Manny Machado talks about rejoining the Orioles (updated)

Manny Machado is back in the clubhouse today and was going to play third base tonight once again for the Orioles, had there been a game. But right around 5 p.m. the Orioles announced that tonight's game with the Pittsburgh Pirates has been postponed due to rain and will be made up on Thursday, May 1 at 7:05 p.m. When Machado does get back on the field, it will be his first Orioles game since last Sept. 23 when he got hurt in St. Petersburg, Fla., running down the first base line against Tampa Bay and then had left knee surgery in October. He played in just three games on his rehab assignment for Single-A Frederick and here he is. "You know what, I really didn't put a date in my mind," Machado said at a press conference Tuesday. "I told myself, 'Whenever that day is I feel 100 percent and I'm running down the bases and I feel good on the field, that was going to be the day.' Whether it was today or next week or two weeks from now, never really had a date in the back of my mind. It was just a matter of how I felt." So what led him to come back today? "I felt good. I felt great. Body feels good," Machado said. "Needed to work on some things and got it done. Go on to the next step. It's about steps. "Thought I was mentally and physically ready to come up here and be part of this team again and here I am. "It was more about repetition - getting out there, running the bases, playing nine innings, being on my feet. On the mental side, it was trying to get prepared for a long season and getting back into that routine of being part of a team. Being ready to go every day and to perform at an elite level." Machado was pleased with the rehab process dating back to October up to today. "I did everything possible I could ever do in the rehab to get my strength back, get my flexibility back, get right basically," he said. "Now you go out there and trust yourself that you put all the hard work into it. Now go out and don't think about it. Just play the game 110 percent." Machado had quite a few days with Frederick. Over three games, he went 8-for-12 with four doubles, a triple and two RBIs along with two runs and one stolen base. He got needed tests on the bases and in the field. But with the rainy weather, does Machado have any concerns about that? "I'm here to play baseball," he said. "If it's snow, if it's rain, whatever. I'm just here to play. Whatever the climate throws out there, I'm going out there to play no matter what." Update: Machado indicated playing the games in Frederick helped to overcome the mental hurdle of playing and not thinking about his knee, or how it would react on a certain play. "The last couple of days definitely helped," he said. "I felt ready a couple days ago that I was able to play every day. Get on the field, play nine innings, extra innings, whatever it may be. My body feels good, that is the main thing. Just excited to be up here." It wasn't easy for the kid to watch his teammates playing without him, especially when they got off to a 1-4 start. "It was tough," he said. "Lot of new faces and some adversity we had to deal with. We just have to get used to playing together, playing as a team. I wasn't worried about them not hitting or the pitching. It's all going to come. It's a long road, a long season." Machado was asked if has had to learn a new way of running. "It wasn't a new way of running," Machado said. "It was kind of perfecting the way I ran. There were a lot of things that come into play with that. The strength of my legs, the strength of my gluts. Just a matter of getting it to work the same way and fixing the way I ran a little bit." So whenever the next game O's game is played, No. 13 will be out there at third base for the Orioles. He's ready to go and said there is no play at third base that concerns him at this point. "I'm ready to play baseball," Machado said. "I'm going to go out there and make whatever play comes my way. I made a couple of nice plays in the lower levels. I feel good defensively. Not concerned about anything. Been doing this my whole life. Whatever comes my way, just go out there and do it and have fun at the same time."