Pitcher glad to be back as part of a team

Pete Fisher was one of the Double A New Britain Rock Cats best starting pitchers last season.

Not only was the 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander pitching well but Minnesota Twins officials were taking notice. There was talk he might get promoted to Triple-A.

That all changed June 11, 2003.

During a start at New Britain, Fisher fired a fastball and lost feeling in the fingers of his throwing hand. Fisher had blown out his right elbow.

Fisher underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, typically known as Tommy John surgery, in August 2003. Eleven months later, the 27-year-old is back in a baseball clubhouse. Fisher, who was rehabbing in the Gulf Coast League, was sent to the Fort Myers Miracle on Wednesday.

It's Fisher's fifth stint with Fort Myers. Fisher, who owns a career 34-33 record with a 4.11 ERA, played with the club from 1999 to 2002.

"He's had a rough go of it," Miracle pitching coach Eric Rasmussen said. "I hope physically he gets all of his stuff back."

So far, so good. Fisher's fastball has been clocked in the high 80s and, more importantly, he said he doesn't feel any discomfort in his throwing elbow.

"It's great to be back here," Fisher said. "It's been a long time since I've been in a clubhouse and played on a team. I'm just happy to be back pitching after so long a stint on the disabled list."

Fisher, who will pitch out of the bullpen, hopes to end the season strong and start next year in Double-A.

"The thing with Tommy John (surgery) is that sometimes guys come back a lot stronger than they were," Rasmussen said. "I hope that happens for him."

TRANSACTIONS

The hard-throwing Liriano had a strong Rock Cats debut Wednesday against Norwich. He allowed one run in seven innings, striking out 10.

Right-hander Matt Yeatman, who had been on the disabled list with tendonitis in his throwing elbow, replaced Liriano on the roster. Yeatman is 2-6 with a 3.94 ERA.

The Minnesota Twins, the Miracle's parent organization, made several other changes to Fort Myers' roster this past week. Catcher Eli Tintor was demoted to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and replaced by Elvis Corporan, who was on the disabled list. Corporan is batting .197.

Pitcher Marcus Moseley was released Wednesday. Moseley, who came out of retirement this spring, had faltered in the bullpen of late. He allowed eight runs in relief July 27. Fisher replaced Moseley.

AROUND THE HORN

RHPs Levale Speigner and Pat Neshek have been superb out of the bullpen the last three weeks. Speigner, the club's top setup man, has a 1.32 ERA. Neshek, the team's closer, has five saves and a 1.00 ERA.