It's been just over half a year since Jose Contreras ruptured his left Achilles tendon and was lost for the final six weeks of last season and likely the majority of this year, as well. Actually, at the time, there was a lot of speculation that he was done. Officially, Jose turned 38 years old in December, but Caribbean ballplayers have this nasty habit of actually being older than they claim. Jose could easily be in his early-40's. Recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon is supposed to be around a 12-month process. Saying Jose wasn't going to be around until mid-2009 at earliest was like saying the sky is blue or grass is green. No arguments. No proof required. These are facts.
So when the leaner Contreras showed up at Glendale (down apparently 30 pounds) walking without a limp and pitching off a mound to live batters, that was a shock. And now? He has a shot to break camp with the team. Six months ago, he was rolling around the bluegrass just behind the 1st base coach's box at the Cell. This guy's 40 years old! If this isn't the most remarkable story of the first week of Spring Training, in all of baseball not just the Sox, then I better read about somebody walking across a lake.
A healthy and effective Contreras immediately makes the White Sox the favorites in the Central. I know a lot of people soured on Jose after his disaster 2007 season, but while he was healthy in 2008, he was pitching just fine. After a rocky start, he reeled off a series of 10 impressive starts from mid-April to June, highlighted by an 8 inning, 3 hit, 10 strikeout gem Memorial Day weekend against the Angels. During this run, he was 6-2 with a 2.19 ERA and .191 BAA. He allowed only 48 hits in 70 innings of work, and was striking out over 3.2 batters for every 1 he walked.
I'm guessing most people forget about this run of above average pitching because he so memorably imploded while secretly pitching with pain in his elbow until mid-July. The nadir of his season was his Saturday start in Wrigley Field when the Cubs battered him for 9 runs and 3 homers in less than 4 innings during the Cubs' sweep. Three starts later, he was shelved for a month and only got 34 pitches into his comeback before his season was over.
There are still plenty of questions surrounding the back of the Sox's rotation. Jose's health is certainly one, even if he pulls off this miraculous comeback and starts April 10 or 11, whether or not his body can get through 30 starts any more is anyone's guess. But if he can recover from a career-threatening injury in half the projected time, who's betting against him?
So when the leaner Contreras showed up at Glendale (down apparently 30 pounds) walking without a limp and pitching off a mound to live batters, that was a shock. And now? He has a shot to break camp with the team. Six months ago, he was rolling around the bluegrass just behind the 1st base coach's box at the Cell. This guy's 40 years old! If this isn't the most remarkable story of the first week of Spring Training, in all of baseball not just the Sox, then I better read about somebody walking across a lake.
A healthy and effective Contreras immediately makes the White Sox the favorites in the Central. I know a lot of people soured on Jose after his disaster 2007 season, but while he was healthy in 2008, he was pitching just fine. After a rocky start, he reeled off a series of 10 impressive starts from mid-April to June, highlighted by an 8 inning, 3 hit, 10 strikeout gem Memorial Day weekend against the Angels. During this run, he was 6-2 with a 2.19 ERA and .191 BAA. He allowed only 48 hits in 70 innings of work, and was striking out over 3.2 batters for every 1 he walked.
I'm guessing most people forget about this run of above average pitching because he so memorably imploded while secretly pitching with pain in his elbow until mid-July. The nadir of his season was his Saturday start in Wrigley Field when the Cubs battered him for 9 runs and 3 homers in less than 4 innings during the Cubs' sweep. Three starts later, he was shelved for a month and only got 34 pitches into his comeback before his season was over.
There are still plenty of questions surrounding the back of the Sox's rotation. Jose's health is certainly one, even if he pulls off this miraculous comeback and starts April 10 or 11, whether or not his body can get through 30 starts any more is anyone's guess. But if he can recover from a career-threatening injury in half the projected time, who's betting against him?
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