Ryan Zimmerman Thoughts

Playing baseball was more on Ryan Zimmerman's mind than new uniforms last night at Nationals Park. The Z-Man was interested in talking about his friend, Adam Dunn, now a free agent looking for offers from all 30 Major League Teams. Zimmy also wanted to say he wasn't disappointed over not receiving a Gold Glove for defensive prowess at 3rd Base for the second year in a row in the National League. An honor bestowed on Cincinnati's Scott Rolen in 2010. And he wanted to let everybody know that he's still learning parts of his game defensively.

Here are those Ryan Zimmerman thoughts:

Zimmerman on Dunn:

“From spring training to the end of the season, I can honestly say that he is 10 times better (at first base). He had only played one year (at the position). He was in the outfield which is 200 or so feet away from home plate. Then he moves into the infield where he’s sometimes playing 80 to 85 feet away from home plate. The ball gets on you a lot quicker and you have to adjust. Surprisingly, for as big and goofy as Adam is, he’s a pretty good athlete. But he will adjust.”

“People don’t understand that he’s as big as people in the NFL. He moves around and he can beat people in races. He’s pretty athletic. But it’s hard to look graceful when you are that big. If he continues to work, like I know he will, believe me, he doesn’t want to make those errors as much as anyone else. He’s embarrassed for himself, too. That’s why he works hard, why he wants to become adequate at first base. He has a lot of pride.”

Zimmerman on not winning the National League 2010 Gold Glove for fielding at 3rd Base:

“I never expect to win those things. This league is so hard to be successful in, let alone win an award. There are so many good players at every position that it makes me work hard to be a good 3rd Baseman and help the team. If you get awards and good things happen, that’s great. But Scott (Rolen) is one of the guys I’ve looked up to and have modeled my game after. If you can think of a consistent 3rd Baseman over the past 10 years, I think he’s the guy that you look at. He deserves it just as much as anyone.”

Zimmerman evaluating himself defensively:

“Every year I go through one of those spells where I don’t throw the ball well. That is something I am really concentrating on this off-season. I can never pinpoint what it is. I’ll tell you guys when I do bad things and that’s a problem, obviously, I have had over the past few seasons at one point or another. That’s something I want to clean-up. If I can clean that up, obviously, it helps the team more. That’s the only thing (in his game) that I am really disappointed in. I think the more I play third, the more I get comfortable over there, the better feeling of how to play, where to play, the internal clock is getting a lot better. I’ve calmed down a lot when a ball is hit hard right at me. I am still learning how to play the position, but for the most part, I was very happy (with his defensive performance) and I just want to get better every year.”

“The best thing about baseball is that everyone plays the game differently. Everyone says you should throw the ball from here, from there, from here. At the end of the day, if you get people out, it doesn’t really matter. You don’t think it. you just go. And that’s it. I just want to be more consistent. That’s what I said about Scott (Rolen). He’s consistent everyday. And that’s the game of baseball.”

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