The healing fields

Sporting News, The, Feb 21, 2000

As camps open in Florida and Arizona, players test the four R's of an injury: repair, recovery, rehab and return

It's, easy to connect the dots between spring and players recovering from injuries. Yet that ignores the reality of the pure, unadulterated grunt work required this winter of, say, Pirates catcher Jason Kendall, who is working to overcome an injury so grotesque that players had to look away when his ankle shattered last July 4.

Elbows and knees freshly repaired and ligaments transplanted have nothing to do with spring's lush, green fields, unless you consider that now, finally, these players will reap what they've sown during December's rehab.

Nine hits shy of 3,000, Cal Ripken Jr., 39, has spent the of[season rehabilitating from surgery on a chronically troublesome lower back that put him on the disabled list twice last year. Combined time lost: almost two months. Going into spring he appears intent on not so much reaching a milestone but proving that, yes, he remains an everyday player.

"This was different than any offseason," he says. "I'm someone who tries to find fun in everything, but I just couldn't do it. After a while, the (rehab) process became boring. I hit the wall in January.

"I'm really looking forward to getting down there and having some fun."

On the ensuing pages is a look at several players who in the coming weeks will, like Ripken, take those first tentative steps out onto the healing fields. Th(firs are but a handful of the many. names that dot camps from Port St. Lucie, Fla., to Peoria, Ariz., players working out one kink or another.

In that sense, baseball's spring is indeed about dreams cultivated and hopes raised, comebacks brought to fruition.

KERRY WOOD

CUBS, RHP

INJURY: He suffered a torn collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow--it became apparent, anyway--on a warmup pitch before the second inning of his first spring-training start last year. It required ligament replacement, also known as "Tommy John surgery," in April 1999.

THE PROGNOSIS: This surgery typically takes 16 months to two years of rehabilitation, but Wood, citing a tweaked delivery that makes his mechanics smoother and slower, thinks he has a chance to break camp with the Cubs. He has been throwing fastballs since December--reportedly with his usual velocity. Apparently far ahead of schedule, Wood will get his first real test in camp when he attempts to break off stressful curveballs. One minus: The Cubs' camp is earlier than usual (because of the club's March 29 season opener in Japan), thus reducing Wood's preparation/recovery time.

THE QUOTE: "We want to make sure when he steps on the mound at Wrigley Field that he's 100 percent. If he has to be in a rehab assignment in warm weather in more controlled conditions for a while, then I think (his 2000 debut with the Cubs) will be sometime after opening day." --Cubs G.M. Ed Lynch

CARLOS GUILLEN

MARINERS, 3B

THE INJURY: Seattle's starting second baseman and leadoff hitter, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on a rundown play at home plate in only the fifth game of last season. He had surgery April 22 and missed the remainder of 1999.

THE PROGNOSIS: Guillen struggled early in his rehab because he was seeing minimal progress to go with the pain involved with strengthening his knee. But he was taking batting practice and ground balls as early as last September and is the top candidate to start at third base in 2000. Though expected to be at full strength for the start of spring training, he will be watched closely because he has accrued an alarming list of injuries in his brief career. This latest setback came just eight months after an injury to his left knee in September 1998 forced him to miss the remainder of that season.

THE QUOTE: "Carlos has to be pushed. If he thought he could get away with something, he would try to." --Mariners trainer Rick Griffin

QUINTON McCRACKEN

DEVIL RAYS, CF

THE INJURY: McCracken tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last May 24 at Tropicana Field against Texas when he tried to climb the wall in left-center to catch Juan Gonzalez's drive that went for a home run. McCracken hit the wall awkwardly, collapsed and was taken off on a motorized cart. He played in only 40 games, hitting .250 with a home run, 18 RBIs and six stolen bases.

THE PROGNOSIS: He agreed to a one-year deal for $1.85 million after working out for Devil Rays officials, who are satisfield that his knee is in good shape. McCracken's next challenge is winning back his job in spring training He is expected to compete with free-agent signee Gerald Williams to start in center field and bat leadoff. McCracken, 29, could be used as a fourth outfielder or might be traded if he doesn't beat out Williams.

THE QUOTE: "There's no question he's the Quinton McCracken of 1998 (when he was the team MVP), not 1999. I think going into spring training you're going to see a guy who runs better, is more mobile and is more aggressive with that knee than at any point last year." --Devil Rays G.M. Chuck LaMar.