Cubs' Wood at peace with himself

MESA, Ariz. -- For the first time in what seems eons, Kerry Wood cavorts about Cubs camp without questions of injuries or recovery from injuries hounding him.

Now the most senior member in terms of service time with the Cubs, the 30-year-old Wood is fully into the second phase of his career: relief pitcher.

Phase 1 included a 20-strikeout game in May 1998, elbow surgery, shoulder woes and enough trips to the disabled list to fill about one-third of a page in his Cubs bio.

Wood took time this week to speak with the Daily Herald:

Q. You seem at peace this spring for the first time in a long time. Is that because of health or maturity?

A. Probably both. I've been through the ringer as far as injuries. In the past, I've had to come here and answer questions. Hopefully, last year, I at least finished the season showing people I was healthy and answering a lot of questions about that.

I'm just as peace where I am in my life and career. The main goal I keep in my head is winning a championship. I think it's realistic.

Q. Is this as good as you've felt in years?

A. In many years. It's nice. I don't want to talk too much on it, but so far so good.

Q. You came up in 1998. You said the other day it seems like 30 years. But in a way, has it been a blur?

A. The good years have been kind of a blur. Then there are certain years that have seemed to have dragged and dragged forever and forever. You never see the light at the end of the tunnel. A couple times, I thought I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and it turned out to be a train.

Q. You've been with this organization a long time. How is it different from when you came up?

A. I think it's the dedication the organization's put into winning. That's not to say they didn't in the past. When I first came up, we were picked to finish dead last every year. Now, it's the opposite. We're picked to be at the top of the list.

The expectations have changed. That's due to the front office putting guys on the field that help this team win. The expectations from the fans' standpoint have escalated as well.

Q. You could have left as a free agent. Why are you still here?

A. They asked me to stay. That's the bottom line. Chicago, for me, is home. I'll be living there full time very shortly. This team, this organization, has given me everything I have. They've given me every chance in the world that a lot of teams wouldn't have given guys like me after the injuries I've had.

I did go on the free-agent market a little bit just to find some interest. There was interest out there. Chicago is family to me. This organization is family. They gave me the big contract a few years ago. I wasn't able to pitch the last two years of that.

Obviously, there are obligations from me to give something back. I wouldn't feel right leaving and not giving something back to this team, this city and the organization.

Q. Some people in the media have said, "Woody's different with the media." Have you ever felt burned by the media, or do you get tired of answering the same stuff every day?

A. I get tired of answering the same stuff. Honestly, there's stuff that's put out every day -- and I'm not talking about me; I'm talking about the game, the organization -- and not because it's on purpose, but it's inaccurate.

I can only give an interview and give my thoughts, and then it's out of my control how it's printed or delivered to the public. I don't really need the media. I'm here to do my job on the field and get the support of my 24 teammates. I understand the media have a job to do, and for the most part, everybody does it well. There are a few people who give everybody a bad reputation.

I'm always available to talk about baseball.

Q. In a couple of months, people are going to notice the 10-year anniversary of 20 strikeouts. Do you think about it? Does it mean anything to you?

A. It's so long ago, and so much has happened since then. Sure, I'm never going to forget it. Every year when May 6 rolls around, that's about the only time I think of it. Somebody will come up to me and talk about it.

It was a great day in my career. It was a great day in my life. It's by far the most fun day of baseball I've had.

Q. Looking back, is it a good thing that happened to you?

A. Yeah. I'm not going to say it was a bad thing. Expectations after that game, obviously, were elevated a little bit. I didn't put any added pressure on myself. Unfortunately, I had some injuries and wasn't able to stay out there consistently.

That's one of those games that you might never, ever do again as an athlete, and you might not see it again for a long time. After all the injuries, it probably kept me in the game a little bit with the potential of, "Hey, this guy did this; maybe he has some potential left in him."

Q. Your career probably has veered a lot from what you expected it to be, hasn't it?

A. Oh, sure. That's why you go out and play. You can't play in the future. I think I've handled the adversity that's been thrown at me fairly well. I still think I've had a good career, obviously not the great career that was expected after I first came in the league and how I came in. I have no trouble sleeping at night knowing I played as hard as I could for as long as I could and had a great time doing it.

Q. Like Ryan Dempster and John Smoltz, do you ever think of going back and starting?

A. I'd love to. Actually, I joked around with (pitching coach) Larry (Rothschild), "Are you sure you don't want me to start?" I feel good enough to do it. But I'm realistic. Maybe I can, but maybe I can't. I enjoy the bullpen role. I enjoy the possibility of getting into a game every day. I'm enjoying it a little more than I thought I would.

Q. Is this as good a feeling as you've had coming into a year about the team getting to the World Series?

A. Yes. Absolutely. We've had great teams in the past and expectations that we were going to go far in postseason, and it didn't work out.

We've got arms on our pitching staff and, obviously, we have a great lineup. The bottom line this time of year is to stay healthy and keep your starters on the field. If we can do that, I think we're going to give ourselves a real good chance to win.