"Jeff Garber leaned on a rail outside the first base dugout during batting practice this afternoon, looking across the field at Ryan Zimmerman at third base. "You can tell what he's working on by just watching him," Garber said.

Garber, the Nationals infield coordinator, began working with Zimmerman during his recent rehab stint in the Nationals' minor league system. Zimmerman felt prolonged stiffness and soreness in his surgically repaired abdominal muscle while making throws, and he approached Garber about changes he wanted to make. "It's slowly evolved from that," Garber said.

This afternoon, Garber watched as Zimmerman fielded a ball and cro-hopped into a position unfamiliar to those who have watched Zimmerman throw. The pronounced extension of his right arm was gone, replaced by a 90-degree bend in his elbow. Zimmerman was more crouched and upright rather than bending backwards.

Zimmerman made the changes, which Garber is still working with him on, in order to both improve his throwing and to guard against a future injury to his midsection. Garber is uncertain as to whether his old motion led to Zimmerman's injury, but he thinks changing it will help eliminate future injury."