Hard at work in Harrisburg

Well, I'm in Harrisburg today (no jokes please, the ballpark was funny enough) and I had the chance to talk with several folks, including Andrew Lefave, the first baseman whom the Nationals acquired last September from Milwaukee in the Ray King deal. It was a bit surprising that the Brewers let Lefave go as the player-to-be named later in that deal simply because he had just hit .345 for West Virginia of he South Atlantic League.

In fact, coming into this year, Lefave's career batting was .347, tops among all active Minor Leaguers with at least 500 career at-bats. (Thanks to MLB.com honcho Jason Ratliff for that bit of info).

But maybe the Brewers knew something everyone else didn't because Lefave has gotten off to a rocky start with Harrisburg. He was hitting .195 with seven RBIs and a .292 OBP heading into Tuesday night's action against Erie. Those are miserable numbers by any stretch of the imagination and Lefave knows it.

But let's be fair. He's making the jump from low-A ball to Double-A and the pitching and the pressures are a lot different than they would be had he stopped in either the Florida State or Carolina Leagues, as the seemingly natural order of progression would have taken him. I give Lefave credit, though. He was out there at noon today taking extra batting practice with SS Ian Desmond and hitting coach Troy Gingrich. And it wasn't just a few swings kind of thing. The trio were out there for nearly an hour, some six hours before game time.

"I pretty much have the basis for a fairly decent swing," Lefave said. "I'm not used to a start like this. But we have a great team and hitting is contagious. It really makes it easier to hit when you have a few guys who are hitting.

"It's definitely a big jump in level, though. The pitchers in the lower levels are still establishing their fastball command. Here, they aren't afraid to throw a slider on a full count. Here, the fastballs are established and the pitchers are into their arsenals. I'm not to worried, though, because Troy and I are working on my swing."

Lefave did admit that he was surprised the Nats sent him to Harrisburg rather than Potomac. But, he said the same thing happened last year with Milwaukee.

"I thought they were going to send me to Helena [in the Pioneer League] and they sent me to low-A," said Lefave, who signed with the Brewers as an un-drafted free agent. "The Nationals had confidence enough to put me here. They think I can play here."

The bottom line, however, is that if Lefave doesn't hit, he'll be heading a few miles south to Potomac before long. He seemed like a real nice guy and we talked for about 20 minutes about traveling around the country, seeing different ballparks and different areas. He's from the Pacific Northwest, which is a terrific area between Seattle and the Canadian border.

He said that he liked Harrisburg and that the field here was "a great surface". While that may be the case, I didn't share his sentiments. The park was run down and old and not in a nostalgic, nice to be there way like in Reading. They need a need park here and in a hurry. The Nats have some great prospects coming up through the system and they deserve a better place to play.

One final thought, by the way, there is a constant smell of manure in the air here. I know we're near a lot of farmland but this city stinks.

See you later in the week.