MARK WOHLERS RETURNING TO REDS

CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden today announced the signing of RHP Mark Wohlers to a 1-year contract, with a mutual option for the 2002 season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

To make room on the 40-man roster, LHP Jeff Wallace was designated for assignment.

"Mark turned down much better offers from other teams to play in Cincinnati," Bowden said. "That shows what kind of person he is and the loyalty he has for the Reds. He wants us to reap the benefits of the hard work our staff put into his rehabilitation the last couple of years."

Reds manager Bob Boone said, "Mark made great progress coming back last year, and I'm really excited about having him for another season because he gives us a lot of flexibility in our bullpen. We won't be as susceptible to left-handed batters, because he can get them out. Having Mark gives us as many as three closers in the bullpen and will allow us to save some arms."

Wohlers, 30, is a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award after finishing 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 20 relief appearances for the Reds. He posted a sterling 3.33 ERA in his first 19 games before allowing 4 earned runs in his last appearance of the season.

From 1995-98, Wohlers recorded 105 saves for the Atlanta Braves as one of the premier closers in baseball. He joined the Reds prior to the 1999 campaign but spent most of that year on the disabled list, first with an anxiety disorder and then with a torn ligament in his right elbow. Wohlers had "Tommy John" surgery on July 6, 1999 but returned to the Major Leagues only a year later, on July 19.

Mark maybe a Cub

Wohlers got to know Baylor in 1999 when they were with the Atlanta Braves. Baylor was the hitting coach and witnessed Wohlers' mental hangups with control up close and personal.

"Only Don could answer some of their questions," MacPhail said. "It was important to have him talk to them. Sometimes you have to go on a recruiting mission."

The Levinsons are looking for a team and a city where Wohlers, who recently was married, will be comfortable. They are concerned that to overcome his control problems, he must be used correctly and believe in his heart he is in the right place.

"He has been on our list from Day 1," MacPhail said.

WOHLERS A QUESTION MARK

Wohlers expressed bewilderment with a published report quoting Reds general manager Jim Bowden saying he had informed Wohlers' agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, that the team would not be able to reach an agreement with the right-hander.

If Wohlers does not accept the offer by Dec. 19, the Reds can negotiate until Jan. 8, but Bow den's comments indicate they would not do so.

Wohlers a blast from past

In his first Atlanta appearance since being dealt to Cincinnati last year, the former Braves closer pitched two scoreless innings against his old team. The crowd cheered him. He even struck out old battery-mate Javy Lopez, bending his knees with a first-pitch slider, fanning him on another slider in the dirt.

Was it so long ago?

Yes, it was.

"You know how they say, if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything," Wohlers said. "I know a lot of people had doubts, thought they had seen the last (of me), that I would never play in the big leagues again. And I just always believed that I could."

Back from a nasty conflict of confidence, as well as ligament transplant surgery in his right elbow less than 14 months ago, Wohlers made his 12th appearance for the Reds and produced his fifth scoreless appearance of two innings or more. His ERA, 10.18 last year when the Braves moved him, is down to 3.06, and though he walked 10 men in his first 15 2/3 innings, he walked none Wednesday.

"Like he said when he got back here, just to get out on a mound and pitch in another major-league game is an exciting thing," Reds manager Jack McKeon said. " . . . I think the best of him you'll be seeing down the road somewhere."

His first fastball reached 96 mph. He allowed a single to Rafael Furcal, then stranded him at third. His primary goal was refining his leg-lift and isolating on the target, the priorities set by pitching coach Don Gullett.

But getting through the emotions of this homecoming, no coach can teach. Wohlers can see now that for some time, he was too hard on himself.

"Now when I do pitch well, I can enjoy it a little bit more," he said, "and realize I just didn't come back from Tommy John surgery. Tommy John surgery might have been the easy part.

"A lot of people had asked, was it mental? Was it all mental? Physically, when you're not capable of throwing the ball well, it's going to get in your head. I knew physically I'd be able to do it. But convincing yourself that you can go out there and be competitive and then doing it is another thing."

