There are some guys who really need the All-Star break and others who hate to get out of their routine. I don’t mind the four days off because you can always use a break to get rid of the normal bumps and bruises of playing every day for three months.

But at the same time, I felt good at the plate right before the break and in that situation would rather just keep playing. You never want to stop a hot streak because you’re never exactly sure why they happen. I’m not the type of player who makes big adjustments.

The swing I have now is pretty much the one I’ve had my whole life. Every season is going to have times where you see the ball well and get results and times where you can’t seem to hit it at all.

The best thing about the All-Star break is it gives you a chance to refresh mentally for the second half. Our manager, Manny Acta, did a good job staying on top of us once the games started to grind together. There were not a lot of expectations on us before the season. We could have treated it like a rebuilding year. But Manny expects us to play hard every game. It doesn’t matter how many games we were supposed to win. That’s the great thing about baseball, anyway. We can beat any team in the league on a given night if we play with the effort he expects. If you do that and still lose then you just got beat.

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The All-Star break did give me a chance to get away from the game and relax a little bit. It’s funny, because a lot of times players look forward to the days off and then when you get them it feels weird. You’re so used to doing something every single day that by Tuesday you’re looking for something to do.

I was almost bored. But I did get a chance to watch the All-Star Game with a few of my buddies. It’s always a fun event to watch and I hope sometime soon I can be out there playing in it. We were all proud of our teammate, Dmitri Young, for making it to San Francisco. He’s been through a lot the last couple years and it was nice to see him get that kind of recognition.

So now it’s on to the second half of the season. I’ve never really been big on setting individual goals. There are things I always want to improve. But baseball is a game where you just want to do something positive every night. If I do that, then by the end of the year my numbers will be right where I want them.

As told to The Examiner’s Brian McNally.

Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is one of baseball’s rising stars and, at 22, the face of the franchise. Now he’ll share his thoughts with The Examiner’s readers each week throughout the baseball season.