CINCINNATI — The time has come, 24 hours later than expected, 168 days since their 2017 season ended at the hands of the Chicago Cubs. The Nationals’ 2018 season begins Friday afternoon in Cincinnati. They have a new manager, a superstar on the verge of free agency and a bullpen that looks better than it usually does this time of year but still has many questions to answer.
The Nationals won 97 games in 2017, and that wasn’t enough for their manager, Dusty Baker, to keep his job. The rationale ownership provided was that Baker did not get them to take the next step in the playoffs, and they needed someone who could. That reasoning does not allow Dave Martinez much margin for error in his inaugural season, which will probably start with Adam Eaton stepping into the left-handed batter’s box at Great American Ball Park, with Homer Bailey stepping onto the rubber to face him.
WILL RYAN ZIMMERMAN PLAY?
Ryan Zimmerman played in one spring training game. One. Everyone, including Zimmerman, was adamant that he is fully healthy. Everyone, perhaps except Zimmerman, seemed to think he would make at least a few appearances before the spring was over. He did not.
Because of Zimmerman’s extensive injury history, with injuries large and small, fluky and chronic, any suspicion about his health is justified. Until he appears on the Opening Day lineup card, everyone will wonder. But no one within the Nationals clubhouse seems to be wondering much at all, expecting the 33-year-old first baseman to be there Friday afternoon.
If he is in that lineup, the question shifts to his readiness. Multiple evaluators who saw Zimmerman hit in minor league games this spring said he looked better than ever, healthy and powerful. But minor league pitching is not major league pitching, and for a hitter with a swing as complex as his, as dependent on rhythm as his, any major shift in pitching quality could require an adjustment period. Additionally, while his teammates hit live pitching as recently as Tuesday in their exhibition game loss to the Twins, Zimmerman has not hit in a game since Sunday. Perhaps he will come out firing, fresh and energized. If he doesn’t, questions will swirl.
WHAT WILL THE LINEUP LOOK LIKE?
In part because of Zimmerman’s absence, in part because of the tinkering Martinez did in spring training, the Nationals have yet to see their entire projected lineup materialize as Martinez intends it. All along, the plan has been to have Eaton lead off with Trea Turner behind him — and presumably Bryce Harper behind them. But Turner hit sixth in the exhibition game lineup, and Martinez has said he likes Turner lower in the order, where he can serve as a pure hitter. Will he drop him lower Friday? What will the middle of the order look like? And will Martinez hit Scherzer last, or move him up to eighth? Will Matt Wieters hit eighth? Where does Michael A. Taylor fit?
[ Dave Martinez batted the pitcher eighth in a spring training game. Will it become a habit? ]
All these questions will be answered Friday, though Martinez seems willing to keep things fluid. Mike Rizzo has, as a rule, not made any mandates to his managers about what their lineups look like — though he is willing to discuss them after the fact. But this will be Martinez’s decision, all the way — at least until, for some reason, “discussion” is warranted.
HOW WILL THE NATIONALS HANDLE THE RUNNING GAME?
The Reds feature one of the most prolific basestealers in baseball in Billy Hamilton, the speedy outfielder who has stolen at least 55 bases in each of the past four seasons. Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez have track records that suggest they can keep Hamilton off the bases. But should they prove unable to do so, one of the Nationals’ softest defensive spots — their catchers’ ability to control the running game — could be on display.
Matt Wieters allowed the third-most stolen bases of any catcher in baseball last season. Should Miguel Montero play Sunday to spell Wieters, his recent résumé is no better. In fact, Chicago released Montero when Turner ran all over the Cubs in a four-game series last season. Montero’s bat seems to have withstood the test of time; the 34-year-old’s throwing arm has not.
Scherzer is a stickler about holding runners, so much so that his start-day warmup includes a session of standing and holding the ball for long stretches, just to get used to the feeling. But if Hamilton and the Reds take advantage of the Nationals’ catchers in the opening series of the season, other teams will likely try to do so in future series.
PITCHING PROBABLES
Friday: RHP Homer Bailey vs. RHP Max Scherzer
Saturday: RHP Luis Castillo vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg
Sunday: RHP Sal Romano vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez
Read more on the Nationals:
Washington Nationals 2018 season preview
Max Scherzer, healthy and locked in for Nationals’ Opening Day, makes it clear: ‘I’m ready’
Nats could have sold high on Michael A. Taylor but instead bet on an upward trend
Enjoy the ride, because these Nats might be as good as they’re going to get
Buster Olney and MLB execs think Harper will sign with the Nats or Phillies
Bryce Harper is about to step into the storm that’s been brewing his entire life
Almost everyone picks the Nats to win the division. As for the playoffs …