Wohlers OK after hospital visit

Wohlers was suffering from stomach pains after Monday night's win against Philadelphia. With outfielder Alex Ochoa already having undergone an appendectomy earlier this season after suffering similar pains, no chances were taken, and Wohlers was transported to a hospital for tests.

But after a CAT scan, Wohlers wasn't found to be suffering from appendicitis, although it isn't entirely clear what he was suffering from.

Wohlers was unavailable for Tuesday night's game against the Phillies, but should be OK, according to Reds team physician Dr. Tim Kremchek.

Wohlers in save situation

A year after undergoing ligament-replacement surgery and two years after mysteriously losing his ability to throw strikes, Wohlers is back in the major leagues. This time, batters are swinging and missing, rather than ducking.

Once out of control on the mound and a nervous wreck at times off it, Wohlers is on target physically and emotionally. The former Atlanta Braves closer, in a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds, is getting batters out and smiling again. It has been a while.

"I don't want to say I'm all the way back, because who knows what's in the future," Wohlers, 30, said. "Right now, it feels good to be out there pitching again like I knew I could. It's been a long road."

On and off the field. Wohlers was going through a difficult divorce when his control problems began with the Braves in 1998. Now, his personal life is a source of joy. He will be married to Kimberly Serrone in November. His daughter, Austyn, who turns 4 years old next month, visits him frequently.

"As much as I love baseball, and worked to come back, the game isn't my whole life anymore," Wohlers said. "I don't live and die with it like I did. Nothing on a baseball field can compare with the pain of not being able to see your daughter.

"Baseball isn't the only thing that makes me happy now. I get fulfillment out of being a good father and, eventually, a good husband. My life is so much better. I could live without baseball now."

But it looks as if he won't have to. Pitching in the majors for the first time in 15 months, Wohlers struck out the first two batters he faced and pitched two perfect innings in Houston on Thursday. He followed that up with two more scoreless innings at home against Arizona on Saturday, when he worked out of a bases-loaded jam. When Wohlers misses the strike zone now, it's by inches, not feet.

Yet, Wohlers says he almost gave up his comeback attempt last fall, when he stopped his rehab for about a month. Then he thought about the message that quitting would give his daughter eventually.

"I want her to learn it's never OK to quit," Wohlers said. "You can be at the bottom. If you don't get back, that's one thing. If you don't try, it's another."

Placed on the disabled list because of "anxiety disorder" after he was acquired from Atlanta in April 1999, Wohlers blew out his elbow that June while on a rehab assignment in the minors. He had more than his control to worry about. Pitchers usually take from 12-to-18 months to make it back from so-called Tommy John surgery. Some don't make it back at all.

But when Wohlers reported to training camp with the Reds this spring, the change was apparent immediately. From the beginning, he threw naturally again. It was just a matter of building back the strength in his arm.

He made 20 appearances in the minors, 17 of them at Class AAA Indianapolis. The results were not always what he had hoped, but his control was good and his fastball hit 97 mph at times. He is also regaining command of his slider and splitter.

"Mark has worked really hard," Reds pitching coach Don Gullett said. "He's having fun again, and he deserves it."

With Scott Williamson now in the rotation, Cincinnati could use someone to help Danny Graves close games. Wohlers, whose last save came more than two years ago, might be the man.

"He's been great so far," Reds manager Jack McKeon said. "A year ago, no one wanted to take batting practice against him. Now, everything he throws is right around the plate. It makes you wonder if part of his problem wasn't the elbow all the time. Maybe it wasn't just his head."

Although he is careful not to think too much about his painful past, Wohlers also can't help but wonder when his elbow problems began and how they affected his control problems.

"For so long, a lot of people said, 'It's in your head. It's in your head.' Eventually, after you keep throwing the ball 45 feet or 145 feet, certainly nowhere near 60 feet, it's going to get to your head.

