Nuggets from Riggleman

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VIERA, Fla. -- Jim Riggleman addressed all sorts of subjects in his first news conference of the spring, a session that lasted more than 20 minutes. There were plenty of questions about Chien-Ming Wang from the large gathering, but there were other subjects worth noting...

-- Riggleman said Ross Detwiler, despite apparently having been feeling pain in his right hip since late last season, never mentioned it to any team officials until last week. At that point, Detwiler got an MRI, which revealed the torn cartilage, so he had surgery Monday that will sideline him three months. "You'd have to talk to Detwiler, but I think he probably has been feeling something for a while and thought, 'Well, I'm alright. I'll get through this,'" Riggleman said. "And it probably was nagging. And when he got here it was still nagging. And when he went to the trainer, he said this doesn't feel good. So they went and checked it out and it was a serious problem that needed to be alleviated. Obviously if he had said in October or November, 'My hip hurts,' it would have been checked out."

-- Jesus Flores has been doing some light throwing and swinging, but the club is taking a very cautious approach with the rehabbing catcher. Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like the Nats plan to have Flores open the season on the DL and not bring him back until they're positive he's 100 percent healthy. "Mike going out and getting Pudge, it allows us to take our time and let him really get right," Riggleman said. "He's had a lot of trauma to that arm in the last 10 months, two or three operations, numerous rehab days. Just starting over two or three different times. So we really want to let him get right, no questions about it. Let him get 100 percent and then let's go. We know we've got some good alternatives, so let's just let him get right."

-- Like everyone else, Riggleman can't wait to see Stephen Strasburg throw in person. "My information on him has been nothing but glowing reports," the manager said. "People who have seen him from our organization in the fall league and worked with him last year just rave about him. Those are pretty good baseball people who are talking about him. Davey Johnson. Bob Boone. These guys have seen a lot of baseball, and they're very high on Stephen. My expectations are to just let him go out there, do his work and let it kind of fall where it may as far as where he may pitch early this year. If it's for us, great. If it's in the minor leagues, we know that we've got some great people down there. Spin Williams and his staff will take great care of him and get him ready to pitch here soon."

-- Riggleman will emphasize fundamentals this spring. Though as he's quick to point out, that doesn't make him unique from any other manager in the game. "There's 30 teams in baseball, and everybody's going to use the word fundamentals," he said. "We have to use it, too. But it's how much you work on those things. Everybody can talk about it. We have to work on those things, the details of the game. Baserunning. Getting signs. Being at the right place on the field when you're supposed to be there. Backing up bases. Playing with energy. All of those things. You have to have all of them. They all have to take place."