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Estrada
Lo Duca |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
Second baseman Felipe Lopez was only half-joking when he referred to RFK Stadium as Yellowstone National Park during spring training. RFK's cavernous outfield turned many would-be home runs into fly-ball outs.
The idea of moving into Nationals Park had Washington's position players envisioning all the chances they would get to trot around the bases this season. It was to be their reward for spending the last three years in purgatory.
And after 18 games--a small sample size, to be sure--Washington's hitters are pleased with their new surroundings, even if it's not quite the home-run haven that some hoped it would be. Nationals players and members of the front office believe the park treats hitters and pitchers fairly, and after coming from RFK, they're content with that.
It is difficult to quantify exactly how Nationals Park affects home-run production because there are so many variables. Quality of the Nationals' offense (and their) opponents and weather patterns are just a few that complicate any comparison to offensive output at RFK.
However, a few stats are worth noting, even after only 18 home games.
Batters at Nationals Park are averaging a home run every 39.3 at-bats this season, compared to one every 44.2 last year at RFK. In Washington's road games this season, hitters are averaging a home run every 40.9 at-bats. The major-league average so far this year is one home run per 40.7 at-bats.
"It's definitely better than RFK," third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "I think it's fair. It hasn't really been that warm yet, but I wouldn't say it's a big hitters' park.
"If you hit the ball well, it's going to go out. I wouldn't say there have been any cheap home runs."
Former Nationals president Tony Tavares helped design the dimensions of Nationals Park and desired a park that favored pitchers, though clearly not as much as RFK did, Bowden said.
While the distances to the fences down the lines at Nationals Park are almost identical to those of RFK, the difference is in the alleys and in center field. The fence at the new stadium is three feet closer to home plate in left-center, 10 feet closer in right-center and eight feet closer in straightaway center.
The result has been 31 home runs; 10 by the Nationals and 21 by opponents.
Pitchers are also breathing a sigh of relief. They relished the vast outfield space at RFK, and their advantage hasn't completely disappeared.
"RFK was huge, but even sometimes this park feels huge," Matt Chico said. "Some balls that are hit hard still don't get out in the gap. It definitely plays really fair. You still have to get good wood on it to get it out of here."
Lo DUCA, ESTRADA TO DL
The Nationals are expected to place catchers Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada on the 15-day disabled list today. Catcher Jesus Flores will be called up from Triple-A Columbus, and outfielder Elijah Dukes will be reinstated from the 15-day disabled list.
Lo Duca fractured the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand when he fouled off a pitch from Houston's Roy Oswalt in the seventh inning of Wednesday's loss. He had an MRI yesterday and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
"I just felt a really, really, really sharp pain," Lo Duca told reporters after Wednesday's game. "Probably the most pain I've ever felt."
It will be Lo Duca's second DL stint of the season. He missed 16 games after being hit by a pitch on the same hand on April 13.
Estrada, meanwhile, has been diagnosed with ulnar neuritis--a nerve problem--in his right elbow. Estrada had offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow and has been battling elbow soreness since spring training.
Flores, whom the Nationals believe to be their catcher of the future, will likely assume starting duties with Wil Nieves serving as the backup. Flores went 4-for-11 (.364) during a four-game stint with the Nationals at the beginning of the season. In 17 games at Columbus, he batted .153 with one homer and seven RBIs.
Dukes will make his return from a strained right hamstring that landed him on the DL after the season opener.
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