"I just think a quick trip to an orthopedic surgeon, instead of a head doctor, where the Braves were sending me constantly, might have stopped the bleeding a little bit sooner. But that doesn't really matter now."

After his successful return to the majors in Houston, the first person Wohlers called was his fianceé, Serrone, a real-estate agent in metro Atlanta. She and Austyn were in Cincinnati on Saturday when Wohlers made his first appearance at Cinergy Field for the Reds.

"It was great to have them both here," Wohlers said. "My fianceé is a very special person, and my daughter means so much to me."

''In the past, I had the approach that if I did well, I would be in a good mood, and if I did poorly, I would be in a bad mood," he said. "Now, it's just part of my life. I mean I love baseball dearly. It has been with me since I was 6 years old. But it's not everything. I understand that now. I'm not just a baseball player."

Wohlers' journey finally at an end

Wohlers, once one of the game's most feared closers, was done. Ready to take his reconstructed right elbow and go home.

''At one time after the surgery, I never thought I would pitch again,'' the Reds reliever said. ''I started throwing in November, and after not picking up a ball for five months, it just wasn't comfortable. I just told myself, that's it. I basically took a month off from rehab. It was only after talking to some people and thinking it over that I figured I would always kick myself if I didn't make a full effort to come back.

''Obviously, I'm glad I did.''

On Thursday night, in the midst of a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros before a sellout crowd of 42,559 at Enron Field, all his hard work was finally rewarded. All the painful workouts with physical therapist Lonnie Soloff in the wake of last July's Tommy John procedure. All the side sessions and simulated games when he finally was able to get on a mound again. All the time spent working himself back into shape at Class A Dayton and Class AAA Louisville, where Wohlers pitched in a combined 20 games with a deceptively high 5.70 ERA, were all well worth it.

Wohlers came in to start the seventh inning, his first major-league appearance since April 8, 1999 with Atlanta. Fourteen pitches later, he had gotten the Reds through the eighth, preventing manager Jack McKeon from having to call upon frontline relievers Scott Sullivan, Dennys Reyes and Danny Graves.

''We were hoping to get two out of him, really, to save those guys,'' McKeon said. ''But the way he pitched, he might come back (tonight). He threw good. He's so nice and smooth, and all of a sudden, the ball's on you. This guy fools you with that nice, easy motion.''

In between, Wohlers had retired six straight hitters, striking out the first two.

Wohlers had every reason to smile. He had officially overcome the elbow problems, his bizarre control problems and a messy divorce. In fact, he did celebrate a bit with a series of high-fives in the Reds' dugout. But he also kept the emotion of the moment in perspective.

''Happiness, to me, is not being a major league baseball player,'' Wohlers said. ''There are a lot of other things that make me happier than playing baseball. I get fulfillment out of being a good father and eventually, a good husband. I don't live and die with (the game) like before. I'm going to go out there and do everything I can to help the Reds win. But win, lose or draw, when the game is over, that's where it stays.

''In the past, I had the approach that if I did well, I would be in a good mood, and if I did poorly, I would be in a bad mood. But I think being away from the game for so long has made me realize there are a lot of other things in life that bring me happiness.''

The second-place Reds (48-47) remained six games behind St. Louis, which lost at Arizona, in the National League Central. Scott Williamson (3-7), making his third start since being moved into the rotation, struggled to get through the third, missing the strike zone with 33 of his 63 pitches and walking four batters.

He left with the Reds in a 2-0 hole and his elbow tightening. Jose Lima (3-13), in the midst of a disastrous year, allowed the Reds just two runs on eight hits through 6 2/3 innings.

For Wohlers, however, the worst is apparently over.

''This is the end of a long road,'' he said.

Wohlers returns to the majors

The Reds purchased the reliever's contract on Wednesday from their Class AAA Louisville affiliate. In 20 combined appearances for both the RiverBats and Class A Dayton, including five starts, Wohlers went 1-2 with a 5.70 ERA.

''We'll use him in the sixth, seventh, eight, ninth (innings), somewhere,'' Reds manager Jack McKeon said. ''He'll fit right into the mix.''

