MLB: Big-name pitchers aim for comebacks

TEMPE, Ariz. — Jake Peavy is pitching again with a clear head.

At last, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner is at the point where he doesn't think about his tender ankle or worry about what might happen next to derail his young tenure with the White Sox.

"I think I've just now come out of that," Peavy said. "Last year I really pushed the envelope trying to get out there because I thought I owed it to my teammates, the fans."

He is thrilled to be on the comeback trail and at the end of an ordeal many top pitchers know so well — and he's not the only one eager to get going in 2010.

Mets ace Johan Santana is healthy again after the two-time Cy Young winner had surgery on his left elbow late last season. Then there's Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer and Joey Devine on the Oakland Athletics alone. They didn't throw one pitch among them in 2009.

Others aren't quite ready but are working hard to return: Red Sox star Daisuke Matsuzaka, Arizona ace Brandon Webb and Chien-Ming Wang of the Washington Nationals.

Twins closer Joe Nathan needed season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery and was set to begin the emotionally and physically demanding process that comes with a major injury and working back through countless hours of rehabilitation.

For managers, pitchers especially present a fine line, a balance in pushing these players to regain their former form while also protecting them from further problems.

"Especially being the main guy on their ballclub, I have a sense that these guys will try to go out there and maybe accelerate something they can't accelerate," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "I don't think it's going to be physical problems long-term for them, but I think they're going to probably find they're going to have to be a little more patient. I read where Webb started off really good and then they backed off a little bit. Pitching is pretty unique in what you do, especially the guys who have all this responsibility I think they're going to feel it. Jake Peavy's one, too."

Peavy missed three months last season for San Diego after injuring a tendon in his right ankle. He returned for all of three starts with his new team after Chicago dealt for him just before the trading deadline. He didn't pitch again until September. All of that after he was shut down for a time in 2008 with an inflamed elbow.