From Jamie Maclaggan in NB, Canada:
I am heading down in 10 days or so and am just wondering what the practice schedule is like on game days. Also, what time does the park open on game days, etc.?

Mark Zuckerman:
Good one to start off on for all those folks who might be heading down to Florida in the next five weeks. Until the games start March 2, practices are at the Carl Barger Complex, just up the road from Space Coast Stadium. Players begin trickling out for stretching around 9:25 a.m., and the last position players seem to wrap up sometime between 12 and 1 p.m. Once the games start, most of the activity shifts over to the stadium itself, with batting practice getting underway around 10 a.m. for a 1:05 p.m. game. I believe the stadium opens to fans around 11-11:30, but fans who get here early can find a lot of players lingering around outside the stadium at the nearby practice field. Viera is one of the best locations in Florida to get up-close access to major leaguers.

From: thunderstrucknatsfan in Temple Hills, MD:
How does John Patterson look so far? Is he throwing free and easy? Will he be the Opening Day pitcher?

Mark Zuckerman:
It's always tough to make any real evaluations of pitchers when they're only throwing in the bullpens, but so far, Patterson looks fine. He says he's 100 percent healthy after last year's ongoing forearm injury, and best as I can tell, he is. We'll get a better idea of his progress once the games start and he's facing live hitters over multiple innings, but Patterson's importance to this club should not be overstated. He is the one and only starting pitcher assured of a job, and in a rotation with so much uncertainty, he absolutely MUST make 30 starts and pitch 200 innings this season.

From Rachel in Fairfax, VA:
With so many new faces on the team, who can we look for to emerge as a leader on and off the field?
Mark Zuckerman:
Funny you should ask this, Rachel, because the subject just came up this morning with Manny Acta. With no truly experienced, veteran player in the clubhouse, Manny has decided to ask four guys to become a "committee of leaders." Those players are Brian Schneider, Ryan Zimmerman, Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez. All of them say they welcome the added responsibility and genuinely believe they're ready to become leaders. I think it's a smart way to go about this, because with four guys there won't too much pressure on one or two to police the clubhouse. And certain players might respond to and respect certain guys over others.

From John IV in New Carrollton, MD:
Hey Mark, Great job on the Nats Home Plate site. I like it, a lot. so...based on the first few workouts, have any pitchers kinda pulled a little bit ahead of the pack here? Or is everyone still on equal footing until they start throwing to batters? And how realistic of a chance do we have of seeing a Belliard(2b)/Lopez(ss) middle infield?
Mark Zuckerman:
Thanks for the kind words, John. We've been working pretty hard to make this thing happen, and it's nice to know people out there appreciate it. I should also point out that there are plenty of people behind the scenes making this ship run, and they don't get nearly enough credit...
Anyways, it is too early to start ranking any pitchers ahead of the others. Let's wait at least til they start facing live hitters before we proclaim any frontrunners for rotation spots. As far as a Belliard/Lopez combo in the middle infield, I think there's a very reasonable chance it could happen. Cristian Guzman admitted his shoulder isn't 100 percent yet, he had an MRI yesterday and he's restricted from throwing or swinging a bat for 2-3 days. This bears VERY close watching.

From Kevin in Fairfax, VA:
Ronnie Belliard's arrival would seem to spell doom for Tony Batista's chances. Does Dmitri Young's signing likely do the same for Travis Lee?
Mark Zuckerman:
I don't know that Batista had much of a chance even before Belliard was signed the other day. The Nats don't exactly need an aging third baseman with some kid named Zimmerman in the fold for the next decade. I think Belliard's arrival has more of an effect on Josh Wilson, Tony Womack and D'Angelo Jimenez. Barring injury (always possible), it's looking like there won't be a spot for any of those guys now.
As far as first base is concerned, it's basically wide open between Lee, Larry Broadway and Young. Broadway is the preferred choice of the Nats because he's young and could fit into the long-term plan. But if he's not ready for the show just yet, it'll be either Lee or Young (provided the latter gets himself into shape and stays out of trouble).

From Brian in Alexandria, VA:
Have the players at the accelerated minor league spring training got started yet?
Mark Zuckerman:
The 42 players invited to the accelerated camp are taking physicals today and will be on the field tomorrow. For anyone who's planning a trip down here, it would be worth your time to check out the kids. This is where the future of the organization is, at least according to everyone in the front office. Among the guys in the camp are Esmailyn Gonzalez, Chris Marrero, Justin Maxwell, Stephen Englund, Collin Balester, Shairon Martis, Garrett Mock, Colton Willems and Zech Zinicola (just to name a few).

