Wednesday: Nationals = Fitness! and more...

Better than last time: Santana showed some serious change-up Wednesday versus the Dodgers.

Just catching up on all things baseball and cleaning out the TiVo.

--Dodgers/Nationals - Tues (split squad - Nomar/Andruw/Ethier headlining)
--Dodgers/Mets - Today (Santana starts after his dismal debut/Penny starts for dem Blues)

Don't forget!! Dodgers v. Red Sox on ESPN at 1p EST/10a PST on Thursday!

Top 5:

1. Andre Ethier, competing for a spot in the Dodger outfield with Kemp/Pierre, smokes what would have been a 400+ foot dinger to right into a 20 mph gale against the Nats. Impressive power off of a left-hander, no?

2. The Nationals boasted some meat last year. So, I was intrigued to hear the MASN broadcasters saying the team was "in better shape than last year". They bolstered their case by pointing to Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young, pictured here in a photo taken days ago. Eh.




3. We all know base coaches are being prodded into wearing hard hats this year for their safety -- this in the wake of a liner killing a base coach in AA last year. Seemingly counter to this, MLB will also force base coaches to stay within the coach boxes this year, putting them 10 or so feet closer to the plate than they often stand. Chances this will actually be enforced seem low.

4. J. Santana punches out Andruw Jones with a wicked change-up on the outside corner, putting the slugger out in front and awk-ward...on March 5?!? I can't flippin' wait for the season to start. (He followed that up by doing the same exact thing to Andy LaRoche, the guy fighting for a job at 3rd who might end up getting the bump for...2003 Tiger Alum Brandon Inge??)

5. Diving attempt by Brady Clark, bubble left fielder for the New York Metropolitans, on a double to left-center by Dodger backup catcher Gary Bennett. As the SNY announcing team said:

"If that was a veteran, you're not getting a dive in March. If you're wearing #93 in camp, you're going flat out."

FUKUDOME WATCH:

Our hero breaks out on Tuesday with three hits and his first !SLAM-A-LAM-A-DING-DONG! (home run) in the MLB ranks. Booyah!

But then he didn't play today. :(