"The only thing left for Scott Olsen now is the waiting, all quiet moments and nasty thoughts. Within three days, the Nationals will decide if they want to carry him in their organization. If they do, they'll pay him $1 million. If they don't, he'll look for his next job. Olsen freely admits he thinks about this.

"Yeah, you could say that," Olsen said. "I think about it all the time. I think about it every minute of the day. As much as you try not to, the more you think about it. I feel good with today and how things went. We'll let them make their choices."

Olsen, with by far his best outing this spring, made the choice a little more difficult today. He allowed the Braves one earned run in 5 2/3 innings on seven hits and no walks. He struck out four and threw 64 of his 85 pitches for strikes.

"Everything," catcher Wil Nieves said, "was working."

Olsen's shoulder felt good the entire outing, and he didn't feel tired after he exited. "I felt really strong in Lakeland five days ago," Olsen said. "I feel even stronger right now."

In the bullpen before the start, Olsen surprised catcher Wil Nieves with his velocity. Nieves had caught Olsen earlier this spring, and his pitches had transformed. The stadium radar was broken, and Manager Jim Riggleman did not know Olsen's velocity. But Nieves could sense a difference. "