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va_nats_fan: Manny, the media is reporting that on home dates, the Nationals' infield takes only 16 ground balls -- four apiece -- and when on the road, takes no infield practice at all except on certain occasions. This is contrasted with the Phillies, who are reported to take 250 balls during infield practice. First, is this true? Second, as bad as our defense has been the past two seasons, why are our guys not out there practicing their butts off to get better?

Manny Acta: va_nats_fan, Thanks for the question. I don't think a lot of people are understanding this whole infield subject. I'll try and explain it to you in more detail; the so called "Infield Practice" that I'm describing is before batting practice, in addition to the infield work we do during batting practice, and not what the majority of teams do in preparation for a day's game. In fact, the "Infield Practice" being mentioned is a drill that used to be done by every club back in the days; it started to disappear in the 1980's and currently, almost no team does it. Actually, because of our desire to improve, we are one of the few who still take pre-batting practice - "Infield Practice" - and it is mostly at home, right after our kids stretch and throw.

To give you even more detail, the pre-batting practice Infield Practice is a routine that involves each position fielding and throwing the ball to various bases. Infielders throw to first and turn double plays while outfielders throw to 2nd, 3rd, and home. Now, during batting practice, almost every team in the League does pretty much the same thing; while the three, 20-minute position player groups are hitting, the infielders/outfielders that are not hitting, are taking ground balls or fly balls hit to them by a coach, usually 20 minutes of it. I don't know if you know, but a player gets a ton of work in those 20 minutes. No one player takes 250 ground balls a day. If a player took 250 ground balls a day, they would be too tired to play at a 100% level for a 162 game season. Trust me, before I became the Nats manager, I was the infield instructor for the Expos and the Mets,,and here is the routine we used everyday with Orlando Cabrera and Jose Reyes (two pretty good defensive Infielders): 30 to 50 ground balls a day, no more. You hit some right at them, some to their backhand side and some to their glove side. You ask them to take every ground ball at game speed, and, just like that, you get them focused and ready to play.

ihatewalks: Hi Manny, Thanks for your blog. It is really great to be able to get such a detailed insider's view of how things work. From what you're saying here it sounds like the team takes 20 minutes per home night game for either infield work or fundamentals. Is that right? Wow ... that sounds like a lot less than I would expect a team needs to stay sharp. Judging by the number of errors (both officially and in my scorebook), as well as the fundamental mistakes, and failing to achieve the best results, this team has a lot more to do than just stay sharp. What does "Slick" Nick Johnson do with all his extra time at the Park? What players on this team have stepped up and asked for regularly scheduled additional practice (not just one spot session)? How does this schedule compare to what other teams do? The Phillies are world champions, what is their regular schedule like? And, finally but perhaps most importantly, do YOU think that significant extra work and drills would have an obvious in-game impact? Why or why not?
Thanks Manny ... and GO NATS!

Manny Acta: ihatewalks, First of all, the 20 minutes of infield work before batting practice provides the kids with a ton of ground balls and throws, but don't forget that while they are not hitting during batting practice , they are taking more ground balls and making more throws. The fundamentals are cut-offs and relays, pick off plays, run downs, bunt plays, etc. We pick a different one to focus on during the homestand. Believe me, our players get a ton of reps in 20 minutes.

Two, most of the teams do less than what we do. Actually, very few teams work on fundamentals once they leave their spring training site, while we focus on them constantly. We have to do more because our kids are younger and need more repetition. The Phillies are a very good and experienced team, period. You could work as much as you want with our outfielders and they are not going to turn into Shane Victorino. On the flip side, you could hit as many grounders as you want to Ryan Howard and he is not going to turn into Nick Johnson. Understand that a lot of work goes in before fans are even at the park to see it. We are playing bad defense - no excuses - but, believe me, it is not because of lack of work.

Slick Johnson, comes in and spends time in the training room, gets a massage, plays some cards, and does his early hitting routine. He also stays late, he is a pro.

As for the Phillies are the World Champs because they have a very good team. They've spent years building it up to the level it is today and that's our goal here too.

As I mentioned before, just about every team in the league has the same working schedule, but we do more because we need it more...

Ray: Manny -- Why is Joel Hanrahan the closer? I'm a season ticket holder there night after night and last night I predicted the results of the game the minute I saw Joel warming up. I even predicted his wild pitch. I'm not Kreskin. He just continues to do the same things to fail game after game but yet you keep running him out there. Anyone who has watched the team with any regularity this year knows what's going to happen. I don't want to bash the guy, Joel is a very nice kid, but he's consistent only in his ineffectiveness and if it comes to the point that I, just as a fan, know what's coming, its very sad. Could you please explain your reasoning behind keeping Joel in the closer role? Thanks, Ray

Manny Acta: Ray, We believe that Joel is our best option to close our games; he has struggled, but so has everybody else. He has the stuff to overpower hitters, and he needs to find the confidence to do it. I believe in him and you should too...

Ernie Kyger: It sure seems that we are limited for this season as far as personnel changes going toward improving our bullpen. Nearly every team has an issue with their bullpen, and an addition from another team will not come cheaply; and does it make sense for a team at our stage of building to make a big sacrifice to bring in help for this year? I've heard of the idea of "coaching to win the last game of the season". That is, doing now what is best for the long term prospects of the team. It seems like a smart way to go, yet it is painful when we are going through what we are going through now. At the same time, the Nats are trying to build a strong following here in their new city/home. Losing does not help. To me, it seems our best option is to improve the performance of what we have on hand. It will most likely involve more than mechanics, but really getting inside the heads of our players and re-programming, if you will. They all try their hardest, no doubt, so that is likely not the problem, but their present confidence level/ mental state, could possibly be adjusted.

Manny Acta: Ernie Kyger, Losing is not fun and we all know that it doesn't help, but you can't buy a championship team. You have to build it, and sometimes it takes time and is painful. None of us want to lose and we don't prepare for losing. I don't enjoy answering questions about losing or being second guessed by people who can't know all that goes into managing a team. But we have to keep building it the right way. We have to keep making the right decisions as an organization and stockpiling the right kind of people, and then we'll become winners much sooner rather than later.

e: Manny -- I'm curious as to the rationale of bringing up Stammen and not JD Martin? Stammen seems to be more of a contact pitcher and I wouldn't want to subject Stammen to the way this defense has been playing. Martin is a little older, a little more experienced in the minors and has a better chance of striking out batters (and has better control). Don't get me wrong, I applaud the move to give some of our younger pitchers a shot, but was wondering why Stammen and not Martin (and will we ever see JD up at Nats Park this year)? Also, Ella, Cathy and I will be at the game Friday night. Hope we get a chance to say Hi (I know Ella is looking forward to it!). Good luck. Hope some of these moves work out for you!

Manny Acta: e, Stammen was our best pitcher in Syracuse at the time. He was highly recommended by our minor league staff. Tell Ella I say hello.

Willie: Did you get mad when Hernandez missed the ball at first? I was watching the clip and you were emotionless. I was up in my seats, enraged, and even more so as I watched him just stand there. I know you're not working with the talent of a contender, but what do you do to get the most out of your players? Just curious.

Manny Acta: Willie, You can't get mad at someone for not seeing the ball. Anderson Hernandez thought the ball was coming from Zimmerman, who was also involved in the play. He had no idea that Colome was the one making the throw; so when his eyes followed Ryan, he never saw the ball coming. Also remember, I can be mad, but I don't have to show it to the whole world. The reason they put the camera on me after something like that happens is to see if I'm going to go crazy and show up my players. And I will not show my players up.

Take care NatsTown,

MA