Williams on Harper and bunting, Cabrera at second base and no pregame BP
By Byron Kerr
Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper had a single in his first at-bat Friday night. He grounded out to short in the fourth.
His final two at-bats were strikeouts. But the last at-bat, in a critical bottom of the ninth situation with two men on and one out, Harper worked Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon to a 3-2 count before finally succumbing to a wicked splitter.
Manager Matt Williams talked about what a hitter like Harper goes through as he tries to get into a better rhythm to find consistency at the plate.
"Nobody can feel what you are feeling at the plate unless you're standing there seeing the ball come at you," Williams said. "You can tell people things and eventually it comes down to feel and it comes down to timing and rhythm. And nobody can do that for any player except the player that is standing in there.
"Yeah, he's been searching a little bit, he's been trying to find that timing, that rhythm. He experiments with his stance from time to time. I felt like last night's at-bat against Papelbon was a pretty good one though. He was on everything.
"That last split was pretty good. He battled that at-bat. Took some close pitches, he's seeing it, which tells me he's seeing it. He fouled some balls off, which tells me his timing is pretty good. So I think it's coming. That experiment happens from time to time with everybody. He'll be OK though."
Harper has attempted to bunt a few times recently to get on base. When he first got back from his thumb injury, you could see how that would be beneficial to getting on base and trying to let his speed make something happen.
But then you think about the power that Harper can muster, and what he has done in the past. Williams said he would like to see Harper swing away most of the time.
"Depends on the situation, depends on a lot of things - health, how his thumb is feeling," Williams said of Harper's incorporation of the bunt. "It depends on what the situation dictates for that particular game. More often than not, I would like him to swing the bat because he has the opportunity to do something special.
"If he feels like the guy's playing him back far enough that he can do that and get on base given the right situation, OK. But then again, there's times where I'd want him to swing, too. As an example, the last couple of times that he's tried to do that, I would say that we'd rather have him let her fly and see what he can do there, hit a leadoff double or hit one over the fence. He certainly has the capability.
"We talked about it. When you're searching to find a stroke, sometimes you want to get on base. I can understand that, but there are times where I'd like to see him let her fly and get on second base in scoring position."
Williams was impressed with Asdrubal Cabrera's first start with the Nationals Friday. It was also Cabrera's first start at second base since 2009. He was especially impressed with the defensive play Cabrera made to prevent speedy Jimmy Rollins from recording a hit toward right field in the third inning.
"That's a pace-of-game play. Again, he went a long way to his left," Williams said. "Playing shortstop, you don't have time to get down to a knee and get back up because it's a much longer throw.
"He understands runner, pace of ball, how long it's going to take the guy to get to first base. And it's not something that's foreign to him either. He's made that play. It all comes back. The mind always tells you, 'OK, I've got time. I can get down, spin around and make the play,' and he got him by a long way. I think he played really well."
Williams said the season plan holder fan event, which had players and coaches greeting the fans, was not the reason there was no batting practice on the field prior to Saturday's game against the Phillies.
"When you play at home, we're used to the field, we're used to the surroundings," Williams said. "On any given day game, we don't have anything on the field anyway. If you are on the road, it is a little bit different, especially if it was a first day in, getting sense of the surface."
"Nobody can feel what you are feeling at the plate unless you're standing there seeing the ball come at you," Williams said. "You can tell people things and eventually it comes down to feel and it comes down to timing and rhythm. And nobody can do that for any player except the player that is standing in there.
"Yeah, he's been searching a little bit, he's been trying to find that timing, that rhythm. He experiments with his stance from time to time. I felt like last night's at-bat against Papelbon was a pretty good one though. He was on everything.
"That last split was pretty good. He battled that at-bat. Took some close pitches, he's seeing it, which tells me he's seeing it. He fouled some balls off, which tells me his timing is pretty good. So I think it's coming. That experiment happens from time to time with everybody. He'll be OK though."
Harper has attempted to bunt a few times recently to get on base. When he first got back from his thumb injury, you could see how that would be beneficial to getting on base and trying to let his speed make something happen.
But then you think about the power that Harper can muster, and what he has done in the past. Williams said he would like to see Harper swing away most of the time.
"Depends on the situation, depends on a lot of things - health, how his thumb is feeling," Williams said of Harper's incorporation of the bunt. "It depends on what the situation dictates for that particular game. More often than not, I would like him to swing the bat because he has the opportunity to do something special.
"If he feels like the guy's playing him back far enough that he can do that and get on base given the right situation, OK. But then again, there's times where I'd want him to swing, too. As an example, the last couple of times that he's tried to do that, I would say that we'd rather have him let her fly and see what he can do there, hit a leadoff double or hit one over the fence. He certainly has the capability.
"We talked about it. When you're searching to find a stroke, sometimes you want to get on base. I can understand that, but there are times where I'd like to see him let her fly and get on second base in scoring position."
Williams was impressed with Asdrubal Cabrera's first start with the Nationals Friday. It was also Cabrera's first start at second base since 2009. He was especially impressed with the defensive play Cabrera made to prevent speedy Jimmy Rollins from recording a hit toward right field in the third inning.
"That's a pace-of-game play. Again, he went a long way to his left," Williams said. "Playing shortstop, you don't have time to get down to a knee and get back up because it's a much longer throw.
"He understands runner, pace of ball, how long it's going to take the guy to get to first base. And it's not something that's foreign to him either. He's made that play. It all comes back. The mind always tells you, 'OK, I've got time. I can get down, spin around and make the play,' and he got him by a long way. I think he played really well."
Williams said the season plan holder fan event, which had players and coaches greeting the fans, was not the reason there was no batting practice on the field prior to Saturday's game against the Phillies.
"When you play at home, we're used to the field, we're used to the surroundings," Williams said. "On any given day game, we don't have anything on the field anyway. If you are on the road, it is a little bit different, especially if it was a first day in, getting sense of the surface."
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