The Reds also purchased the contract of first baseman Brooks Kieschnick, an International League All-Star who was hitting .295 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI in 88 games for Louisville. Kieschnick replaces Hal Morris, who was sold to the Detroit Tigers for $50,000 on Tuesday night. Wohlers replaces reliever Andy Larkin, who was claimed off waivers by Kansas City.

Kieschnick has not appeared in the big leagues since 1997, when he batted .200 in 39 games for the Chicago Cubs. He came to big league camp with the Reds this spring and impressed McKeon.

''He's got good power,'' McKeon said.

WOHLERS WAITING

Wohlers, who is coming off Tommy John surgery last July, said the plan is for him to work an inning for the RiverBats today and Saturday. He recently said he feels like he is ready to pitch in the big leagues again, and his performance has done little to disprove that theory.

When Wohlers is brought up, possibly sometime during a seven-game trip to Arizona and St. Louis that begins tonight, the Reds will have to clear a spot for him on the 25-man roster.

The odd man out figures to be a reliever. But given that Elmer Dessens pitched so well in a spot start on Wednesday, he could possibly be inserted into the rotation.

Wohlers One Step From the Bigs

It will be the first time he's pitched on back-to-back days. That's the final step before joining the big-league club. It's been exactly a year since Wohlers injured his elbow. After all the rehab, Wohlers is getting anxious.

“I feel like I'm ready to be in the dugout for (Wednesday's game),” he said. “But that's not my decision.”

Wohlers' results at Louisville haven't been great — 0-1, 8.64 ERA — but he's been pleased with the way he's throwing the ball.

“I'm really happy,” he said. “The only time I've had trouble is when I pitch two innings and there's a long (half) inning in between. Those eight warmup pitches aren't enough.”

Wohlers'Rocky Outing

Wohlers pitched just 1-1/3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits -- including two home runs -- before he was lifted by RiverBats manager Dave Miley.

The former Atlanta reliever, working his way back after recovering from Tommy John surgery, struck out one, did not walk a batter and gave up one wild pitch.

In fact, his control was not that bad: He threw 25 strikes out of 38 pitches.

There had been some controversy in the Reds camp earlier in the week when upper management moved Wohlers from Single-A Dayton to Louisville without the approval of Reds pitching coach Don Gullett. Gullett told reporters he was trying to bring Wohlers back slowly.

It was unclear what the next step in Wohlers' rehab would be.

Wohlers Performed Impressively

"I think if he continues to have that type of success, you can stretch him out to two innings," said Reds pitching coach Don Gullett, adding that the date of Wohlers' next outing will be determined by his ability to bounce back physically from this brief appearance.

Wohlers on course for return to majors

Wohlers' progress likely to lead to rehab in Dayton

Wohlers' fastball shows some zip

Wohlers' optimism stemmed from his batting-practice session Tuesday at Coors Field, when he threw 35 pitches, all fastballs and mostly strikes, to first baseman D.T. Cromer.

Wohlers, the former Atlanta Braves relief ace who underwent ligament surgery July 6 after injuring his elbow in a minor-league tuneup, said he improved upon his batting-practice outing against Deion Sanders last Thursday at Cinergy Field.

“I thought today was even better, as far as consistency in the strike zone and life in my fastball,” said Wohlers, who was recovering from an anxiety disorder after the Reds acquired him last April 16 for right-hander John Hudek. “That's probably the best I've thrown with a hitter up there.”

Pitching coach Don Gullett didn't argue. “He was mechanically sound, not trying to overthrow,” said Gullett, who estimated Wohlers' velocity at 90-92 mph.

Being optimistic
Reds' Wohlers has big smile after throwing

Wohlers threw batting practice to Deion Sanders for 10 minutes Thursday before Cincinnati's game against Milwaukee. He threw fastballs at less than top speed, but liked where the ball went and how his elbow felt.

