Can Yoga Save the Nationals?

Well, they have to try something!

ENCINO, California: A dozen of the best pitching prospects in baseball lay side by side in the dark, their eyes closed, their mouths shut, their minds open.

They pulled their sweatshirt hoods over their faces. They let their feet dangle over their yoga mats. They breathed in unison, inhaling for three seconds through their noses, exhaling for five seconds through their mouths.

Alan Jaeger stood among them, his voice soft and his cadence slow, matching the instrumental music playing on the stereo..."They're in a trance," Jaeger whispered.

Many pitchers prepare for the season by hiring personal trainers. Others work out at their old high schools. Some sit on their couches. And those who have tried everything, and are still looking for more, come to Jaeger's studio to lie flat on their backs.

Nationals minor leaguers seem to think it will work.

"The first morning, you ask yourself, 'How does this have anything to do with baseball?'" said Jeremy Plexico, a minor league pitcher for the Washington Nationals. "Then you get on the mound and you feel totally different, totally balanced..."Plexico had shoulder surgery two years ago. His teammate Clint Everts had elbow surgery. They moved this winter to Huntington Beach, California, so they could be close to Jaeger. Their next-door neighbor is Collin Balester, another Nationals prospect, who drives the carpool to Encino.

"My arm just wasn't getting better," Everts said. "I was willing to try anything. I didn't care what people would think. I didn't care how different it might be."

So he and Balester climb on top of each other in the studio, looking as if they are re-enacting the Ultimate Fighting Championship. They stretch each other's quads and hamstrings in a way that is rarely seen during batting practice at RFK Stadium.

Here's to hoping they make the Nats out of Spring Training and win 20 games! ;)
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