For Zimmerman, shoulder rehab simply routine

WASHINGTON -- Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman will be the first to say that his right shoulder is not 100 percent. In fact, he expects the shoulder to be in rehab mode for the rest of the season, but it will not keep him out of the lineup.

Entering Wednesday's action against the Mets, Zimmerman leads the Nationals in errors with 10, most of them coming on throwing miscues. Whenever he gets frustrated on the field, medical director Wiemi Douoguih and the team trainers often remind Zimmerman that he is in a rehab mode in 2013.

"I will technically rehab for the rest of my career. I have to stay on top of it. That's how it's going to be," Zimmerman said. "I'm not old [28], but I'm not getting younger, either. So, it's one of those things where it's going to be a part of my routine, which is fine.

"The shoulder is getting better and getting more and more comfortable. I still have days where it doesn't feel great. It's part of it. Everyone doesn't feel great on certain days. But I'm getting more comfortable, and I'm able to repeat it a little bit more. It's only going to get better. It's frustrating at times. Nobody wants to make errors. Nobody wants to mess up. Unfortunately, I have some this year. But all I can do every day is work harder at it and get better."

Zimmerman had had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder last October. While there wasn't any labrum or rotor cuff damage, Zimmerman needed to have his AC joint fixed and the surgery revealed the injury to be more serious than anticipated.

"You can never really tell until you get in there," Zimmerman said. "But the AC joint and the stuff around it was pretty bad. For a pitcher, it would have been a lot longer timetable than a position player. [If I were a pitcher], I would be doing rehab starts. That's a pitcher. That's a totally different story. I'm not using that as an excuse or anything like that. It's technically a rehab year."