Hill relieved with diagnosis on left elbow

Hill relieved with diagnosis on left elbow

Hill relieved with diagnosis on left elbow
MIAMI -- While any player dreads being told that he is going to miss at least about a month of action, lefty Rich Hill has the perspective to know a month isn't so bad.

Hill's season ended in June last season, when he underwent Tommy John ligament transfer surgery. So when he was experiencing elbow woes again a few days ago, he definitely had some concern on his way to Pensacola, Fla., where he was examined by Dr. James Andrews.

Fortunately for Hill, Andrews found that the lefty's ligaments were perfectly intact and that the injury was a flexor strain.

"Coming back strong and then having something else happen, there is anxiety there," Hill said. "You worry that something could be wrong with the ligament. It turned out that it wasn't. That was really, really a good sign."

The only thing Hill knows is that he's not permitted to throw for two weeks. After that, the doctors will re-evaluate him. Perhaps then he can resume baseball activities.

"It's frustrating," Hill said. "You miss the competition and you miss going out there and competing with your teammates. That's the toughest part. You have to sit on the sidelines and watch. That's obviously what any player misses.

"[But] if you continue to push it, you ultimately end up with what we had last year and end up doing it again, which is not what I want to go through. Altogether, if you miss six weeks, you come back and it's behind you and you move on, instead of missing another year."