Logan is known around baseball as a very good defensive player in the outfield but he has been working hard on improving his hitting so he can hold down the CF job in the longterm. Manny Acta named him the starting CF'r back in January and Nook hopes not to dissapoint the first year manager.

"For a change, it's good to be in a situation where you feel you got off to a good start with the guy in charge," Logan said. "When he was with the Mets, [Acta] saw me make a couple of plays last year. He didn't get to see every game. ... Now he wants to see it first hand.

"I pride myself in my defense. I try to be the pitcher's best friend. They are on the mound working hard. I see Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones take pride in what they do defensively. And I'm like, 'I'm out here anyway, you might as well play defense the best way you can.' Everywhere I've gone, I've earned the respect of my pitchers."

But defense can only help you so much.

Logan hit .300 after being traded to the Nats from the Tigers last year but there are people in the organization who feel he still need to learn the art of hitting. The switch hitting Logan has hit well from the right side throughout his career but not so much the left side. Mitchell Page's (batting coach) job is to teach him and to help him hit from the left side more consistently. He is a lifetime .249 hitter from the left and hits well above .300 from the right side.

To many, Logan is not fundamentally sound batting lefty. He is a good bunter, but has problems hitting offspeed pitches. Logan is a natural right-handed hitter and didn't start switch-hitting until he was 21 years old, his first season in the Tigers organization.

"He has to get in position more on the left side and be a little more disciplined," Page said. "He has to be able to hit with two strikes."

Logan enters the cage with the bat in hand. He practices only from the left side. Page tosses a few balls to him. At first, Logan is not swinging properly and hits several weak pop ups and grounders. Page tells him that he is not using the lower half of his body enough, especially his left leg. Logan then starts bending the left leg and line drives begin flying off the bat.

Pop.

"That's a double," Page said.

Bang.

"That's another hit." Page added.

"Whatever Mitch is bringing, I'm trying to do," Logan said. "Anything helps. He has been around the game a long time."

Acta has set high goals for his center fielder. Logan will bat near the bottom of the order to begin the season, but after the All-Star break, Acta would like to put Logan in the second hole, so the team can take advantage of his speed.

"You have to shoot high," Acta said. "We are not talking about a 19-year-old guy here. This could also be a make-or-break year."

Logan has his own goals. He not only wants to hit .300, but he wants to improve his on-base percentage. He currently has a .319 career OBP.

"I want to get on base as much as possible," Logan said. "You can look at some players' averages. It can look deceiving. They have the same on-base percentage and batting average. I want my on-base percentage [to be higher]."