Reflections from the bench

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - I’ve had the chance to watch our games from a little different perspective the last couple of days because of a minor shoulder injury. It’s something that every player has to go through at some point. You want to be out there for key at-bats. Every hitter loves that challenge. At the same time, I trust my teammates — Aaron Boone played third base for us on Tuesday and hit a two-run homer — and there’s no reason to jeopardize the rest of the season to play a couple of extra games in late May.

But I’m definitely not used to it. I think other than not starting on Senior Day my freshman year in college, I played every single game during my three years at Virginia. I missed five games with the Nationals in 2006 and none last season.

But even if it is tough to watch from the bench, there are far worse places to be than in San Diego at a major-league baseball game. You just have to make good use of your time. I look to see what kind of pattern a pitcher is using against my teammates, how he sets up his pitches to them. Sitting on the bench gives you a chance to think outside the box because when you’re playing you might be inside watching video of your own at-bat and not notice those little things. It can definitely help clear your head.

I do have to move around a lot in the dugout, though. It’s hard to sit still and you don’t always realize how long a game is when you’re actually playing in one. Time can also drag when there’s no batting practice — although I did take some ground balls before Tuesday night’s game. I know one thing: I could never be a starting pitcher. It might be fun to dominate on the mound for that one game. But I don’t think I could handle the other four days.

As told to The Examiner’s Brian McNally.

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