Mays mends an ego while mending elbow

Minnesota pitcher Joe Mays has a long road to go as he heals from Tommy John surgery, but he's using the down time to help mentor promising young teammate J.D. Durbin

FORT MYERS — For the first time since 1998, Minnesota Twins right-handed pitcher Joe Mays came into spring training knowing he wasn't going to be on the 25-man roster when camp breaks.

Mays, a native of Bradenton, will begin this season on the 60-day disabled list as he continues to rehabilitate from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He had the operation to replace a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament on Sept. 11, 2003.

"I feel good. I'm hoping probably within the next week and a half to two weeks to probably be throwing off the mound," Mays said before a spring training game last week. "But at that point you're just throwing 50 percent, so it's nothing huge. It's the next step for me I think more mentally that we are making progress."

So without having to worry about competing for a spot in the starting rotation, the 27-year-old hurler can concentrate on his rehab. And while he's doing that, he's found a little time to act as sort of a counselor to Minnesota's latest hot pitching prospect, J.D. Durbin.

Through the first few weeks of camp, Mays has tried not to let the regular drills going on around him distract him from his own exercises. He said he enjoys being around the team and the clubhouse atmosphere, and he doesn't feel too alienated.

"It stinks sitting out there watching those guys throw bullpen, or watching them do the PFP because as competitive as I am I want to be out there more than anything," Mays said. "But I think that's more of a mental thing. You've really got to focus on what's best for you, and whatever's best for you is pretty much going to be the best for the team. It does myself nor the team any good to try to rush this thing back, so I've just got to be patient with it."

Mays unfortunately has previous experience dealing with a long rehab process. Two weeks into the 2002 season, muscle and tendon inflammation in the same elbow put him on the 60-day DL. He was coming off his best season, one in which he made his first All-Star team, and he did make it back in July. That November he had surgery to remove loose bodies.

Because he didn't need complete Tommy John surgery, Mays is ahead of the curve on his rehab. He has attacked it aggressively and hopes to give Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and the front office the same type of good headache Eric Milton did last year when he came back from knee surgery earlier than expected.

"We're going to probably have to slow him down," said Twins general manager Terry Ryan. "He's going to want to go quicker than maybe we or the doctors or the trainers or even the manager want. But that's a good thing. We may end up getting some innings out of him this year, it would be tremendous."

Durbin, whose confident persona reminded Mays of himself when he was a rookie, has made both a positive and negative impression on his coaches and teammates this spring.

With a fastball reaching 97 miles per hour, his potential isn't an issue, but his brazen attitude early on didn't sit too well with some of the veterans, and they let Mays know.

"It was a good talk. I took a lot of positive out of it," said Durbin, who has toned down his act since the 30-minute talk with Mays. "Joe's been around a while and he's been in the clubhouse and he's seen people come and go, and he just told me, 'Hey, everybody's excited you're here. You've got the ability to pitch up here and we don't want your attitude to hold you back.' "

"I was lucky enough to have Rick Aguilera, (Brad) Radke, Milton, Eddie (Guardado, LaTroy (Hawkins) my first couple of years when I came up," Mays said. "All these guys helped me to become what I am now just because every chance I had I picked their brain. But I didn't learn that for about two years in big league camp."

Mays said he is enjoying his dual role with the Twins. He looks at it as helping to rehabilitate a young pitcher's attitude and rehabilitate his elbow at the same time.

And as far as a timetable for his return to the roster, Mays said he has learned that lesson, too.

"The worst thing that you can do is come back early or move too quickly and injure it or tear it apart," Mays said. "So you've really got to take your time, you've got to listen to your body. Now I'm starting to learn what my body's telling me and understand what I've got to do."

NOTES: Tuesday's Grapefruit League game with the Toronto Blue Jays was delayed one hour and 15 minutes by rain. "We really didn't think we'd get the game in there for a while," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "But we knew we'd be fine when at 1 p.m., we called the local television weather guys and they said it would rain all afternoon. They're never right." ...

Roy HalladayBrad Radke and allowed one run on five hits over four innings with two strikeouts in the Jays' 5-4 loss. ...

Radke gave up a run on two hits (one homer) and a strikeout in four innings. ...

Rookie catcher Joe Mauer went 2-for-3 with an RBI double. ...

Mike Cuddyer, who is fighting for a roster spot, hit the game-winning single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. ...

Twins lefty Johan Santana gets the start this afternoon at 1:05 p.m., against the defending World Series champion Florida Marlins and right-handed ace Josh Beckett.