Players don’t like to talk about the trade deadline, so it wasn’t really a big topic lately. You knew that some guys had a chance of being moved or traded and you obviously didn’t want it to happen because we’d been together for four months and felt comfortable with the people around us. If you’re the person who they were talking about getting traded I would imagine you wouldn’t want to go to a new team, if you’re comfortable here.

After the deadline, there’s not a celebration or anything like that for the guys who didn’t get traded. I’m sure those guys are relieved, but people don’t go up to them and say anything. You might joke around and say something to them, but nothing serious.

This is just a reminder that teams can do whatever they want with you. It’s all part of being a baseball player and if a trade does happen, you have to accept it.

You don’t really get used to it because you become good friends with all these players — you hang out with them every day. It’s kind of weird that someone is here one day and you show up the next day and they’ve been sent down or traded and you didn’t really get a chance to say bye. It’s tough. But it’s not like we talk about it much. You walk in, ask someone what happened to this person, or where did they go, and that’s the extent of it. You get used to players coming in and out — especially on our team where it happens more than other teams.

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Some guys pay attention to all the trade rumors. I don’t get into that kind of thing. The most I really do is read the paper when I get to the clubhouse and watch SportsCenter. Those guys are the most accurate, but even what they hear could be totally different from the truth. A lot of teams don’t tell reporters what they’re really going to do because it might tip their hand.

Now that it’s over, there is a sense of excitement because we feel we have a great core. When you play 162 games in 185 days, it’s tough to go to the field if you don’t like the guys on your team. We’re always smiling. You’ve got to be able to do that and it makes you a better team in the long run. You have to learn how to handle adversity and learn how to win. That will help us in the next two to three years.

That’s why we were happy about the extensions to Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard. Ronnie has won a World Series and Dmitri has been around for 10 years, not to mention both are very good and smart players. If young guys want to talk to someone who have been around for a while, they have someone available.

As told to The Examiner’s John Keim.

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.