The Nationals' decision to demote center fielder Lastings Milledge to Class AAA Syracuse on Tuesday has plenty of residual effect.
Manager Manny Acta was forced to reconfigure his starting lineup, with a new leadoff man and a new center fielder. Acta said Elijah Dukes would take over as the center fielder, with Adam Dunn remaining in left field and Austin Kearns starting every day in right field. Josh Willingham, though, will have more opportunities for at-bats now. Willingham likely will make starts both in left and right. Though he has no previous experience in right, he's going to begin working out over there to feel more comfortable. Regardless of where Willingham plays, Acta wants to find a way to get the slugger in on a more regular basis.
"My goodness, I'm dying to have him in my lineup every day," Acta said. "This guy is a professional hitter. I mean, this is not what we had in mind when we signed him. Obviously, he's an everyday player."
At the top of his order, Acta now plans to use shortstop Cristian Guzman (once he returns in a couple of days from a strained hamstring). Guzman is the team's best pure hitter -- he leads the NL with 17 hits in seven games -- but he's not a prototypical leadoff man because he doesn't take many pitches. Still, Acta feels Guzman is his best available option.
