Observations from Saturday's workout

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Max Scherzer didn't outlast his pitching mates in the bullpen like he did Thursday morning, but the Nationals ace did put on another display of precise preparation during his throwing session this morning.

Scherzer, who in his first official bullpen of the spring was on the mound an additional five to seven minutes beyond the other pitchers in his group, actually finished before Joe Ross or Jeremy Hellickson did this time. But he made the most of his abbreviated session, working with new catcher Kurt Suzuki through several simulated "at-bats" against phantom hitters.

Scherzer told Suzuki he was facing a left-handed batter and had the catcher start putting down signs as they ran through a full at-bat. Then he told Suzuki they were now facing a right-handed batter. Pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, from behind the mound, yelled out: "What hitter?"

Suzuki replied: "Righty." Lilliquist, not getting the specific answer he wanted, shot back: "Which one?" Suzuki, finally figuring out what was going on, responded: "Uh ... Acuña!"

Standing on the mound, Scherzer reacted as follows: "Yeeaaaah."

He then proceeded to try to strike out the pretend Ronald Acuña Jr. standing at the plate.

"Obviously, Max is a different animal. That's why he's been so successful for his whole career," Suzuki said. "The intensity is always there. You can see why he's so successful. He takes it from day one. He's not: 'I'm getting on the mound, I'm just getting my arm ready.' He's ready to work.

"Those are the guys that you like the young guys to be around, because you see how he goes about his business. He's a pro. He gets his stuff done. He does everything with intent. And that's important in this game."

As if that bullpen session wasn't challenging enough, Suzuki and his fellow catchers later found themselves in a particularly tricky scenario. At the end of what was otherwise a normal drill practicing popups from behind the plate, Nationals minor league catching coordinator Michael Barrett informed the group they were now going to have to catch two pop-ups in succession (i.e. the second one in the air before the first one was caught).

After everyone made it through that drill successfully, Barrett turned it up another notch: Three pop-ups at once.

"You know, trying to catch one is a struggle, let alone three," Suzuki said. "But Michael Barrett is a veteran. He knows. I'm like: 'Dude, this is my Kryptonite here!' Popups in spring training are the hardest. You see all the young guys do it easy, and I'm like: 'Oh, god!'"

Turns out Suzuki had nothing to worry about. He successfully caught all three of his popups, as did the entire group. There wasn't one drop among them.

So what's the key in that situation?

"I think not panic," Suzuki said. "If you panic, your eyes start moving. Got to try to stay calm, keep the ball in front of you. Keep the ball in front of you at all times."