ATLANTA — About four and a half hours before Monday’s series opener against the Braves, Daniel Murphy and Nationals Director of Medical Services Harvey Sharman jogged short distances around the outfield at SunTrust Park. To any normal observer, the whole thing would have looked like a comically insignificant workout, not much of a cardio test, nor much of a strength-building exercise. But for Murphy, it represented some of the most important steps he has taken in five months.
Until Monday, Murphy had only been running on a treadmill since undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee in late October. That he can run on the field now marks progress. That he can only jog short distances for short times signals how far he still has to go before returning.
“I wasn’t necessarily focused on the pace; it was more of kind of getting my stride length correct. I think, anybody who’s been hurt, as much as anything it’s retraining your brain that you can handle the movement even if there’s no discomfort — which there wasn’t,” Murphy said. “Still got to retrain my brain. It’s the first time I’ve hit the ground in almost six months.”
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Much of Murphy’s rehabilitation, at least the parts visible to reporters on the field, has involved feeling things out with trainers and staff. After swings in the cage, he talks to trainers and hitting coach Kevin Long, mimicking his swing to show them when and where things feel wrong or right. After Monday’s runs, before he headed out to take batting practice with his teammates, Murphy checked in with Sharman again. After a brief conversation, Murphy headed toward the cage, twirling his bat in his hand.
“Onward and upward,” he said as he walked away.
In the cage, Murphy looks better than he did even a week ago in West Palm Beach, Fla. Then, he was mostly upright, his usual batter’s box squat replaced with a temporary straight-legged stance that put less pressure on his legs. Little by little, day by day, he is sinking into his legs more and more in the cage.
“I think, as I naturally get stronger in my legs, I’ll probably hopefully be able to use them more. I feel like I’m getting into my legs more,” Murphy said. “You might have to ask [hitting coach Kevin Long]. He’ll feed it to you straight. Sometimes I’ll try to trick myself. I feel like I’m getting my legs stronger, and hopefully we’ll continue to do that.”
Murphy will continue his work around the team, under the close watch of Sharman and his staff, until he is ready to play in rehabilitation games. He will need to be able to run freely and for innings at a time before he can do that. As of Monday, Murphy didn’t even know whether he would feel well enough to run again Tuesday. He probably will not be ready to play until late April at the earliest.
In the meantime, Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo continue to split time in his absence. Through four games, Manager Dave Martinez seems to have played the matchups, with both players getting fairly regular at-bats. Both are better defenders at second base than Murphy, even when Murphy is at full strength. Neither, at their best, can do what Murphy does offensively.
So far, the Nationals have fared well without him. He is making progress, but it seems they will have to wait awhile before he can help them again.
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