When you're joining a new team -- one counting on you as a key component of the bullpen -- there's enough to think about on the field and around you.Good to see one of my favorite former Rattlers is getting back on the mound.
But for J.J. Putz, there's something else to preoccupy his thoughts while fitting into his role as the White Sox' right-handed setup man.
Surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow last summer limited him to 29 games in his only season with the New York Mets after almost six seasons with the Seattle Mariners. And though the spurs are gone and he is ostensibly healthy, the nagging worry about his elbow is something else to take care of this spring training.
''I'm probably overly cautious,'' he said Friday, even after throwing a fine inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ''Any time I get a little sore or something, I kind of overexaggerate in my head what it is. That's going to probably be the hardest part getting back from having surgery. But so far, everything's working in the right direction.''
This next part...This next part is all Ozzie:
When he struck out two and gave up only a hit in one inning Friday, it certainly looked that way.
''I didn't know he threw a forkball, and I thought it was a changeup,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said of Putz's favorable first outing. ''A 3-2 count, power pitcher, strikeout.''
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