VIERA, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Johnson hopes that a more relaxed approach at the plate will pay dividends for veteran outfielder Rick Ankiel. Last year, Ankiel batted .239 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 122 games with the Nationals, beginning the season as their starting center fielder. This year, Ankiel's role is a little less clear. The Nationals signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, and he'll either get time in center field if Bryce Harper...

VIERA, Fla. - The most impressive arm in Wednesday's live batting practice belonged to left-hander Sean Burnett. The reliever's effort elicited praise from his teammates and Burnett got a measure of retribution against Michael Morse, who crushed a ball off the batter's eye in center field when the two squared off in the first round of live batting practice during spring workouts Sunday. This time around, Morse swung and made contact only to see his bat shatter into two pieces, one of which...

VIERA, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Johnson expected outfielder Jayson Werth to miss a second straight day of workouts because of back spasms. Turns out Werth felt well enough to take part at his own pace, though Johnson's not sure he'll have Werth available when Grapefruit League play begins this weekend. Werth wasn't present at the beginning of workouts while he received treatment on his lower back. Whatever the team's trainers did worked well enough to allow Werth to hit on his own in...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jake Arrieta will oppose Jason Hammel in Friday's intrasquad game at Ed Smith Stadium. Other pitchers will include Kevin Gregg, Matt Lindstrom, Brian Matusz, Alfredo Simon, Dana Eveland, Darren O'Day, Pedro Strop, Zach Phillips, Brad Bergesen, Troy Patton and Miguel Socolovich. Luis Ayala and Armando Galarraga will start Saturday's intrasquad game, unless manager Buck Showalter decides to replace one of them with Wei-Yin Chen. Either way, they're scheduled to throw. Chris...

Double-A Harrisburg first baseman Tyler Moore is coming off another 31 home run season, something you don't see very often. Moore has been the most consistent long ball hitter in the Nationals' system the last two seasons, totaling an incredible 62 round trippers and 201 RBIs. National Web sites have taken notice. Moore has been named back to back MiLB.com Nationals Organization Player of the Year. At the end of last season, the Nationals started to experiment with Moore in the outfield....

SARASOTA, Fla. - The highlight of a slow day this afternoon came when first-round pick Dylan Bundy threw his first live batting practice session behind a protective screen and with hitters given the green light to swing away. They weren't just tracking pitches here. Chris Davis joked about getting into a low crouch - he almost was scraping the ground - before taking the first cuts against Bundy. Davis swung and missed, barely got a piece of another ball on a foul tip, let two go past him -...

SARASOTA, Fla. - It's been a pretty slow morning, but I wanted to pass along that top position prospects Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop are in camp. They weren't extended invitations this spring, but the Orioles planned all along to bring them over and let them work out with the guys in major league camp. They also could play in a few games, especially the split-squad variety. Meanwhile, Robert Andino and Matt Antonelli took ground balls at second base. J.J. Hardy and Steve Tolleson took...

VIERA, Fla. - Tony Beasley, manager of the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., enters the home clubhouse at Space Coast Stadium 10 minutes before the scheduled start of a morning workout and makes a beeline for the corner packed with position players who will likely comprise the bulk of his Chiefs roster come opening day. Beasley, who was promoted to Syracuse after managing at Double-A Harrisburg last year, works the line of lockers with the aplomb of a Capitol Hill lobbyist,...

VIERA, Fla. - Bryce Harper has deleted his Twitter account, and the Nationals' top prospect said the decision was his and was not prompted by warnings from manager Davey Johnson. "I was just over it. Got bored and decided to leave," Harper said Wednesday morning as he dressed for the Nationals' workout. @BHarp3407, it appears, is no more - at least until Harper decides to revive it. Earlier this week, the Nationals' public relations staff and representatives from Major League Baseball...

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals moved their preseason drills from the minor league complex to Space Coast Stadium on Wednesday, but outfielder Jayson Werth was missing when the workout began. Instead, Werth was receiving treatment on his lower back. Werth missed Tuesday's workout with back spasms, according to manager Davey Johnson. While the rest of his teammates dressed in red jerseys and gray pants, Werth lingered in the clubhouse in shorts and a t-shirt. Approached by reporters for an update...