Washington Nationals: Spring Training Information

By The Nationals Enquirer
Location: Viera, Florida
Pitchers and Catchers Report: February 15th
First Game: February 28th
Schedule

Projected Lineup

1. Cristian Guzman (SS)
   
2. Lastings Milledge (CF)
   
3. Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
4. Dmitri Young (1B)
5. Austin Kearns (RF)
6. Willy Mo Pena (LF)
7. Paul Lo Duca (C)
   
8. Ronnie Belliard (2B)
   
9. Pitcher

Projected Rotation

1. Shawn Hill (LHP)
2. Jason Bergmann (RHP)
3. John Patterson (RHP)
4. Matt Chico (LHP)
5. Tim Redding (RHP)

Projected Bullpen

Long: Joel Hanrahan, Tyler Clippard
Situational: Luis Ayala, Saul Rivera, Chris Schroeder, Jesus Colome
Setup: John Rauch
Closer: Chad Cordero
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Key Battles: Washington Nationals pitchers and catchers reported to Viera, Florida a year ago with rookie manager Manny Acta staring down one of the biggest piles of sore-armed cast-off pitchers ever assembled in a major league camp. Predictions for the season were dire; the words "historically bad" tossed around by preseason prognosticators; the names of the some of the worst teams of all time invoked for good measure. The 2007 Nationals appeared set to join the ranks of the worst of all time: the '62 Mets. The '03 Tigers. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Predictably, the Nats stumbled out of the gate and looked like a lock to give the worst of all time a run for their money. But then a strange thing happened. Acta righted the ship. Starting pitching stabilized. The bullpen pitched heroically while being run into the ground. The team busted their collective ass for Acta. Da Meat Hook rose from the dead. In the end, not a historically bad team, just a hard-playing but forgettable sub-.500 one.

The 2008 Nationals enter camp with as many questions as last year, if not more. Rather than try and give you all the answers, let's focus on a few question marks.

Starting pitching: Sure, there will be fewer warm bodies (and Jerome Williams) queuing up for a chance at a starting job this spring. But when every statement about the projected starting five of Shawn Hill, Jason Bergmann, John Patterson, Matt Chico, and Tim Redding starts with "If", it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, especially considering the injury-pocked career trajectories of Hill & Patterson. It isn't a stretch to believe reinforcements will arrive early and often, in some combination of Tyler Clippard, John Lannan, Colin Balester, and Garrett Mock. Look for the bullpen to be gassed by July, again. In a nutshell, the big question is: What is this starting rotation going to look like by June?

First base: Dmitri Young vs. Nick Johnson, or Da Meat Hook vs. Nick the Stick. The starting job at first is Young's to lose, but there are lots of questions here. Has Johnson, a lost season removed from a broken leg, finally recovered? Who will show up to camp in worse shape? Will Da Meat Hook keep hitting? If Johnson is healthy, and both guys look good this spring, does Acta go with a platoon? How soon will Johnson be traded to the Yankees?

Babysitting: The Nats swiped Lastings Milledge from the Mets for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church. Milledge arrives with sky's-the-limit potential but baggage and a reputation for being immature. Elijah Dukes arrives via a trade with Tampa Bay with loads of potential but a troubled past and rap sheet a mile long. Can both these guys stay out of trouble? How soon until Dukes shows up in his first police report in the District? Can Milledge live up to his potential? Will Dukes, facing a crowded OF and possibly limited playing time, be given the opportunity to live up to his?

Catcher: Paul Lo Duca signed in December to start and give youngster Jesus Flores another year to develop (most likely in the minors). A few days later, P-Lo was named as a big player in the Mitchell Report. Adding injury to insult, he hurt his knee during a workout in January, which required surgery and an estimated six-week layoff for recovery. Hasn't made a peep in the media since; his arrival in camp will probably be a bit of a circus. Johnny Estrada signed in January as an insurance plan for Lo Duca. He can hit a bit, but has a reputation for being terrible at handling pitchers, which might be the last thing this staff needs. Questions here are: How long will Selig suspend Lo Duca for? How bad is Estrada at handling a pitching staff?

Ryan Zimmerman: Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you '06 rookie of the year runner up Ryan Zimmerman's .266 BA, .330 OBP, 24 HR, 91 RBI 2007 wasn't a sophomore slump – it was. Apparently, Zimmerman has been playing with discomfort for a while; in the off-season he had not one, but two surgeries on a fractured bone in his left wrist. Questions? It was, by all accounts, just routine surgery. Is his wrist fully healed? Is Zimmerman ready to make the leap? There's no need to read into that Aaron Boone signing, right? So why hasn't the front office been able to lock up Zimm to a long term deal? Negotiations to keep Zimmerman in DC for the long haul have stalled.

The New Stadium Effect: The Nationals open the 2008 season in a brand-spanking-new stadium on the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, saying goodbye to crusty old RFK Stadium. We'll spare you the gory details of the drama that went into getting Nationals Park built, but tons of questions abound, let's hit on a few: Will the New Stadium Effect be a big enough draw without a winning team on the field? Oh, and where should people park their cars (at last count, estimates were ~7000 parking spaces short)? Will the renovations on the nearest Metro Station be enough to handle capacity? Then there's the other New Stadium Effect – on the field - how many long fly balls that eventually died in the cavernous outfield at RFK will be HRs in the new park, and will the benefit to the Nats' offense this season (worst in the majors last season) outweigh the detriment to the pitching staff?

With a beautiful new ballpark and a rejuvenated farm system (ranked 9th in the latest rankings by Baseball America), 2008 marks a new beginning for the organization. But we're guessing the 2008 Nationals will turn out to be a lot like the 2007 model: not a historically bad team, just a forgettable sub-.500 one.

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