A year after injury, Saunders is ahead of schedule

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 2000

BOSTON -- The Devil Rays are hopeful that Wilson Alvarez and Juan Guzman will be pitching effectively in the rotation by the end of May. As astonishing as that is, the bigger news is that Tony Saunders may not be far behind.

With the one-year anniversary of the horrific moment when he broke his left arm throwing a pitch just weeks away (May 26), Saunders is -- by all accounts -- making extraordinary progress.

Saunders has been throwing off the mound for a few weeks, snapping off curveballs, mixing in changeups, firing fastballs at what he guesses is 75-80 percent effort. He'll throw 55-60 pitches, then another 20-25 off flat ground. (More than some healthy starters do in each game.)

The next step is to throw batting practice, and that could happen by the weekend. From there, if all continues to go well, he'll pitch in minor-league games, probably for about a month, then rejoin the rotation.

"June 1? Fine. July 1? Fine. Aug. 1? Fine. Datewise, my arm is going to tell me when I'm ready, and not a moment too soon," Saunders said. "They've instilled in me that I have to be patient and when the time is right, it's right."

Physically, he feels fine. His main concentration is building arm strength, and he compares his status to about the middle of spring training. "I had my X-rays done (Wednesday) night and the bone is 100 percent healed," Saunders said. "There's absolutely no lines. You can't even tell it's been broke."

Some observers and pop psychologists say the bigger challenge is going to be mental. But Saunders, stubborn by nature, is not concerned. "I think my real test was stepping on the mound and going, "Hey, everything's okay.' That was my first test. I think when I see a hitter my competitive nature is going to take over," he said.

And by spending a month on rehab, he should be well prepared when he makes it back to the big leagues. "They want me to get confidence in myself," he said. "They don't want me trying to get it up here. They want me to believe in it down there."

Of three other pitchers to suffer a similar injury, none came back to pitch regularly. Saunders is poised to be the exception: "With every guy it's been different paths. Is this the best scenario? I think you can say yes. If I get out there and pitch again this year, heck yes, that's the best scenario anyone could have pictured.

"I wasn't even supposed to pick a ball up until June. And if I come back in the month of June, that blows everybody away."

NEW LOOK: There is talk of a name change and uniform redesign for next season. According to baseball officials, the team will exorcise the "Devil" and will be known just as the Rays. Expect slight changes to the color scheme and details (just enough, no doubt, to spur a full line of new merchandise) with the uniforms sporting a logo similar to the one on the batting practice tops. And look for another alternate jersey, this one more of a sleeveless vest.

FAN CLUB: Roberto Hernandez is well aware the fans at Tropicana Field have been booing him during his recent struggles, but, to put it bluntly, he doesn't feel all that badly about their reaction. "I feel worse that I let the guys in (the clubhouse) down," he said. "Those same fans, once I knock a game down, they'll stand up and cheer. They don't even enter into my thought process."

IT'S GETTING LATE EARLY: Baseball people often say you need until Memorial Day to judge a team. Some Devil Rays folks are suggesting that with all the injuries they won't know exactly what they have -- or how good they can be -- until sometime in June. But the facts, as ESPN.com points out, are that April matters. A lot. Of the 88 teams that have reached the playoffs since 1982, only 11 had a losing record in April. Only three (the 1987 Tigers, '89 Blue Jays and '95 Reds) were more than three games under .500 and only one (those '87 Tigers) was more than 41/2 games out of a playoff spot. Of the 10 wild-card teams since the format was implemented in 1995, none was more than three games out at the end of April. The Rays finished the month 9-15 and 61/2 games out of first.

TROP BOP: In their continuing effort to make Tropicana Field more of an entertainment center (or, as the skeptics say, to provide another diversion from actually watching the team play), the Rays plan to add a billiards room and Jack Daniels saloon. ... The rock climbing wall, free the first two seasons, costs $1.

HOO-RAYS: The owners meeting at which realignment is supposedly going to be voted on is set for June 13-14. ... With proceeds from the send-off gala, the team charity foundation gave $23,708 to the Academy Prep school and $7,903 to the Children's Home.

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