From Nats Fan in Fairfax, VA:
What's your overall impression of the new coaching staff? Is it an upgrade over last year?
Mark Zuckerman:
I've still got a few coaches to meet, so I can't say for sure yet. But I think both Manny and Jim Bowden made a concerted effort to stockpile the coaching staff with a variety of types of guys. Because Manny is a rookie manager, he wanted a veteran bench coach at his side. Pat Corrales fits that description to a T. Because it's going to be a young team, Manny wanted someone with plenty of minor-league experience. Enter third base coach Tim Tolman. Jerry Morales (first base) and Rick Aponte (bullpen) round out the new guys, and don't forget that pitching coach Randy St. Claire and hitting coach Mitchell Page were retained from Frank Robinson's staff (both good moves).

From Jim Taylor in Beaufort, SC:
Having retired from the DC area and relocated to the SC area, I appreciate all the coverage made available via the Net and Nats Home Plate. Truly a godsend. My question is now that Nick Johnson is unsure of returning this season, who do you think will most likely win the 1st base position?
Mark Zuckerman:
As I mentioned before, there are essentially three candidates for the 1B job while Nick is out (and we still don't know how long that will be, that's a whole 'nother story). Larry Broadway is the odds-on favorite because he's young and would seem ready to make the leap after two years at Class AAA. But there are questions about Broadway's readiness, especially after he struggled playing winter ball in Venezuela. So that leaves Travis Lee and Dmitri Young, two veterans. Lee is an outstanding fielder who has never been able to hit consistently in the majors. Young is a raker at the plate but a butcher in the field. For what it's worth, Manny mentioned the other day that he probably would prefer an offensive first baseman over a defensive one.

From Joseph Ward of Washington, DC:
Mark, Belliard over Guzman. That's got to be a no-brainer. How much of a leash does Guzman get?
Mark Zuckerman:
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's a no-brainer, but it certainly raised a few eyebrows when Belliard was signed the other day. For now, Acta is holding firm that Guzman is his starting shortstop. That's assuming he's healthy, which is a shaky assumption at best. The question is whether Manny would bench an unproductive Guzman even if he was healthy. My instinct tells me he would stick with the guy at least for a while, not make a rash decision after only a week or two. But he would probably pull the trigger at some point if he felt like it just wasn't going to happen with Cristian, and Belliard was sitting on the bench just begging to play.

From Brian in MD:
Which outfielders will break camp with the team? Austin Kearns, Nook Logan, Ryan Church seem like locks. Will the Nationals give Alex Escobar and Chris Snelling long looks? What are Darnell McDonald - a former 1st round pick who had a great year in AAA last season - chances of making the squad? Thanks.
Mark Zuckerman:
Yes, Kearns, Logan and Church are all but locks (if only because both Logan and Church are out of minor-league options). Acta reiterated this morning that Church is his left fielder going in, based on Ryan's combined numbers over the past two years. But he also acknowledged that Church needs to prove he can play up here consistently and remain healthy and on the field. Of course, the same could be said for Escobar, a tantalizing prospect for nearly a decade who just can't seem to stay healthy. He's also out of options, so it could be make or break for Alex this spring. And continuing the theme, Snelling has no options, so he must either make the Opening Day roster or risk being lost on a waiver claim. My guess is all five make the team, with McDonald and others getting squeezed out.

From Jeffrey Saffelle in Alexandria, VA:
Mark: When a player like Dmitri Young is signed and put in accelerated Spring Training, what does that exactly mean? And, how short of a leash will Young be on, if he reverts to his personal problems?
Mark Zuckerman:
Wow, Jeffrey, didn't take you long to get from the stadium to a laptop! (It was good to meet you this morning.) ... Accelerated spring training is basically an early version of the minor-league camp. The Nats use this program mostly for their top minor leaguers (42 of them in total) and have them report to Viera several weeks before the rest of the pack does. There are a handful of veterans in there, too, though, including Young and Tony Batista. The reason they're there instead of in big-league camp? Both guys have much to prove, both physically and on the field, before they can be considered candidates for major-league jobs. So they start out with the minor leaguers. That said, I'd expect if Young gets himself into shape, he'll be up with the big boys within a few weeks.

From Barry Prophet in D.C.:
What's your early, early take on Manny Acta? Is he a lot different than Frank Robinson in dealing with the media on a daily basis and are the pitcher/catcher workouts more difficult than in the past two seasons?
Mark Zuckerman:
Let me first say that it was an absolute treat covering Frank the last two seasons, the best experience I've had in this business so far. The amount of time he gave us beat writers and the respect he had for us were tremendous. Manny, though, is going to be a media darling in Washington. He may be a first-time major-league manager, but he's an accomplished public speaker and he gets how it works. His morning media sessions so far have been both informative and funny, and his players are responding incredibly well to him, too. I have no idea what kind of manager he'll be once he gets in the dugout, but in the clubhouse and in front of microphones, he's already at the top of the game.

Folks, we're going to have to wrap things up now. We're about to get an update on Cristian Guzman's MRI from team doctor Ben Shaffer, so I have to get running. Thanks to everyone who sent questions in, and sorry to those who I wasn't able to get around to. I'll try to save those for future Nats Mailbags and answer them in due time. Thanks again!