Professional Gains, Personal Addition

Brian Schneider has a list of concerns as he prepares to head north from his home in West Palm Beach, Fla., to Viera, where spring training begins next week. The Washington Nationals catcher wants to have a more consistent offensive season, because last year he hit .225 through July and .311 the rest of the way. He wants to improve his percentage of throwing out would-be base stealers, at least in part because it will put to rest questions about his health, which he finds frustrating.

But in the midst of all that, Schneider will have other concerns. His wife, Jordan, is pregnant with the couple's first child, a daughter who is due March 7. Schneider has talked to new manager Manny Acta about handling the situation.

"Manny was great about it," Schneider said by phone. "He said: 'Don't worry about baseball too much. Your priority's with her.' Whatever I need to take care of, they'll understand."

Schneider said a trainer will have his cellphone during workouts in case the call comes and he needs to leave immediately. He said he would like to avoid making trips into Central Florida -- such as the game against Houston in Kissimmee on the due date -- because it's easier to get back to his home if he stays on the East Coast along Interstate 95. He said he can make it from Viera to his house in just under two hours.

Schneider said even with the impending life change, he's looking forward to the season.

"I feel great," he said. "I'm ready to go. I could get after it this offseason, lifting hard and heavy. I feel healthy, which I know a lot of people talked about last year.

"I know people said I was having a down and bad year, and obviously I'll accept that. But I had a career high in RBI [55], and those last two months, I was a different person. I made some adjustments, and I'm going to take that from Day One this year. I'm looking forward to it."

Schroder Adds Slider

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If the Nationals have one area with better-than-average depth, it might be the bullpen, so it makes sense that right-hander Chris Schroder would want to get every advantage he could to make the squad. At the behest of General Manager Jim Bowden, Schroder spent nearly two weeks in January in the Dominican Republic working on his slider with former Cincinnati right-hander Jose Rijo, one of Bowden's special assistants.

"It was a big help," Schroder said by phone. "With the arm slot I throw from, kind of that three-quarter or sidearm or whatever, my slider's always been kind of flat. He showed me how to get more depth to it."

Schroder, who made 21 appearances and posted a 6.35 ERA as a rookie last season, showed a sneaky fastball that, in one outing, allowed him to strike out five Philadelphia Phillies in a two-inning stint. He follows with a change-up, but believes he needs a third pitch to stick in the majors.

"Now, I just need to see how it is against live hitters," he said. "I need to get it to where I can locate it better and throw it when I'm behind in the count."

Schroder likely will be competing for one of the last two spots in the bullpen.

Majewski Update

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Reliever Gary Majewski was traded from the Nationals to Cincinnati last July 13 and went on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation Aug. 7. At that point, Reds General Manager Wayne Krivsky said his club would explore filing a grievance against the Nationals, claiming they sent Cincinnati damaged goods. At the winter meetings in December, Krivsky said the possible grievance was "in the hands of our lawyers."

MLB, however, has not received a formal complaint from the Reds. The statute of limitations for such a filing is one year. . . .

As the Nationals trickle in to Viera over the next week -- pitchers and catchers are officially due Tuesday, with position players to follow on the 18th -- they will find a revamped Space Coast Stadium. Brevard County committed $2.6 million to the facility, which the Nationals are slated to occupy through 2017. It has new blue seats (replacing the teal of the former tenants, the Florida Marlins), new paint, a new roof and canopy, new concession areas and new signage. There have been improvements to the clubhouse, including new carpets, as well as better drainage on the fields and repairs of leaks under the stadium. . . .

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which for the first time is carrying both Nationals and Baltimore Orioles games, could announce as soon as today an increased number of spring training telecasts for both teams, including pre- and postgame shows for a limited number of games.