NATIONALS NOTEBOOK
Vidro Gets Rare Start At First Base
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Monday, September 18, 2006
The last time Jose Vidro started at first base, Frank Robinson worked for Major League Baseball, Jim Bowden was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Stan Kasten was running the Atlanta Braves. The date: May 29, 1999.
Yesterday afternoon, Vidro, the Washington Nationals' veteran second baseman, started at first in place of Nick Johnson. He borrowed a first baseman's mitt from Robert Fick and played seven innings without incident, though no grounders were hit his way.
Vidro's 14 previous appearances at first base all came in 1999 with the Montreal Expos. And though his range at second appears to be limited, he said he was not ready for such a move to be permanent.
"I don't think about that yet," Vidro said. "When I'm getting close to retiring, I'll probably think about it. But not now. . . . I really don't feel like that should be my next step . . . next year."
Johnson entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth. He has already qualified for all the bonuses in his contract for this year, which were based on playing time. He was due to earn $250,000 if he played in 150 games or had 590 plate appearances -- he now has 604 plate appearances in his 142 games -- and thus will earn $3.45 million.
O'Connor Has a Good Outing
Rookie left-hander Mike O'Connor allowed one run in his four innings in which he was not going to be allowed to throw more than 75 pitches as he works his way back from elbow problems.
"I felt like I was throwing the ball like I was earlier in the year," he said. The 26-year-old from Ellicott City had a 3.77 ERA through June, but went 0-3 with a 14.81 ERA in July, and he was sent to the minors. He has now allowed two earned runs in 11 innings since his return. . . .
The Nationals' yearbook went on sale Friday night, but was pulled back the next day because there were several errors and omissions, most notably Robinson and the entire coaching staff. "It was a printing mistake," Kasten, the team president, said.
