This time, rookie feels he's ready

Rays pitcher Jon Switzer has come back from surgery hoping to build on an earlier trial.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published May 13, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - From the way Jon Switzer described how he spent his summer, it is baffling how the Devil Rays pitcher withstood the excitement.

The highlight of each day spent in St. Petersburg as he rehabbed from shoulder surgery was the daily 20-minute exercise session in which he worked against the resistance provided by a big rubber band.

"Slow progress," Switzer said, laughing.

But steady.

Switzer can look back with humor because after missing all of 2004, he said he nearly is back to his preinjury form. He said he has no limitations in his mechanics, and his slider is regaining the bite that made it so effective.

Even better, after being called up Wednesday from Double-A Montgomery in the wake of Dewon Brazelton's demotion to Triple-A Durham, the left-handed reliever has a chance to show he is ready for the big leagues.

Switzer had a brief chance at the end of 2003 as a late-season callup and pitched in five games.

This time, with reliever Lance Carter's five-game suspension for his role in the brawl with the Red Sox still to be appealed, there is a good chance the 25-year-old will get an extended look.

"You just never know what's going to happen," Switzer said before Thursday night's game with the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

"You take every time as an opportunity to prove yourself and show you can do it. The difference is now I've been here once. Hopefully that little bit of knowledge I got from that will help me."

Switzer didn't dazzle with the Rays in 2003, when he pitched 92/3 innings with a 7.45 ERA and gave up eight earned runs with 13 hits.

Still, manager Lou Piniella said, "He threw the ball respectably. He didn't show any signs of panic or anything else. He fit in and got some experience."

But Switzer was shut down during 2004's spring training with what was believed to be tendinitis. By June it was determined he needed surgery for a torn labrum.

He came back strong. In six starts for Montgomery, Switzer was 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA, 20 strikeouts and five walks in 311/3 innings.

Scheduled to start Thursday in Jacksonville, the 6-foot-3, 191-pound Switzer said he doesn't mind moving to the bullpen.

"It's an opportunity to pitch," he said. "If you get one of those opportunities, you don't turn them down and complain about what your role is."

Switzer figures he's better suited to make it work than in 2003. He knows his teammates after two additional springs, and having some major-league experience will go a long way toward muffling any apprehension.

"You put it behind you and realize you are just pitching," said Switzer, who made his major-league debut in August 2003 against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. "Mostly it's a comfort level."

Which should pump up the excitement level.

[Last modified May 13, 2005, 00:57:16]