Top of the Order

What Frank Has Done

Leading off: Brad Wilkerson. Well, this can't last. At career .261 hitter doesn't become a .400 hitter overnight. However, Wilkerson, or "Wilky," as I like to call him (actually, I don't) was clearly the guy who should be hitting leadoff, as I said a month age (scroll down to my most recent post). It's nice to have my requests honored. It's also important to note that he's 27, which is ALWAYS the year (well, 95 percent of the time, I'd guess) that players peak. If he can get on base at a .390 clip, it will make a big difference to this offense.

No. 2: After an unfortunate and thoughtless experiment -- Christian Guzman -- in this spot, Frank Robinson has moved my favorite Nat, Nick Johnson into this spot for the last 3 games. Hopefully, he's there to stay. It's important to remember that batting orders distribute plate appearances. It is inarguable that the No. 2 hitter will get more plate appearances than the No. 3, or No. 7. Why the Nationals would have ever wanted Guzman over Johnson here is beyond me.

No. 3: Jose Vidro. Vidro has all of the team's plate appearances in this slot, much like Jose Guillen is the only cleanup hitter the team has seen. Vidro is a point of concern for me. He's 30 years old, and coming off a year in which he only played 110 games due to injury. In the couple games I've watched on tv, I haven't seen anything that suggests Vidro is collapsing. In fact, his slugging percentage thus far is in line with his career averages, which I think is a good proxy for health. His on base percentage, though, has plummeted. Through six games, he has no walks. I'll withhold any criticism here. It just looks like a slump to me.