[外電] Rehab progress encourages Pujols
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By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/17/2006
Suggesting a sooner-than-later return, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols
took ground balls Friday for the first time since a strained right muscle in
his right side landed him on the disabled list June 4. He intends to swing a
bat before the team leaves Tuesday on a six-game trip.
Pujols fielded about 30 ground balls and also threw in a workout more than
three hours before Friday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The club
postponed Pujols' scheduled hitting session when trainers suggested that team
doctors first sign off on it.
"He's making progress," head trainer Barry Weinberg said. "He's getting
there. Everything appears to be going in the right direction."
Pujols emerged from the workout ecstatic about his range of movement and
ability to throw without pain.
"It's going great. It's going real good," said Pujols, who went on the
disabled list for the first time in his six-year career after suffering the
severe strain while moving for a foul ball in a June 3 game against the
Chicago Cubs. "I can sleep on that side without feeling pain. When I sneeze,
it doesn't hurt it the way it used to. I can do normal things without a
problem. That wasn't the way it was" immediately after the injury.
"He's stepped things up. We'll see how he does," said manager Tony La Russa,
whose team went into Friday's game 5-5 since Pujols went on the DL.
Pujols, who is hitting .308 and still leads the major leagues with 25 home
runs and 65 RBIs despite missing the last 11 games, plans to accompany the
club on its trip to Chicago and Detroit. He hinted his return could beat the
four-week minimum initially projected by the club. That four-week estimate
would take him through July 1.
"I think it's going to be sooner, but I don't want to say a whole lot more,"
Pujols said.
Diagnosed with a Grade III strain - or a complete tear - of a finger of
muscle away from the 11th rib on his right side, Pujols at first heard that
he could be out through the All-Star break. That timetable appears to have
accelerated since the club left without him for Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.
Pujols believes he could come off the disabled list without going on a
minor-league rehab assignment but allowed he would do "whatever the team
thinks is best." Third baseman Scott Rolen returned last June from
arthroscopic shoulder surgery without a minor-league rehab.
La Russa played down the possibility of activating Pujols to serve as
designated hitter in next week's six interleague games. "That shouldn't be
our test," he said. "Don't play him unless you expect him to be completely
healthy. If there's any doubt that it would keep him out, you don't do it."
The Cardinals remain cautious because of the nature of the injury. Premature
exertion can aggravate such an injury should an athlete mistake an absence of
discomfort for complete recovery.
"The only thing I haven't done is hitting," Pujols said. "Throwing ...
fielding hasn't been a problem. I feel more comfortable every day. But I
haven't done much running, so I expect my legs will be sore tomorrow."
Weinberg said Pujols' hitting drills would progress gradually from tee work
to soft toss before he faces a live arm. Though La Russa insisted Friday that
"based on how he's progressed, he'll play before the All-Star break," the
team has tried to douse any runaway optimism.
"You don't play him except to get him back for the rest of the season," said
La Russa, who witnessed the problems that followed pitcher Woody Williams
after his premature return from a similar injury in 2002.
Pujols said he plans to participate in the All-Star Game on July 11. But the
major league home run leader will abstain from participating in the home run
derby.
"I'm definitely not going to" appear in the home run exhibition, Pujols said.
"I'm not going to do something that could hurt me or my team. It's not worth
it."
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希望Pujols健康的回來參加All-Star Game!
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