wunch/ rauch update......

good news / bad news........

Wunsch improved, but Rauch hurting

July 10, 2003

DETROIT -- The White Sox got a mixed bag of medical news Wednesday.

The results of an MRI taken on Kelly Wunsch's strained upper back muscle showed no structural damage.

The lefty reliever is slated to throw on the side Thursday and Saturday, pitch in a simulated game next week and then log four to five innings at Triple-A Charlotte before being activated by the Sox in perhaps two weeks.

The report on right-hander Jon Rauch was less encouraging.

Rauch, who was placed on the disabled list June 30, has inflammation in his right shoulder.

"I think he has a little rotator cuff problem," trainer Herm Schneider said. "I don't know all the details. It's nothing serious but enough to be irritable and annoying to him."

Rauch has already had surgery on his right rotator cuff. The procedure cost him most of the 2001 season.

"He's already been operated on once, so he doesn't have a whole lot left," Schneider said. "You want to try to avoid surgery if you can. If it's inflamed, let it calm down. He's [already] throwing and feeling better."

Rauch, 24, is 4-1 with a 4.26 earned-run average in 14 starts at Charlotte.

The 6-foot-11-inch right-hander was named Minor League Player of the Year in 2000 by Baseball America and The Sporting News after going 16-4 with a 2.66 ERA at Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham.

But he failed to win a job in spring training after posting a 6.46 ERA.