Forget it: Ryan Zimmerman is not learning to play left field - MLB

Yesterday Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post noted that Ryan Zimmerman was shagging balls in left field. The Nats coaches he spoke to were cagey about it all, and Kilgore wrote a story speculating how Zimmerman might fit into left for the Nats when he returns and after Bryce Harper returns.

That was fun, but today Zimmerman put the kibosh on it:

Ryan Zimmerman said he is not learning to play the outfield. He is just working out in the outfield. #Nats #Nationals #MLB

— William Ladson (@washingnats) May 19, 2014

Oh well. I would’ve liked to see Bryce Harper playing center to Zimmerman in left. And them doing the old hook-and-ladder play when someone hit one to left and it had to be fired home. But apparently that’s not in the cards.

Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN when the defending World Series champion Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on opening day.

Clemens made four appearances on last year’s KayRod Cast with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez. He will be stepping in on March 30 for David Cone, who will be doing the New York Yankees opener against the San Francisco Giants on YES Network.

“Roger has been sort of a friend of ours for the last year, so to speak, he’s in. He’s been engaged, knowledgeable and really present,” said ESPN Vice President of Production Phil Orlins. “You know, whatever past may be, he’s still tremendously engaged and he really brought that every time he was with us.”

Clemens was a seven-time Cy Young winner but his career after baseball has been tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. He is a Houston native and pitched for the Astros for three seasons.

Orlins said that with the rules changes and pitch clock, it is important to have a pitcher in the booth with Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez.

“We don’t feel like we have to have the dynamic of Eduardo with a pitcher, but we certainly think that works. Throw in the added factor of rule changes and it is better to have a batter-pitcher perspective,” Orlins said.

Orlins did not say if this would open the door for future opportunities for Clemens as an ESPN analyst.