Notes: Hernandez in midseason form

03/14/2006
VIERA, Fla. -- Right-hander Livan Hernandez looked like he was in midseason form on Tuesday afternoon as he pitched five shutout innings in a 2-1 loss to the Marlins. He gave up four hits, struck out four and didn't issue a walk. Hernandez threw 70 pitches, 45 for strikes.
Hernandez said his right knee, which was surgically repaired this past offseason, is close to being 100 percent. During the outing, Hernandez was able to push off his back leg while making his pitches and covering first base on a groundout.
With two outs in the fourth, Marlins outfielder Chris Ashby hit a slow roller to second baseman Jose Vidro. First baseman Daryle Ward went too far to his right on the play and was unable to go back to the bag. But Hernandez went to cover first base and took the throw to retire Ashby and end the inning.
"I covered first base perfect ... so the knee feels better every day," Hernandez said. "I think I can run perfectly now, but I don't want to push it too much. The mechanics are better, because the knee feels better than last year."
During Spring Training, most pitchers work slowly to get to the 100-pitch plateau for the regular season. But manager Frank Robinson isn't surprised that Hernandez was able to pitched five innings in only his second outing of the spring.
"He is one of those unique individuals and there's no way to explain it. ... I'm not saying he is a throwback, but he knows himself," Robinson said. "He knows his body, his arm and he understands what he is able to do or not do."
Hernandez is slated to pitch on Opening Day against the Mets at Shea Stadium on April 3.
Injury report: Shorstop Cristian Guzman is scheduled to see Dr. Tim Kremchek, the club's senior consultant, in Cincinnati this week about his ailing right shoulder. Guzman has missed five consecutive days because of inflammation and bursitis in the shoulder. The switch-hitter is unable to throw and hit right-handed.
Guzman saw Dr. Bruce Thomas, the team's primary sports medicine physician, on Tuesday and received a second injection in the shoulder. It was Guzman's second injection in five days.
In the meantime, Royce Clayton will continue to be the starting shortstop. He has made spectacular plays at the position, but he is hitting .194 in 11 games.
Jose Guillen continues to show progress. He took 30 swings apiece off a tee and from soft-tossing without feeling any pain in his left wrist. It's the third day in a row Guillen swung the bat.
Guillen said he hopes to take batting practice with his teammates on Wednesday and play a simulated game later in the week. If things go well, Guillen said he expects to play against the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon in Vero Beach.
Guillen had missed 10 days of baseball activities because of fluid and inflammation in his left wrist.
Sent down: The Nationals reassigned outfielders Mike Vento and Alex Escobar to Minor League camp, while optioning infielder Tony Blanco to Class A Potomac.
Both Escobar and Blanco missed part of Spring Training because of injuries. Blanco is still recovering from a right shoulder injury he suffered in the Dominican Winter League and Escobar had serious problems with his right hip and quadriceps during the spring.
Blanco was a Rule 5 Draft pick in December 2004 and was with the Major League club for most of last season. But he appeared to be overmatched at the plate and was below average with the glove during most of his time with the Nationals.
The Nationals paid $50,000 to get Blanco and he had to stay on the Major League roster for the entire 2005 season or be offered back to the Reds for half of the original fee.
"I don't know if [staying in the Major Leagues] hurt his development, but it certainly didn't help his development," Robinson said. "He would have benefited much more if he played a full year in the Minor League level."
Robinson said he like liked what he saw from Vento, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI on Tuesday.
"He thanked us for the opportunity and he told us to keep him in mind," the skipper said. "We told him that we saw some things that we liked."
Around the horn: The Nationals announced that they have promoted Joe Hickey to vice president of corporate alliances. Hickey, who most recently served as the Nationals' director of corporate sales, will be responsible for developing, implementing and managing corporate partnerships in his expanded role. ... Left-hander Bill Bray, the team's first round pick in 2004, gave up two runs in two innings against the Marlins and now has an 13.50 ERA this spring. ... Shortstop Ian Desmond went 2-for-4 on Tuesday to lift spring average to .333. ... Steve Watkins continues to impress. He pitched two shutout innings against the Marlins and has given up one earned in 11 innings this spring.

Source: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/