It was the first time he had thrown off the Cinergy Field mound since last year, when he was trying to regain his control after a bout of wildness. His comeback attempt ended and his career was threatened when he tore a ligament in his pitching elbow during a minor league game, requiring reconstructive surgery on July 6.

"It's just fun to get back on a mound again," Wohlers said. "There for a while, I thought I wouldn't be able to get on any mound, let alone a major league mound.

"I think it will be some time yet before I'm on a major league mound when it counts, maybe another five or six weeks if everything goes according to plan."

Wohlers got the final out in Atlanta's 1995 World Series championship and became the first Braves pitcher to get 30 saves in three consecutive seasons.

A strained muscle in his side disabled him in 1998. When he returned, he had lost control of his pitches.

The Braves traded him to Cincinnati last April 17 and he went on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder — his inability to throw strikes. He was working on changes in his delivery when he hurt his elbow.

He threw to batters during spring training without problem and is gradually building his arm strength. The most encouraging thing is that there's been no setback.

"I think right now the biggest thing is the four or five times I've thrown to hitters and started turning it up a notch, the day after that the arm felt great," he said.

He threw only fastballs Thursday and threw at perhaps 85 percent of full speed while manager Jack McKeon watched from the dugout.

"The good thing is he's around the plate," McKeon said. "When we had him out here last year — well, you saw it. He'd be throwing it over the screen."

The Reds chose not to pick up Wohlers' option for 2000, leaving him a free agent. He signed a minor league contract with the Reds but isn't eligible to pitch for them until May 1.

He'll pitch for Triple-A Louisville when he's ready for the next step and see how that goes.

"I'd love to try to help this team in whatever role," Wohlers said. "In the shoes I'm in, I can't be too picky about where and when I pitch. I just want to contribute and play with these guys."

Wohlers throws off mound; minors up next

“It feels good to pitch off any mound,” he said. “I'm not picky.”

Wohlers, the former Atlanta Braves closer whom the Reds obtained last April, is rehabbing his right elbow after surgery. He threw 30 to 35 pitches to Deion Sanders Thursday.

“It was good,” Wohlers said. “I'm happy with it. My velocity was pretty good, and I made adjustments when I had to.”

Wohlers had “Tommy John” surgery July 6. He was expected to miss nine months to a year, but he's well ahead of schedule. He's hoping to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville in mid-May.

But in addition to rehabbing his elbow, Wohlers is trying to rehab his control. When he injured the elbow, he was already on the disabled list suffering from an anxiety disorder that kept him from throwing strikes.

Reds manager Jack McKeon said Wohlers is moving along nicely on both accounts.

“When we had him out there last year, he'd be throwing over the screen,” McKeon said.

Wohlers said his velocity is about 85 percent. He's throwing only fastballs off the mound.

“I spin some breaking balls off flat ground,” he said. “I'm taking my time.”

Because the Reds resigned Wohlers after not offering him arbitration, he isn't eligible to play until May 1. If he even approaches his former form, he'd be a tremendous asset the Reds' bullpen.

The 30-year-old Wohlers saved 25 games in '95, 39 in '96 and 33 in '97. He averaged more than a strikeout an inning each of those years.

“It would be a lot of fun to help this club,” he said

Rehab first step for these future Reds

Sanders, a 32-year-old outfielder, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Jan. 24 and also was limping with an ankle injury, diminishing his chances of making the team. Sanders said general manager Jim Bowden "thinks this works out better, and I think it works out better."

Sanders was 2-for-4 with a homer Saturday in a minor league game. He didn't play the field or run the bases.

"When I hit the homer, I got to really jog," he said. "My knee hasn't been hurting at all. I've been limping because of my ankle."

Wohlers, 30, also with the Reds on a minor league contract, is trying to come back from major elbow surgery and regain his ability to throw strikes. He won't be ready to pitch again until at least May. Even then, nobody knows if the reliever will be able to again find the strike zone.

"If it becomes where it's not fun and I'm pulling hairs out of my head again ... I'm not going to go through the frustration I've gone through the last two years," Wohlers said recently. "Life's too short to go through another year of that. I'm just not going to do it."

