Injuries continue to force Baker to cobble together top of lineup

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It's part of any manager's job, trying to compensate for injuries, but the challenge for Dusty Baker over the last several weeks has been amplified.

Baker already lost leadoff man Adam Eaton to a torn ACL at the end of April. Then he lost No. 2 hitter Jayson Werth to a significant bone bruise and slight fracture of his left foot in early June. Then he lost another top-of-the-order bat, Trea Turner, to a fractured wrist at the end of June.

In the wake of all that, Baker has found himself trying to cobble together the top two spots in his lineup, no easy task.

"I'll say," the veteran skipper sighed Wednesday afternoon.

The Nationals are blessed to have a healthy and remarkably productive heart of their order, with Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon all putting together offensive seasons worthy of MVP consideration. But at the moment, they aren't blessed with the kind of table-setters they'd love to have batting in front of those big boppers.

Consider the production the Nats have received from those replacements. The three men aside from Eaton and Turner who have led off this season (Brian Goodwin, Wilmer Difo, Michael A. Taylor) have hit a combined .190 with a .235 on-base percentage as leadoff hitters. The five men aside from Werth and Turner who have batted second this season (Goodwin, Difo, Taylor, Stephen Drew and Ryan Raburn) have hit a combined .235 with a .318 on-base percentage.

"It's been challenge, because a lot of them weren't really used to being at the top of the lineup," Baker said. "Plus there's a certain mentality you have to have when you're starting off the game, versus batting down the order. (Farther down) you get to see what the pitcher's sequence is. You get to see what's working and what's not working.

"You're kind of the guinea pig at the top, to kind of tell the other guys what he's throwing, what his ball's doing, what kind of movement he has, what kind of velocity he has, if he hides the ball. A lot of these guys are in a learning process, but they're doing fine. We always want them to do better. But it's a learning process."

Much of the load has fallen on Goodwin's shoulders, especially after Taylor suffered his own injury shortly before the All-Star break. The 26-year-old has flashed some surprising power and was fairly productive once taking over everyday duties. But he's currently in a 5-for-40 slump and hasn't been able to get on base enough to take advantage of the hitters behind him.

For Goodwin, who frequently hit at the top of the lineup in the minor leagues, the challenge right now is to get hits and draw walks no matter where he bats. Leadoff responsibilities don't faze him.

"I think I'm pretty comfortable," he said. "I've been comfortable there, two-hole, wherever, man. It's the same game regardless of where you're at. No different at the top or the bottom."

Maybe so, but Goodwin still is learning some of the finer points of leading off in the majors.

During a recent conversation, Baker mentioned to Goodwin he'd like to see him drop down an occasional bunt or two. Goodwin's response: "Well, when do I bunt?"

"There's a time to, and a time not to," Baker said. "That showed me that he's still got some things to learn."

Despite plenty of handwringing and cries from the outside to move Rendon up to the No. 2 spot, Baker has been intent on keeping him in the No. 6 spot. The rationale: Baker believes it's important to provide protection for No. 5 hitter Murphy, and he believes Rendon is best utilized when he's driving in all those big hitters who get on base in front of him.

(To wit: Over his last 162 games, Rendon has 119 RBIs.)

And so it will be that until some of the injured regulars return, the Nationals will continue to cobble together the top of their lineup, hoping to find a combination that is productive enough, that gets on base enough to make the most of the guys who do the real damage right behind them.