Wells' knee feels fine after rehab outing

03/16/2006
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Wells appeared in a game Thursday for the first time this spring as he continues to rehab from offseason surgery on his right knee.
The left-hander threw three innings in a Minor League intrasquad game, giving up two runs on five hits, while striking out one. He threw 53 pitches, 34 for strikes.
Manager Terry Francona watched the first two of Wells' three innings before returning from the Minor League complex to City of Palms Park, about two miles away, for the Red Sox's game against the Minnesota Twins.
"From what I understand, he was up a little in the third inning, which is to be expected," Francona said. "I thought he has an uncanny ability to locate. There's a couple that were over the middle of the plate, but I thought he did fine. Probably, more importantly, is how he felt."
Wells said he had no problem with his knee and that his pitches are progressing.
"The knee felt great," he said. "If I'm going to feel anything, I'm going to feel it pitching, following through and all that. But, so far, so good.
"[The curveball was] the best pitch I threw, because it was just free and easy, and the other pitches I was pretty much aiming, and that's not good.
His fastball was clocked on one radar gun at 88 mph, which Wells said is about where he wants to be.
"Your first time out, [you are] a little jittery, just rushing everything," Wells said. "I was not really hitting my spots. ... I know what I'm doing out there. I know I'm not bringing the ball down, just flying wide open. And I know I'm doing it, so I'm trying to correct it. Just the first time, you want to go out there and try to throw 100 mph. I know that ain't going to happen."
Depending upon how he responds to this outing, Wells, who said he needs only about 15-20 innings of work in Spring Training to be ready for the season, said the next step in his rehab could be in a Grapefruit League game.
"I don't see why not," he said. "I'll go out and throw a few innings in a game and do that. If I need some extra work in between, I can come down and throw one of these [Minor League games]. It doesn't matter where I throw, as long as I just get some innings in, and my comfort zone and how I feel out there. If everything's coming out good with all the pitches, then to me, it doesn't matter where I throw."
With Wells healthy, the Sox have an abundance of starting pitchers. In addition to Wells, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Matt Clement, Bronson Arroyo and Jonathan Papelbon are capable of competing to be in the rotation.
The team has two days off within the first eight days of the regular season. Francona has suggested he may use just four starters until around April 15.
Wells, whose contract calls for a base salary of $2.5 million this season and up to $5 million in performance bonuses, including for the number of starts he makes, said he would not want to be the pitcher held out. He also confirmed Thursday that this would be his last season.
"I'd have a problem with that," he said. "If they're going to go four and I'm going to be the odd man out, then that's not going to sit well with me. I know they've got an abundance of pitching. That's one thing they don't lack is pitching, and if that's the case, and I'm one of the four, that's great. If they're going to hold me back, then, like I said, I got to go out there and pitch first and build up.
"If I feel good, and [Thursday] I felt great, my knee didn't bother me ... I think that's their main concern. If they're going to hold me back because of my knee, well, I can only tell them how I feel. And if I tell them I feel fine, then [I've] just got to go with that and just cross that path when it comes.
"I don't see why Clement should sit out. Matt's having a [heck] of a spring and he's throwing the ball well, to me. You got Beckett, you got [Wakefield] and you got Schilling. Like I said, that's a lot of pitching. They haven't told me that, so until they do, we'll see, because I want to get out there and pitch. I'm not the type of guy that's going to sit around for two weeks before my first outing. It's not right.
"If they go five men, that's the way they should do it. They got five guys out there who are veteran guys that can pitch, that can help a team out. And I think that's what they should do. If they don't, that's their decision and we'll see what happens."
Wells, who had requested a trade during the offseason only to rescind it earlier this month, said he would have to wait to determine what recourse he would have if he were held out.
"Right now, it's too early to really speculate on that," he said. "I think it's [about how many] more times I go out there. We'll just wait and see. If they still feel the same way after a few more outings, then we're definitely going to have to sit down and talk. I don't see myself sitting until April 15 to wait to pitch. I just don't see it at all."
Francona declined to comment until he had a chance to speak to his pitchers about the rotation.

Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/