NL East at a Glance

One of the Marlins' goals going into this season was to improve their defense. Then they turned around and tried to convert Emilio Bonifacio from second base to third in spring training. And Bonifacio now leads the majors with 11 errors at that position.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez insisted he wasn't concerned. "For a guy that's never played that position and you throw him [out there] in spring training, yes, I'm very happy. It's a different side of the field for him," he said.

Maybe. But first baseman Gaby Sanchez has begun playing third base for the Triple A New Orleans Zephyrs. So maybe the organization is readying Sanchez to replace Bonifacio. Or maybe, as Joe Capozzi speculated in the Palm Beach Post, the team is considering trading Dan Uggla and would then move Bonifacio back to second.

Team president John Schuerholz has apologized to lefthander Tom Glavine because of the way in which the franchise icon was told he would not be added to the roster.

Schuerholz didn't address the specific complaints from Glavine that he had been misled or that the move was made for financial reasons.

"I'm talking about my feelings," Schuerholz said. "Tommy has his, and they're all real and valid. There's no disputing how he feels. I can understand a lot of that. Or all of it, actually. This was a tough thing. I would have felt better when I thought about it afterward if I'd done a better job in portraying our respect for him."

Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell believes people who are blaming the manager, coaches or players for the Nationals' worst-in- baseball record are missing the point.

"When problems go this deep, the causes should be sought at the top, not the bottom," he wrote. "Now the blame - and the solutions, if any - surely must be at the top with the billionaire Lerner family and team president Stan Kasten."

Manager Jerry Manuel won't beg general manager Omar Minaya to make deals that would help shore up a roster that has been depleted by illness and injuries.

"I have to deal with what I have," he said. "And what we have is what we have and we have to deal with that. So a trade or whatever, that's Omar's area."