Contreras allows 1 hit, strikes out four in his spring debut

PEORIA, Ariz. - This is the time of spring training where even going through the motions takes some extra motivation.

Four weeks of camp are in the books, but there still are more than three weeks left before Opening Day.

The White Sox weren't yawning Sunday. Rather, they were fawning over Jose Contreras' brilliant return to the mound.

"It's a special day in camp for us," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "There's no doubt."

There was plenty of doubt about Contreras' availability this season after the 37-year-old starter ruptured his left Achilles' tendon during a game against Boston on Aug. 9.

"I thought we were looking at hopefully getting him back in June, July or August," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said.

Guillen's outlook was much more dire. "When you have an injury like that, you don't know if your career is going to be over," the manager said.

All of the doubt never drifted into Contreras' mind. Pushing himself to the limit while rehabbing in the off-season, Contreras gave himself the green light to reclaim a spot in the Sox' rotation on New Year's Day.

"I'm not surprised," Contreras said Sunday without the aid of a translator. "I've been working out for the last seven months. I've been working out in Miami, and then working out with (trainer) Hermie (Schneider)."

After throwing two rounds of live batting practice last week, Contreras made his Cactus League debut Sunday and delivered 2 scoreless innings against Seattle. The slimmed-down starter allowed 1 hit and struck out four while throwing 44 pitches (27 strikes).

"It was fun to see him out there doing what he did," Guillen said. "Obviously, he was a little rough. He was in deep counts. But he was outstanding. The question is how he's going to feel tomorrow?

"But everyone in the White Sox organization should feel happy and thrilled to see Jose out there. Everyone in the dugout was excited to see Jose."

Pierzynski caught Contreras and came away impressed.

"It looks like he's ready to go," Pierzynski said. "He's throwing 92, 93 (mph). You can tell by the hitters; the hitters weren't having good swings. And he was dropping down and using all his angles. It was good. It was a good day for him, a good day for Herm, a good for Kenny Williams, a good day for Ozzie. It was what we wanted to see, and he got through it healthy. Now he takes the next step."

Contreras is scheduled to pitch again Friday against the San Francisco Giants, and he is progressing toward filling the No. 5 spot in the rotation behind Bartolo Colon, who makes his first spring start today.

"You get him and Bartolo, that's a pretty good five-man rotation," Pierzynski said. "You're running Bartolo and Jose at 4-5, that's pretty darn good. "We've just got to keep them healthy and keep them out there. Jose's had some issues here and there, but when he's healthy he's as good as anybody."