Gordon is ready...So is Dobbs

Former Appleton Fox Tom Gordon is ready to go for the Phillies

Gordon enters '07 feeling great
Strengthening program does wonders for closer's shoulder

Tom Gordon isn't sure if it was one pitch or a series of offerings he threw over a troubling stretch last season, when he was at his worst. The Phillies closer only remembers the pain that heightened over the next few weeks and eventually landed him on the disabled list.

A series of shoulder strengthening techniques got Gordon back on the mound for what was an effective September, though his shoulder still wasn't perfect. Then came November, after the veteran had a month to let the inflammation calm down.

He restarted the program using the techniques he first learned in August, and claims to feel better than he can remember. His goal is to remain off the disabled list in 2007.

"Night and day," he said. "In about two weeks, I felt a little better, and in three weeks to a month, I noticed a big change. I felt a lot stronger. My stretching was better. It's made a huge difference. [Taking] that month off [after the season], where I allowed my arm to rest, really helped."

Gordon was 7-5 with a 2.06 ERA in seventeen starts for the Foxes in 1988. He struck out 172 batters in just 118 innings and was up with the Kansas City Royals by the end of that season.

In a different entry at the Phillies site, Greg Dobbs (WI '02) gets a mention.

Greg Dobbs threw his cap into the competition for a spot on the Phillies' bench as he arrived in Clearwater.

The team is searching for a left-handed hitter, and general manager Pat Gillick remembered Dobbs from the Mariners. The Phils claimed him off waivers on Jan. 16.

"I'm very excited to be with the organization," Dobbs said. "It's a fresh opportunity with a new club. I just hope to contribute here in any way I can. It was really nice the way it worked out. Anytime you're taken off a 40-man [as the Mariners did], you never know what's going to happen. In this case, the best possible thing happened. They picked me up and put me on the roster and gave me a shot to compete for a spot on this roster. That's really all you can ask for."