Rob Carr
In a Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse filled with unbridled, youthful optimism, they are like lost souls uncertain of what the future may hold.
Dustin McGowan and Scott Richmond are both pitchers attempting to reestablish their Major League Baseball careers. One is fighting the clock, the other a litany of shoulder woes that are threatening to derail a promising career before it really even started.
Not so long ago things appeared so promising for McGowan.
The lanky, soft-spoken Georgian was a first-round draft pick out of high school by the Blue Jays in 2000. It wasn't until 2007 when he finally began to display the talent that many in the organization felt would eventually project into a front end of the rotation guy.
On June 24th of that year, McGowan hurled a complete-game one-hitter against the Colorado Rockies, the highlight of his Major League career.
McGowan would go on to conclude the season with a 12-10 record and a 4.08 earned-run-average with 144 strikeouts. Blue Jay executives were excited thinking about the havoc a one-two punch that a Roy Halladay-McGowan combo would have over years to come.
The following season it began to unravel with frightening speed for McGowan, who failed to come out of the dugout for the fifth inning during a start on July 8 against the Baltimore Orioles.
He hasn't pitched at the Major League level since.
Three weeks after the Baltimore game, McGowan underwent surgery to his right shoulder to repair fraying of the labrum and missed the rest of that season and all of the next.
At spring training last year McGowan felt good and was preparing to make a run at rejoining the team at some stage early in the season when his shoulder broke down again.
Another surgery followed, another season lost to McGowan, who has learned to inject a sense of humour to try to deal with what has been a very trying situation.
"I should have a new arm, top to bottom," said McGowan as he goes about his business here as the Blue Jays embark into their 2011 spring training camp.
McGowan said so far, all is well with the shoulder and he threw off a mound for the first time since the second surgery on Wednesday and reported no problems.
"The only thing I've really experienced is what I like to call normal soreness which is good to feel again," McGowan said. "I haven't felt that in a long time. Each and every day it feels like it's getting a little stronger, the soreness is going away."
This time around the Blue Jays are making no projections when they think McGowan might be able to contribute at the big league level.
The team obviously feels there's a chance that will happen, opting to sign McGowan to a one-year, $450,000 (U.S.) contract in December.
As McGowan patiently bides his time, Richmond is itching to get going after proclaiming himself recovered from right shoulder impingement that has prevented him from pitching for the Blue Jays since the end of the 2009 season when he posted a surprising 8-11 record.
He is hungrily eyeing one of two open spots on the back end of the five-man starting rotation.
And at age 31 Richmond knows these opportunities will not be around forever.
"Rebound year," said the native of North Vancouver. "There's two starting positions and something like five guys battling for it. That makes it fun."
With the likes of prized rookie Kyle Drabek and Jesse Litsch, who is also fighting back from injury in the mix, Richmond knows his task is difficult.
"They're all young, they're all really good," Richmond said. "I'm just trying to put myself back on the map a little.
"I know I'll get opportunities and the only thing I can control is my pitching. Go out there and pitch the best I can."