Ian Desmond Finds Comfort Zone At Lead-Off
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By DERON SNYDER
The Washington Nationals were quite popular among the baseball media during spring training, drawing postseason predictions from multiple prognosticators. Virtually everyone spoke highly of the Nats’ rotation, bullpen, defense and core youngsters.
However, there was a nagging concern with a much-discussed, easy solution: The Nats needed a center fielder who, preferably, could bat leadoff. That was the team’s Achilles’ heel, a glaring weakness that general manager Mike Rizzo needed to address.
Shortstop Ian Desmond couldn’t do anything about the outfield situation, but he could erase the notion of a hole atop the batting order. All he had to do was pick up where he left off last season. Or continue to take it up a notch, which he did in Thursday’s home opener against Cincinnati.
Desmond went 3 for 5 with a run scored in the Nats’ 3-2 victory. That improved his batting average to .406 on the season, with a .441 on-base percentage and a .563 slugging percentage.
“He’s more than a table-setter,” manager Davey Johnson said before the game. “He’s a run producer. … I think he’s getting more comfortable in who he is and what his job description is. That’s fun to watch.”
