Yesterday was the first practice (Florida Today) of the spring for the full squad. Manager Manny Acta is pleased that some many position players were around before they were due to report. T(h)om Loverro of The Wash. Times is excited about Acta.
Acta has named Brian Schneider, Ryan Zimmerman, Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez clubhouse leaders (The Wash. Times & The Free Lance-Star). They all had their reasons for not asserting themselves last year, something Acta wants to avoid. Kearns says he is much more comfortable (Florida Today) (how about 17.5 million times more comfortable) this spring. Overall, Acta is pleased with the commitment (Florida Today) of the team.
Larry Broadway is profiled again, this time by The Post.
The Nats are looking at Matt Chico (The Free Lance-Star) more closely than any of the other 144 pitchers in camp.
SS Cristian Guzman has tendinitis and won’t be throwing or swinging a bat for a while. I think I speak for the fanbase when I say “take your time Cristian, we don’t want you hurting your shoulder again.” Yesterday’s MRI revealed Guzman’s shoulder is “structurally sound.”
Thomas Boswell of The Post sees optimism in camp this year, especially from P John Patterson who had this to say:
“Last spring the mood of the team was worse than when we were still playing home games in Montreal and Puerto Rico,” said Patterson, staff ace by default. “We finally got a home in ’05, but then [the D.C. Council] couldn’t decide on money for the new stadium so we didn’t know if we were really staying in D.C. or not. Baseball kept delaying, not giving us an owner, not giving us money to re-sign our own players. The games weren’t even on TV. . . . We weren’t on a level playing field. Everything was always ‘ifs, ands and buts.’ It just went on and on and on. It wore you out. I’m sure our fans got sick of it. We did.
“Now, the feeling is entirely different. Manny brought up the differences from last year. You’re playing in the capital of the United States in a top 10 market with a new park coming. If this can’t motivate you, there’s not much that will.”
NATMOSPHERE POST OF THE DAY: Even though Nats320 is at Spring Training, I am going with Distinguished Senators. Here is why:
But if Guzman is fine, as his MRI indicates, he can at least serve as a reminder of what Bowden is capable of. If you ever feel yourself getting a little too happy about the guy, the $4 million worth of chubby, .200-hitting suck standing in the infield will bring you back down to earth.
Exactly.