Jason Schmidt On His Rehab Start With Inland Empire
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.