Henley says he's unaware of "Send-ley" moniker

HOUSTON - Third base coach Bobby Henley joined the Nationals as third base coach in 2014. He has 23 years experience with the organization, 15 seasons as a coach.

He has developed a reputation in some circles as being an aggressive third base coach, catching the moniker of "Send-ley" for his propensity to windmill runners home on balls hit to the outfield.

I asked Henley when, if ever, he had heard of the "Send-ley" nickname to represent his coaching style. Henley said he's rarely heard that moniker.

"I got to be honest, I haven't even heard that," Henley said. "I (heard) a little kid years ago, somebody would say 'Send-ley!" I'm like, 'What is he talking about?' I had no clue what he was even talking about. Then I had heard that somebody had said that name and I'm like, 'Oh, good lord.' "

Henley explained that with a team as good as the Nats are offensively he is playing the numbers and odds at third base, and certainly is not sending every runner home that comes into his view nearing third base. The odds with an offense like the Nats have are in his favor.

"I would rather be kind of like the umpire that's good that nobody really notices," Henley noted. "None of it is about me at all. I just want us to score as many runs as possible. You look at a lot of video. I study arms and I study how they get to the ball. I study accuracy and situations in the game, and where we are at in our lineup. Who's going to the bullpen and how he matches up with who they are going to throw to or are they going to intentionally walk and throw to the next guy. I'm a student of the game in that regard.

"I want to try to make sure that at least if I'm making decisions out there that I'm making the best decisions for us to win a ballgame. Not just some reckless maniac that says, 'Everybody's going!' I think our mentality should be that we're going to try to score every time we get a base hit."

So is there a situation in a game when he wouldn't be aggressive?

"If the ball is hit directly at somebody on a one hop and there's nobody out and we're in the middle of our lineup, then there's times when we go, 'Let's hit for a second. Guys, let's hit here.'

"There's times where you try to be aggressive and sometimes you push the limits and it works out, and sometimes you push the limits and it doesn't work out. Sometimes you really push the limits and you know if the timing of it he's out by 30 feet, so you are hoping for a wild throw or a dropped exchange from a relay guy.

"There's a lot to it."

Henley said it hurts him just as much as it hurts fans when he sees a Nat get thrown out at the plate.

"I don't like it when guys get thrown out," Henley said. "I think if nobody gets thrown out you're not being near aggressive enough. I want us to be aggressive more, so with balls in the dirt, moreso going first to third. I think a lot of times, if you ask guys to be aggressive as a coaching staff and take some chances here and there. We are going to play the game hard and fast paced and try to speed the game up on the other team."

Henley explained that he isn't sending runners just to send them. There is a plan in place and it's based on opportunity and probability, depending on many factors.

"I think there's more to it than sending everybody," Henley said. "I think, in general, we are an aggressive team. We are going to try to score as many runs as we possibly can. Sometimes scoring as many runs as you can might mean you're holding a few guys. Sometimes it means we're really going to have to be aggressive here and send them some of these runners because it's a stingy pitcher out there."