Nationals’ Jonny Gomes fitting in, hitting wel

CHICAGO – Since he arrived with the Washington Nationals two weeks ago, Jonny Gomes has added “a uniqueness to the ballclub,” Jayson Werth said, which seems an apt description. There is only one player in the Nationals’ clubhouse with a Mohawk and a back covered with an enormous tattoo, prone to randomly shouting expletives as he walks through the room. Somehow, Gomes fits in just right.
Monday, before rain postponed the Nationals’ game against the Chicago Cubs until Thursday at 2:20 p.m., Gomes found his name in the Nationals’ lineup for the third straight day. Since the Cincinnati Reds traded him for two Nationals minor leaguers, Gomes has provided the powerful, right-handed bat the Nationals have lacked all year. He made his biggest contribution Sunday against the Colorado Rockies, when he clobbered a two-run homer in the second inning of the Nationals’ 3-2 win.

“We made a great addition,” Werth said. “He’s an interesting fellow. He’s played the game a lot. He knows how to play. He’s good in the clubhouse. He’s good on the field.”
Manager Davey Johnson kept Laynce Nix out of the original lineup Monday — and put Gomes in it again — in order to give Nix at least one more day to recover from a flu that he picked up in Colorado. Nix said he’s feeling “much better,” but the rest also allows him to rest the sore Achilles’ tendon that has been hindering him for months.
Gomes’s recent production made Johnson’s decision easier. Mostly platooning with Nix, Gomes has gone 6 for 21 with a triple, a homer and three walks in nine games, and he has reached base in four of his past six plate appearances.
“I like the way that Gomes is swinging the bat,” Johnson said. “I’m going to give Nixie a chance to get well with the flu, and also give his foot time to heal.”
Gomes has been making a solid initial impression in a role he is accustomed to, but still finds it a challenge. Gomes platooned the past two seasons with the Reds, but that hasn’t necessarily made it any easier.
“A lot of these guys will tell you, and I can speak firsthand, that the hardest thing to do in the big leagues in platoon,” Gomes said. “The name of the game is timing. When you don’t play that often, your timing is kind of thrown for a loop. To be able to get some consistent at-bats helps anyone out. But at the same time, we know our role here. When you get in there, you’ve got to try to put some runs on the board.”
Even with a new team, Gomes has plenty of familiarity with his platoon partner. In Cincinnati the past two seasons, Gomes faced left-handed starting pitchers while Nix stared against righties. Their close relationship, Gomes said, has helped ease the transition to his new team.
“Nix and I have done it before,” Gomes said. “We’re each other’s hitting coach. We’re each other’s No. 1 teammate. That really does help. When you’ve got a guy that you’re platooning with, he’s pulling for you to fail so he can get more time in there, that’s definitely not the situation with Nix and I.”
Playing consecutive days helped Gomes nail down his timing. Saturday night, Gomes went 1 for 4, but he singled and walked in his last two at-bats. He still felt good when he came to the plate in his first at-bat Sunday, and when Cook left a cutter over the plate, Gomes crushed it about 20 rows deep in left field.
Gomes’s future beyond this season remains a question, but it’s one he will likely be able to answer. The Nationals are almost certain to offer Gomes arbitration, because if he, as a Type B free agent, declines and signs elsewhere, they would receive a compensatory draft pick. But Gomes could also simply accept arbitration, and he would remain with the Nationals heading into 2012.
“Since the day I walked in, these guys grabbed me with open arms,” Gomes said. “So it’s not like I had to come over here and hit homers to prove myself. Everyone has been great. I’m definitely pleased and really happy to be here.”