Wohlers has reasons to finally be optimistic

During an examination of what Wohlers thought was a bone chip in his right elbow five starts into a minor-league rehabilitation assignment, Reds team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek discovered something altogether different.

''Looking at the X-rays, I could see the chip, and I knew it wasn't in the joint,'' Kremchek said.

There had to be something else rubbing against and irritating the nerve that ran the length of Wohlers' forearm, leading to numbness in his hand and possibly causing the wildness. It turned out to be a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. The chip, as it turned out, was almost inconsequential to Wohlers' problem, although it too was removed.

But the whole episode, which amounted to fate running up the score on a man who already had seen his career and his marriage fall on hard times, was described by Wohlers on Friday as ''a blessing in disguise.''

Now, almost eight months after undergoing Tommy John surgery in which a tendon from Wohlers' left forearm was grafted into his right elbow, there finally is a reason for optimism. There finally is a reason for Wohlers to feel comfortable in a Reds uniform, a uniform in which he has yet to throw a pitch in a major-league game.

''He's thrown three times off a mound, and he has looked great,'' Reds pitching coach Don Gullett said. ''That's a testament to the rehab program he's on and how dedicated he has bee n to it, and how hard he has worked. He's farther along than I thought he would be at this point.''

The post-operative prognosis for Wohlers was nine to 12 months before being ready to pitch in the big leagues. Consequently, there is a good chance he won't be available before the All-Star break. But if he can contribute to what already is one of the game's best bullpens, he will effectively amount to a bonus player for the Reds, one that is finally, completely, healthy.

For now, there is no bone chip, there is no numbness, there is no wildness, and there is no pain. But there also is no crystal ball.

''The only thing I can really say is that the rehab has gone really well,'' Wohlers said. ''I don't want to look too far down the road. I had a good day today, and that's what counts.''

Most encouraging, perhaps, is the visible, outward change in Wohlers' demeanor. Just before the injury, he was gradually mastering his control demons, although he did walk 10 in four innings. But when the ax fell, it knifed through his spirit, as well.

''He was sort of tough to work with in the beginning,'' said Lonnie Soloff, the Reds' therapist who has nursed Wohlers al most all the way back. ''After having an injury of that magnitude, there are several steps that a player goes through, and the first one is denial.

''But then reality sets in, and you realize you're not going to be back for at least eight months. That's when you have to start focusing on the rehab.''

Wohlers spent the last eight weeks of last season with Soloff, then went home to suburban Atlanta, where he continued on the same program. Gradually, he began to see results.

On the long road to recovery, Wohlers remains hundreds of miles away from what he once was. But for the first time, the notion he might actually get there again doesn't seem like a fairy tale.

''I think that's all behind him now,'' Gullett said. ''Without question, I think he can get back to 100 percent.''

Wohlers' recovery takes next step(ST 2000)

The last few months haven't been much fun for Mark Wohlers. Comebacks from reconstructive elbow surgery never are. But things have gone about as well as they could, allowing Wohlers to make one more attempt to rescue his career.

"If it gets to the point where I'm totally frustrated, then I'll go home," Wohlers said Tuesday. "As long as I'm making progress and enjoying myself, this is what I want to do. This is what I enjoy doing the most."

Wohlers is in the Cincinnati Reds' training camp on a minor league contract, making a little progress each day toward his goal of pitching again in a few months.

He was encouraged after he threw off of a bullpen mound Monday for the first time since his reconstructive surgery July 6. Team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek figures Wohlers is about three months away from pitching in a game.

By then, a pitcher who had trouble throwing strikes before he tore an elbow ligament will have a good idea whether he'll get another chance to try to find the plate again.

"If it becomes where it's not fun and I'm pulling hairs out of my head again ... I'm not going to go through the frustration I've gone through the last two years," he said. "Life's too short to go through another year of that. I'm just not going to do it."

