BY TODD JACOBSON
WASHINGTON--Nick Johnson still walks with a slight limp and the pain in his broken right femur doesn't subside when he tries to field ground balls. His once-potent swing, in his own words, remains "out in left field somewhere."
Johnson has weeks, if not months, to go in his recovery from a violent on-field collision with right fielder Austin Kearns that broke Johnson's leg last September, but as he walked into an outdoor batting cage at RFK Stadium for the first time yesterday, a few of his teammates stopped to watch.
Just the sight of the burly first baseman hacking at slow fastballs thrown by manager Manny Acta four hours before the Nationals' game against the San Diego Padres was reason for optimism.
"We just went out there and joked with him," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "He is coming along well. The team wants to make sure that he's healthy all the way. There is no reason to rush him and I think that's what they are doing."
For the last few weeks, Johnson has batted off a tee, hit balls tossed to him and taken his cuts in an indoor batting cage, but he hadn't ventured outside until yesterday.
Johnson batted for about 10 minutes yesterday, hitting at least one home run, but the rust from months of inactivity was evident as he peppered the right side of the infield with ground balls and sprayed pop-ups around the outfield.
"He looked good," Acta said. "He's still not as sharp as obviously he would like to be. Finally you can get him to roll over on balls because he's not in shape hitting-wise. It is a significant step because he swung the bat and didn't feel any pain or anything."
Still, hitting comes easier than running and fielding, Johnson said. He still has trouble going side-to-side at first base, or coming in on slow rollers. He still feels pain when he sprints, and he won't begin to talk about a return date--not after he predicted June 1 when he arrived at spring training.
But progress was progress, and his stint in the batting cage yesterday represented one more step toward returning to the field.
"It felt good to get on the field," Johnson said. "I have a long way to go, but it was good to take some cuts and take some grounders. The swing is not even close."
Hill: return date unknownRight-hander Shawn Hill returned yesterday from a visit with Dr. Mark Schickendantz relieved that his sore right elbow isn't seriously hurt but unsure when he might return to the mound.
Hill cut short a throwing session Saturday after feeling pain in his right elbow, and Schickendantz advised Hill not to throw again until his strained left shoulder is healed. Hill believes an injury to his non-throwing shoulder altered his mechanics, triggering the pain in his elbow.
"The way I feel it doesn't feel like I'm all that far. That's why I started throwing [Saturday], but it's something I've never experienced," Hill said. "I don't know if it'll take two days or another three weeks."
Extra bases
Reliever Luis Ayala began a rehabilitation stint with Single-A Potomac yesterday, pitching two-thirds of an inning, striking out one batter and giving up one hit against the Kinston Indians. Ayala, who has spent the last 14 months recovering from ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow, could rehab with Potomac for up to 30 days.
Former big league manager and All-Star Don Baylor will fill in on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcasts of the Nationals pre and post-game shows, the network announced yesterday. Baylor will join Johnny Holliday when host Ray Knight works on the network's in-game broadcast.
Todd Jacobson: 540/735-1974