Gonzalez: "Just shut up and play"

VIERA, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez arrived for spring training as somewhat of a forgotten man in the incredible Nationals starting rotation. The hype surrounds the signing of Max Scherzer while some controversy follows the impending free agency of Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister. Stephen Strasburg seemingly will always dominate headlines.

So here's Gonzalez coming off a frustrating season in which he landed on the disabled list for the first time in his career. Left shoulder inflammation bothered him throughout much of the first half of the season and eventually caused him to miss time. His ERA hovered around 4.00 while the shoulder continued to bother him.

"That's one of the toughest things is just trying to stay on top of the ball, knowing your arm kept dropping little by little," Gonzalez said. "But as soon as I came back from the injury, you could see that it was starting to turn it back on and just get going. I just wish i would've started a little earlier for the guys so I could try to help out as much as possible, but that's just the way it is, you know? Play the chips how they lie."

He was able to recover and finished his last nine starts with a 2.77 ERA. Gonzalez also was given the nod to start Game 4 of the National League Division Series. He ended up surrendering two runs on four hits in four innings and a no-decision in a loss to the Giants that prematurely ended the Nats season.

It's possible that Gonzalez ends up being the surprise of this power-packed rotation. Though I'm not sure we should consider success a surprise from Gonzalez considering he finished third in the NL Cy Young Award vote in 2012 after posting a 21-8 record, a 2.89 ERA and 207 strikeouts. Standing in the clubhouse on Thursday, the 29-year-old lefty expressed a return of confidence that was lost somewhat while dealing with the injury last year.

"Oh, it's unbelievable," Gonzalez said. "I'm just happy to finally get that shoulder back to where it needs to be and finally pound the strike zone where I wanted to and get that curveball where I needed it to be. It's all signs of (a) nice and effortless year and just enjoying it, so hopefully it just kicks in when the season starts."

Count Gonzalez as another one of the many Nats players who was stunned to hear Scherzer was joining his team and rotation.

"It was unbelievable," Gonzalez said. "It was almost jaw-dropping. One of those you didn't expect it. Expect the unexpected, but in baseball you never know what's going to happen. And that was just a perfect sign of it. Seeing him come over here, and especially with the rotation we've got, it's just a bigger smile on all of our faces."

I asked Gonzalez if he could recall any former teammates in Oakland talking about how difficult Scherzer was to face.

"Not really," Gonzalez said. "Scherzer's just unbelievable himself. You don't have to talk to an old teammate about that; you can talk to almost half of baseball about the way he pitches and the way he pounds the strike zone and the way he attacks hitters. I mean, it's devastating where he goes up there. It's almost like watching a Nintendo game. He's going out there and picking and choosing what he wants to put down and making the plays happen."

Gonzalez also spent some time this offseason going back to his roots in Florida.

"I kind of actually spent more time with the kids at Hialeah High, the baseball team, and just got to spend that enjoyment that I lost, back then, being a kid again," he said. "That opened my eyes, going back to where I came from in Hialeah. I just put all that stress and all that behind me, and I just want to enjoy it this year."

And how did Gonzalez get involved?

"It just kind of fell into place, he said. "A buddy of mine who's now the head coach there called me and he asked me, 'Hey, why don't you come over here? Why don't you work with the kids? We would like to hear your feedback.' And ever since then, I was hooked. I didn't want to leave the place. I was excited to work with the kids, kind of speak to them. It was just one of those things. I never had an opportunity to have a Major League Baseball player come down and talk to me when I was a kid, so I tried to give as much back when I was there. It also took a lot off my mind. It helped me just relax, pound the strike zone and my bullpen work, I had a young high school kid catching my bullpens so that was pretty cool. And lo and behold, that kid probably dropped a bomb off me too. It's impressive how exciting the youth brings back that child kind of game."

A healthy, relaxed Gonzalez seems ready to recapture his dominant form in 2015. He also may have the proper mentality for this Nats team that surely will have lofty expectations hovering over their heads throughout the season.

"We don't want to have that pressure on us this year," Gonzalez told MLB Network on Thursday. "I think the best way to be played is unseen. The best way to do it was with the Giants, the way they did it. You know it was not talked about, it was just 'Shut up and play.' And that's what we want to do this year is just shut up and play, and not try to meet anyone's expectations but our own."