The last two years have been miserable for the closer who got the last out in Atlanta's 1995 World Series victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Wohlers, 30, lost his ability to throw strikes after injuring his side in 1998. Last April, the Braves traded him to the Reds, who hoped a new setting and some changes in his delivery would take care of the problem.

Instead, he hurt his right elbow on a pitch during a minor league game in June. He cried when he got the test results that showed he had torn a ligament and would need reconstructive surgery followed by a year of rehabilitation.

So far, the recovery is on schedule. He can't play for the Reds until May because they let him become a free agent after last season, then signed him to a minor league deal.

"He's coming along great," Kremchek said Tuesday. "The problem is that he feels so good that you don't want him to do too much too soon. Jose Rijo came back too soon. We won't let that happen."

Rijo, the Reds' 1990 World Series MVP, ignored advice to go slow in his comeback from reconstructive surgery and pitched in spring training games only six months later. He wound up tearing up the elbow again, ending his career.

Wohlers knows how important it is to take the comeback in stride.

"I'm not able to pitch in Cincinnati until May 1, anyway, so certainly there's no rush," he said. "At the same time, I don't want to wait until June, July or August when I start pitching in games. I don't know if I'll be hanging around that long."

The injury forced Wohlers to appreciate his career a little more. In the weeks after the surgery, he thought about the possibility that he may never pitch again.

His outlook hasn't changed.

"I'm going to work hard and not cut myself short on coming back," Wohlers said. "Whatever way the cards play out, they play out. I'm not going to jump to the moon if things come back like they were.

"I'm not going to slit my wrists if they don't. I'll just accept it and be done. I've got a lot of other things going on

Reds notebook: Wohlers ready to make pitch

''We'll probably have him throw about 35 pitches,'' pitching coach Don Gullett said. ''He'll be on a progressive program, a little more each time.''

Wohlers, who has been on a long-toss program and will stay on it intermittently while beginning mound work, isn't expected to be ready to pitch in the major leagues until well into the regular season.

''I think he has progressed pretty well to this stage,'' Reds trainer Greg Lynn said. ''But when you've had a surgery like that, the one thing you don't want to do is rush it. He has worked really hard during the winter, playing long toss, and he's real strong. But you have to hold these guys back a lot of times.''

Wohlers probably will throw at about 50 percent of his normal velocity when he takes the mound during today's workout.

..In a Recent Article by Peter Gammons

Reds give Wohlers another chance

Reds General Manager Jim Bowden doubted that Wohlers, who is still recovering from reconstructive surgery on his right (throwing) elbow, can pitch before June or July.

But Bowden remained tantalized by the possibility that Wohlers, 30, can regain a semblance of the form that made him a top reliever with Atlanta in the mid-1990s.

"When he does come back, we want him on the back end of our bullpen," Bowden said. "That just adds to what already is the best bullpen in the league."

Wohlers missed most of last season, first with an anxiety disorder and then with his torn elbow ligament. Wohlers tried to regain his form by throwing in the bullpen before games and made five minor-league rehabilitation appearances before injuring his elbow.

Updated Info on Release from Reds

The Braves paid the $800,000 buyout of Wohlers' contract. Bowden said Wohlers will be invited to spring training and has agreed to come.

Reds release Johnson and Wohlers

The Reds did pick up the club option on right-hander Stan Belinda, who was 3-1 with a 5.27 ERA and two saves in 29 relief appearances.

Johnson hit .231 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 45 games this season after signing with the Reds as a free agent. He was on the disabled list from mid-June until the end of July while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Wohlers was 0-0 with an 18.00 ERA in five appearances with Atlanta and the Reds. He was acquired from the Braves on April 16 for right-hander John Hudek and a salary consideration, but spent most of the season on the disabled list because of an anxiety disorder and an elbow injury.

Wohlers had reconstructive surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in July.

Injury makes Wohlers appreciate career

That's about all the right arm can handle for now. It will be another four months before the closer known for his 95 mph fastball can grip the ball tightly, bring back his arm and toss it gently.

