Williams hasn't decided starter for exhibition opener, updates on Escobar, Zimmerman

VIERA, Fla. - Nationals manager Matt Williams said all of his pitchers are healthy and pitching well even after heavy bullpen sessions the past couple of days. The staff will get a day off tomorrow before throwing live batting practice beginning Sunday.

"We'll do that for a couple of days and get them some hitters to look at," Williams said. "Everybody's on track. Everybody feels good about it. I think we're where we need to be at this point."

It's unknown who will be on the mound in six days when the Nationals welcome the Mets to Space Coast Stadium for the first exhibition game.

"We're talking about it now," Williams said. "We have to see how they come out of their live BP's but we've got an idea, we've got a plan for the first three. But again, they've got to get through their live sessions first."

For the second straight day, Ryan Zimmerman and Yunel Escobar took the field inside the stadium (regular practice takes place on several fields outside the ballpark) for some extra infield work with Williams and defensive coordinator Mark Weidemaier. Not only do both Zimmerman and Escobar represent new faces on the right side of the infield for the Nationals, but both are basically newcomers to the position. Williams says it's important the two are on the same page to prevent any unforced errors once the live action begins.

"There's going to have to be communication," Williams said. "Zimm needs to understand how the ball reacts when Yuni throws it to him. They need to get used to seeing each other stand out there. The other guys we have in camp, Danny's been there before. He understands that. They've played together on that side of the diamond. So we're trying to get both of those guys as familiar as we can with each other. Right now, we have an opportunity to do that. The days aren't long and demanding yet, so there's an opportunity for them to get together and do some extra work. And they both have fantastic attitudes and want to do it. They'll be much better for it."

Escobar was quick to correct reporters yesterday who complimented him on looking sharp at his new position on his first day of practice.

"He says he's been working on it for about a month now in Miami," Escobar said through translator Johnny DiPuglia, the Nationals international scouting director. "You guys might think it looks good with the naked eye, but he knows that he still needs a lot of work there so he can really feel comfortable playing that position."

Williams has been encouraged by the early effort from the two veterans but he knows the real test comes when the nerves are high in actual games. In the meantime, the extra practice is beneficial for the next six days.

"I think they're both really good athletes," Williams said. "Athletic, strong. They're both former shortstops. They've played on the other side of the diamond. So things come fairly naturally to them, because of the demands of the position that they've played before. It's a question of getting them comfortable on the other side of the diamond. But that will come. We can do it in practice as much as we want, but it's going to take some game situations, too. Going into games, and because we're a few days away from that still, we're still working on footwork, on positioning and allowing them to be comfortable turning the double play and doing things backwards. They both come from the other side, so everything goes to their left. Now it seems as if everything goes to their right. So we have to get them used to that. But the greatest benefit we'll see is when we start playing games."

Here are some swings from Bryce Harper during a round of BP today.: