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The Washington Nationals Thread: The Future is Near!

Riggo#44

By Riggo#44
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Riggo#44

Riggo#44

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DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......*deep breath*........OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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bcl05

bcl05

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Doooooo is one of the most delightful people ever to wear a Nats uniform.  I don't know if he can still pitch, but I'm thrilled that he's going to be around.

 

Cruz is perfect for the after-soto lineup position.  Love these moves.  I'm not sure how good the nats will be, but I think they'll be fun to watch.  

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Dan T.

Dan T.

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This is why I love going to Nats spring training…

 

Josh Bell was on a practice field at first base. Only three of us were watching from a few feet away. And only three other people were on the field - a coach near third, Coach Tim Bogars near Bell, and another guy.  Bell was practicing going to the bag and fielding throws from third.  The coach at third was purposefully throwing bad, short-hop throws.  Bell would hustle to the base, stand tall waiting for the throw, then bend down to field the short hop with a scooping motion, with his glove making an arc starting at the ground and ending up at waist level. (And I’ve seen Ryan Z use that same scooping motion in his day.) He was not having a good  time of it, failing to glove about every third throw.

 

Coach Bogars stops the drill and and goes to Bell. He says to Bell I know you’re standing up tall to give your guy a big target, but with a tall guy like you, when you have to bend low to get to the ball, that movement down messes up your vision on the ball. Better to crouch a bit waiting for the throw, so on a low throw your eyes are lower to track the flight of the ball.  And he gestures his hands up at his eyes to illustrate his point. Then he shows him not to swing his glove up in a sweeping motion, but instead to push the glove toward the ball, thus keeping it low and more along  the plane of the ball’s flight, allowing better odds of catching or at least knocking down the ball.

 

Just a quick 30 second conversation, but it resulted in immediate improvement as the drill continued.

 

And it was cool to be standing just a few feet away and able to listen in on that coaching conversation.  A bit later, we saw them as they were headed to the clubhouse I said to Bogars hey that was a nice bit of coaching back there. He deflected, saying it helps when you have a great pupil.

 

Then my buddy complimented the other coach on being able to always throw short hops during the drill. He joked “just like in my playing days.”


Also it was sunny with a few puffy white clouds, mid-70s, and a gentle breeze.  
 


 

 

 

Edited by Dan T.
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Dan T.

Dan T.

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I can report that Sean Doolittle is in camp.  Beard is intact. 

 

Also, Juan Soto's swing is a thing of beauty. He, Josh Bell, Lane Thomas, Alcides Escobar, and Victor Robles were grouped on a field taking swings. 

 

We just missed a throwing session by Stras... one of the Ballpark staff said he was throwing on the far field, but by the time we got there he was walking off the field and on his way to the clubhouse.

 

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Dan T.

Dan T.

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A couple other tiny little S.T. vignettes, from the Houston Astros side of the facility.  We wandered over there yesterday afternoon.

 

- Dusty Baker was watching batting practice behind one of the cages they set up around the batter's box.  You've seen these cages; they have nylon netting around padded frames, including a padded horizonal bar about chest high.  He's got his arms propped on the frame chatting with a lanky young player I didn't recognize.  The player has his elbow on the frame with his wrist and forearm leaning into the nylon mesh netting.  They are directly behind the batter taking swings.  While he's talking to the young player Dusty reaches out, gently grasps the kid's forearm, and guides it out and away from the netting and down to the padded frame.  In 50 plus years of spring training, I imagine Dusty's seen a lot, including a foul ball rocketing back and cracking the wrist of some guy idly leaning on the netting.

 

- As we're leaving I call out "Hey Dusty, we miss you over on the other side!"  He says "Nah, you got my boy running things over there." (Later I Google Dusty and Davey and read that Davey played for Dusty in SF for a couple of years and viewed him as a mentor of sorts.)

 

- It'll be a little harder hating on Alex Bregman, who wins the award for the star spending the most time signing autographs.  Most guys are obliging for a minute or two, but he really went the extra mile, signing for all the kids for about 10 minutes straight.  It made me think of Ian Desmond, who would come to the rail past the first base line at Nats Park before every home game and sign autographs for 10 to 15 minutes.  And Anthony Rendon did the same after Ian left. 

 

(I was never a big autograph guy.  It is fun to see all the star-struck little kids getting autographs.  But then you get these middle aged men and younger hired guns who are in it for the money, toting bags of balls and binders of trading cards, jostling with the little kids for autographs to then sell for profit.  It just feels a little seedy to see it.)

 

 

 

 

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