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Jason Schmidt On His Rehab Start With Inland Empire

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Jason Schmidt threw 94 pitches through five innings for the Inland Empire 66ers tonight, 52 of them for strikes. He allowed two runs, one earned, three hits, and four walks. A couple of pitchers from the Stockton Ports, who were charting pitches from behind home plate, told me Schmidt was between 85-90 and hit 90 MPH "a couple of times." Here is a summary of his thoughts after his outing: "I've been fighting myself the last couple of months... "We're looking to open up the whole package now...getting the pitch count up, see how I rebound. [When asked if there were any restrictions] "I have a tough time going 100%...there are still some pitches I'm trying to work on...I didn't throw a lot of curve balls tonight [When asked what is the next step] "I'm just trying to get past this day, and see where we're at. My goal was to get back a month ago. [On what the last two years have been like] "It's no fun rehabbing every day of your life, seeing doctor after doctor...It's miserable. it's a lot of pressure. you're disappointed in yourself...it's not always about the contract, it's about helping the team you signed with. [On what his goal for 2009 is] "I can be that guy that helps the Dodgers get over the hump in the playoffs." I hope to get some quotes from Charlie Hough, and perhaps Greg Miller, after the game.