Denard Span battles emotions in recovery from back issue

Center fielder Denard Span (back spasms) took another step toward finally returning to the Nationals with an outside batting practice session Wednesday, plus defensive drills, as his team prepared for Game 3 against the Diamondbacks.

"Felt pretty good the first couple of rounds," Span said. "By the third round, I got a little bit gassed. A lot of that is just conditioning. But felt good to be out there for the first time hitting. I've been hitting in the cage for the last three days, but actually hitting outside and watching the ball travel felt good."

Span also moved from fielding grounders to testing his legs and body with fly ball defense.

"I've been doing ground balls the last couple of days," Span said. "Today was my first day doing fly balls and line drives and all that, balls in the air. I felt good. First step felt pretty good. Couple of the coaches told me my first step looked good, so today was a step in the right direction."

Span will now see how his body responds tomorrow morning. If he feels good, he will keep "moving forward." He said he is also getting in better shape as the rehab goes along and that he has lost seven pounds. Span said rehab is never an easy task. The recovery is made much more difficult when he has to watch his team lose a game and fall out of first place in the division.

"There's no place I'd rather be than battling with my teammates," Span said. "Got ourselves a little fight with the Mets. I want to be there and try do what I can to uplift this team."

He said the recovery time and not knowing exactly when he might return is the toughest part about being on the disabled list. He also said not putting on the uniform each day plays with your emotions and that he finds himself having to fight a battle in his mind to stay positive.

"It's very difficult when you're wounded, when you can't get out there and help your team," Span admitted. "A lot of emotions, it's been tough psychologically for me. Ups, downs, I've been bored, frustrated, especially when we lose.

"Almost like a sense of hopelessness. But you kind of do feel that way because you can't go out there and help. I still feel like we've done a good job of holding the fort down. I'm just looking forward to getting back out there if my body allows me."

Williams said Span "seems good" as he continues recovery from the back issues. Williams plans for Span to have another live batting practice session Friday and to also run the bases.