Baker realizes tough pitching decisions loom this spring

VIERA, Fla. - With only four days of official pitchers and catchers workouts in the books, Dusty Baker is still trying to get a full sense of what exactly he has to work with at Nationals camp. Some players' names still elude him, and his scouting reports are far from complete, but the new manager does have a strong overall impression on the state of his pitching staff.

"I've had some good teams, but these are the toughest pitching decisions I've ever had to make," said Baker, who has two decades of prior managerial experience with the Giants, Cubs and Reds. "We've got young guys that are coming, some guys I didn't know. We've got some veterans that I do know that are looking better than before, that are looking healthy. (Assistant general manager) Bob Boone tells me every day: 'This is going to be a tough decision.' Yeah, you're right. I wish I could take a team of 30 and have like 20 pitchers."

Baker, of course, can't do that, and so at some point he and GM Mike Rizzo and new pitching coach Mike Maddux are going to have to pare the staff down to the dozen who will head north for opening day.

That 12-man pitching staff, though, may not be broken up in traditional fashion (five starters, seven relievers). Pointing out the pair of off-days his team has in the season's first week, the manager suggested the Nats might actually open the season with only a four-man rotation and an eight-man bullpen.

If it happens, we'll just have to call this version of the Nationals' pitching staff a Baker's dozen.

"Early in the year, most of the games fall on the bullpen," he said. "You're not going to get any complete games or eight innings out of most guys. ... And it depends. We may not need a fifth starter because of off-days and how the scheduling is for a while. We could carry another bullpen guy, maybe. Either way, it's going to be a tough decision on who doesn't break with us."

Asked specifically if any member of his bullpen is a lock to make the club beyond closer Jonathan Papelbon, Baker danced around the subject, not wanting to leave any of his players overconfident or concerned about their status.

Baker did make a point to rave about one particular left-handed reliever with a live arm.

"Boy, that lefty out there throwing 100 mph, he's got a pretty good chance," the skipper said.

That lefty he was referring to was Felipe Rivero, who turned plenty of heads last season as a rookie.