Posted at 9:08 a.m., Friday, August 3, 2007
Baseball: Cubs activate pitcher Wood from disabled list
Associated Press
CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood was activated from the 60-day disabled list today after recovering from a sore shoulder that kept him out of the majors for more than a year.Wood, the 1998 NL rookie of the year, made eight rehab starts and is back in the Cubs bullpen as a short reliever. His last regular-season start in the majors was June 6, 2006.
On the disabled list 11 times in his major league career, the 30-year-old Wood made only four starts last season. His comeback this spring was delayed by more discomfort.
During his rehab starts at three different minor league stops, some pitches were clocked in the mid-90s.
The Cubs host the New York Mets on Friday and through the weekend.
"If we need him, we'll use him," Piniella said Friday. "He's available and he's had two days off. He's the freshest pitcher we've got. So if we need him, we'll use him. I've got all the confidence in the world that he'll do his job."
Before Friday's game, Wood caught some pitches from Pearl Jam rock star Eddie Vedder in the bullpen. Vedder was to sing during the seventh-inning stretch.
Wood has pitched out of the bullpen previously. He had 11 career relief appearances in 2005 when he was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA before arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Aug. 31 of that year.
In his last outing as a starter, Wood lasted only 3 2-3 innings and allowed four runs, one earned, against the Houston Astros.
To make room for Wood, the Cubs sent reliever Rocky Cherry to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday and transferred right-hander Angel Guzman to the 60-day disabled list.
Wood has a 71-56 career record and 3.68 ERA in 189 major league appearances.
He won a career-high 14 games in 2003, pitching the Cubs into the playoffs. His signature performance came in his fifth major league start in 1998 when he struck out 20 Houston batters in a one-hit masterpiece.