A bulky brace cradles the right elbow, which was rebuilt last week. Wohlers will be limited to daily therapy sessions for the near future.

``I still can't comb my hair with my right arm or brush my teeth,'' Wohlers said Thursday. ``I have to do everything left-handed.'' He smiled slightly when he mentioned the limitations. And he smiled quite often as he talked about his latest hurdle. With little else to do but think, Wohlers has finally started to appreciate.

``It's just made me realize that with all the good things that have happened to me, I should enjoy those things as much as I dwell on the bad things,'' Wohlers said. ``Unfortunately, it might have taken this to open up my eyes a little bit and recognize it. ``I mean, I've got a beautiful little girl, I've been to four World Series, I've been to the playoffs six times in my career, I've won a world championship, I'm still young and relatively healthy. And with everything going on in the world, you just realize it's not that big of a deal _ it's a torn ligament.''

Wohlers, 29, cried after tests found that he had torn the ligament during a minor league outing last month. At the time, he thought he was getting close to a promotion to the majors after one year of trying to regain his control.

He got the final out in the Atlanta Braves' 1995 World Series victory over Cleveland, but lost his ability to throw strikes after injuring his side last season. Last April, the Braves traded him to the Reds, who hoped a new setting and some changes in his delivery would take care of the problem.

Now, he has bigger worries.

Dr. James Andrews repaired the torn ligament, transplanted one from his left forearm to strengthen it and cleaned out some chips in the elbow. Recovery could take a year or more.

The Reds have experience in this area. Jose Rijo, their 1990 World Series MVP, had the ligament in his pitching elbow replaced and never made it back. He started throwing too hard too quickly and needed more surgery.

``I'm going to do it right,'' Wohlers said. ``I know some guys who have had setbacks coming back from this, guys who tried to rush it. From what I've been through in the last year and a half and now this on top if it, I'm not really in any position to have any significant setbacks.

``If something were to happen and I have to get cut on again, somebody's telling me to open a restaurant or something.''
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Wohlers OK after surgery

Dr. James Andrews and Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremcheck removed a tendon from Wohlers' left forearm and grafted it into his right elbow to replace the ruptured ulnar collateral ligament. Wohlers is expected to be sidelined for 9-12 months.
The Cincinnati Post

Wohlers undergoes elbow surgery

The 29-year-old pitcher had a torn elbow ligament and was operated on in Birmingham, Ala. Orthopedic surgeon James Andrews and Reds team physician Timothy Kremchek grafted a tendon from Wohlers' left forearm into his right elbow.

The former Atlanta Braves closer hasn't pitched for the Reds since they acquired him in April in a deal that sent reliever John Hudek to Atlanta.

Wohlers agreed to the reconstructive surgery in hopes of rescuing his career, after a magnetic resonance imaging test detected the torn ligament last week.

He felt a burning sensation after throwing a pitch during his minor league rehabilitation assignment two weeks ago and became concerned when the elbow didn't improve. That led to the MRI examination.

Wohlers got the final three outs in the Braves' World Series championship in 1995, but lost his ability to throw strikes last season. Since his trade to Cincinnati, he had been pitching in the minor leagues in hopes of regaining his control and working his way back to the majors.

His elbow injury has thrown his playing future into doubt.

Wohlers set a Braves record with 39 saves in 1996 and had 33 the following season. He pulled a muscle in his left side early last year and lost his control in May.

He was sent to the Braves' Triple-A Richmond affiliate twice to try to regain his touch, but never found it.

When the Braves tried to send him back to the minors, he declined the assignment, prompting the trade to the Reds. The Braves agreed to pay Wohlers' $5.2 million salary this season and the $800,000 buyout for next year, the last on his contract.
Fastball

WOHLERS SURGERY

Wohlers, who is expected to be sidelined for 9 - 12 months, will remain in Birmingham for four to five days before beginning his rehabilitation in Cincinnati.

Wohlers needs surgery to repair torn elbow ligamen