CHICAGO -- If all goes well -- and that might be a big "if" -- both Kerry Wood and Sammy Sosa should be back with the Cubs fairly soon.
General manager Jim Hendry told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday that Wood could be pitching for the Cubs within two weeks, barring any setbacks over that time.
Wood has been sidelined since mid-May with a triceps strain.
The plan is for Wood to make one or two rehab starts in the minors. However, Wood still feels discomfort when he reaches an extension point on his throws.
He has been examined by three doctors and the club said none of them found serious structural damage.
''He's been to different doctors and they say there is nothing structurally wrong with the elbow or anything,'' manager Dusty Baker told the newspaper. ''He says he feels good until he gets to the point of extension. I talked to Bob Welch about it and [maybe] it's a spur or something. [Sometimes] you got to throw through it, whatever is happening.''
But the Cubs aren't about to return Wood to the mound unless he is feeling a very low level of discomfort. Assessing what is normal from abnormal is the tricky part.
''You are always in some kind of discomfort,'' Baker told the paper.
Asked if Wood might not pitch until just before or just after the All-Star break, Baker said: ''You do the math. If I sit around and do the math, I could get really depressed. I could get inundated with [return] dates that might never happen.''
Meanwhile, Sosa has been on the disabled list since May 16 with a sprained ligament in his lower back brought on by two violent sneezes. Sosa is hoping to start his rehab stint on Friday -- but that could be delayed if he feels lingering soreness in his back.
On Wednesday, Sosa curtailed swinging exercises early after his back felt the residual effect the day after using those muscles again.
''I feel a little sore today,'' Sosa told the newspaper. ''It's been a month since I was swinging. But I think I'm OK. [We] got to wait. Maybe a couple more days.''
Sosa didn't do a rehabilitation stint last year, when he spent 17 games on the disabled list after having the nail on his big right toe removed. He was 2-for-16 in his first three games, including a five-strikeout game against Houston.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1819241
General manager Jim Hendry told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday that Wood could be pitching for the Cubs within two weeks, barring any setbacks over that time.
Wood has been sidelined since mid-May with a triceps strain.
The plan is for Wood to make one or two rehab starts in the minors. However, Wood still feels discomfort when he reaches an extension point on his throws.
He has been examined by three doctors and the club said none of them found serious structural damage.
''He's been to different doctors and they say there is nothing structurally wrong with the elbow or anything,'' manager Dusty Baker told the newspaper. ''He says he feels good until he gets to the point of extension. I talked to Bob Welch about it and [maybe] it's a spur or something. [Sometimes] you got to throw through it, whatever is happening.''
But the Cubs aren't about to return Wood to the mound unless he is feeling a very low level of discomfort. Assessing what is normal from abnormal is the tricky part.
''You are always in some kind of discomfort,'' Baker told the paper.
Asked if Wood might not pitch until just before or just after the All-Star break, Baker said: ''You do the math. If I sit around and do the math, I could get really depressed. I could get inundated with [return] dates that might never happen.''
Meanwhile, Sosa has been on the disabled list since May 16 with a sprained ligament in his lower back brought on by two violent sneezes. Sosa is hoping to start his rehab stint on Friday -- but that could be delayed if he feels lingering soreness in his back.
On Wednesday, Sosa curtailed swinging exercises early after his back felt the residual effect the day after using those muscles again.
''I feel a little sore today,'' Sosa told the newspaper. ''It's been a month since I was swinging. But I think I'm OK. [We] got to wait. Maybe a couple more days.''
Sosa didn't do a rehabilitation stint last year, when he spent 17 games on the disabled list after having the nail on his big right toe removed. He was 2-for-16 in his first three games, including a five-strikeout game against Houston.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1819241
