Good afternoon, everyone! (At least for those of you on the East Coast. Out here in sunny San Diego, it's still 11 a.m. Do I really have to leave town tomorrow? In case you hadn't figured it out, I kind of like this place.) Anyways, the Nats will be looking for their first series victory of the season tonight, with rookie Matt Chico (a SoCal boy) trying to outpitch the Padres' Clay Hensley and then hoping the Washington offense can cobble together some hits for a change. That wasn't the case last night in a 3-0 loss. Three measly hits off Chris Young, ruining an effective outing by Shawn Hill (who was far more down on himself than he probably should have been).

We've got plenty of questions to get to, so let's get started. Send your queries in by clicking on the above link or e-mail me directly at natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com. ...

Q: Brian Schneider is really struggling at the plate, and Jesus Flores has looked pretty good the few times he's played. Any chance the kid could start getting more playing time, maybe even a platoon with Schneider? Seems like a waste to just have him sitting on the bench. -- Dylan Murphy, Arlington

A: Nope, not any time soon. The question was posed to Manny Acta yesterday morning, and his answer was pretty definitive: "We're happy with his progress, but 20 at-bats don't tell you the story. It's only a month. He's not here to platoon."

That said, the Nationals are very pleased with the 22-year-old Flores, who was taken in the Rule 5 draft after never playing above Class A. He's a definite keeper, and one NL scout recently told me he thinks the guy could be a future All-Star. But they don't want to overexpose him up here. The last thing you'd want to do is mess with his progress.

Q: With the obvious lack of offense, what are the chances of bringing up Tony Batista? He is hitting at Class AAA and a few years ago he led the Expos in RBIs. It appears the guy can hit. He could replace Josh Wilson. Supposedly Batista can play third and second. With Guzman back, we have two shortstops so we do not need Wilson. -- Michael, Westport, Conn.

A: Batista has indeed been playing well at Columbus (hitting .299 with five homers and 21 RBI at last check), but I'm just not sure it makes a lot of sense to bring him up to Washington. He's really only capable of playing third base, and last time I checked the Nationals have some guy named Zimmerman clogging up that spot.

Plus, my recollection from covering Batista is that he's the kind of player who is very streaky and needs to get consistent at-bats to produce. That wouldn't happen if he was sitting on the bench and only coming in to pinch-hit once a game.

Hiya everyone, and a pleasant good afternoon to you from Miller Park in Milwaukee. It's a beautiful day for a ballgame, currently the top of the fourth with the Nats and Brewers still scoreless. Nice work so far by Jason Bergmann and Claudio Vargas (who you may or may not remember from his four appearances in Washington in 2005). Plenty of stuff to talk about, so if you didn't get your fill of Nats news from Barry Svrluga's just-completed live chat, hop on over here and get my take on things. As always, click on the above link to submit your questions, or just e-mail them directly to natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com. Please remember to include your hometown along with your name. Let's get started...

Hi folks, sorry we're a few minutes late today. Pesky traffic coming into RFK. Let's get right to your questions...

Hello Nats fans, and greetings from Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. Why is "Ball Park" two words here and only one everywhere else? Ask and ye shall learn. That, plus other pressing questions are on the way, so send your best brain-stumpers to natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com or click on the above link to get in touch. Let's get going...

Q: Why does Nook Logan persist on trying to bat from the left side? It occurs to me that with his average so much higher from the right, he would have a greater probability of reaching first by batting right.

-- Michael, Westport, Conn.

A: It's a valid question, given Logan's colossal struggles from the left side of the plate during his career (.252 vs. right-handed pitchers, .314 vs. left-handers).

Logan clearly has a better stroke from the right side. But the Nationals have been reluctant to ask Nook to make the change, and he believes he can still do it from the left side (particularly when he wants to bunt). And his recent performance actually suggests he might be starting to get it. Logan is hitting a surprising .292 from the left side of the plate this season and only .261 from the right side. Aberration or sign of change? Too early to tell.

Q: Why couldn't Saturday night's game (played in a downpour) have just been suspended with two outs in the top of the ninth and resumed Sunday afternoon? I thought baseball changed the rules this year to allow for situations like that.

--Neal, Gaithersburg

A: Baseball did change its suspended-game rule before the season, but Saturday night's game didn't qualify. Rule 4.12 (a) now stipulates that a game can be suspended and resumed on a later date if the minimum 4.5 innings have been played and the score is tied or the visiting team took the lead in the top of the inning. Because the Nationals were losing 8-6 when it started pouring at Busch Stadium, the umpires had to call for the tarp, then either resume play that night or end the game right there.

Good afternoon everyone from warm and sunny RFK Stadium. The Nats returned home last night after a highly successful road trip to Cincinnati and St. Louis ... and promptly laid an egg against the Dodgers. 10-0 loss. No reason to rehash that one anymore. Let's look ahead to the rest of the homestand, plus next week's draft. Send your questions in to natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com, or just click on the above link. Let's get going...