Sunday’s Nats/Astro’s game. It’s just a gut feeling, but I think the first base spot will go to Nick.

Starting pitching has been a thorn in the Nats side for a while now. Coming into spring training it looked like the two top starters would be John Patterson and Shawn Hill. Patterson seemed to be throwing well and was energetic during the practice days, but when he threw against the O’s on Saturday something seemed to be missing. I’m still a little skeptical about his position on the starting rotation. Hill on the other hand was impressive during the practice days; no one seemed to be able to get a hit off him. With the results from Hill’s second opinion MRI back, all seems normal, but he is still listed as day to day. It’s disappointing that injuries seem to plague Hill. The young guy has such great stuff; he really deserves a chance to show what he can do. Both Matt Chico and Tim Redding impressed with their first spring training starts. Thanks to their performances last year, these two just might have secured spots on the starting five. John Lannan was equally impressive in his innings of work. He appears composed and confident with his pitches. He’s clearly fighting for a spot. I’d love to see him get it.

With injuries already hindering the team, the catcher’s spot is also a large unknown. While management says Lo Duca is making progress in his rehab, we didn’t seem much of him during our week in Viera. Estrada is currently shut down with elbow tendinitis, no word on when he will be ready. Jesus Flores clearly wants the job. He was working hard every day, taking extra BP and staying after to run sprints. He looks comfortable behind the plate, and is the only catcher on the roster who has worked with the majority of the Nats pitchers. Flores is making a case for himself with the bat also; he knocked out a couple of singles last week and hit a monster of a triple on Saturday. I’m still not convinced that having him spend the season in Harrisburg is what’s best for the team, especially with the status of Lo Duca and Estrada.

A lot of questions still remain and Manny is going to have some tough decisions to make. One thing is clear, 2008 looks to be an exciting season!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Spring Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.