For Cubs' Wells, staying positive the key to getting better
MESA, Ariz. - Randy Wells came up to the Cubs last year on a mission.
"When I got that call, I just told myself, 'You know what? I'm packing all my (stuff), and I ain't coming back,'" Wells said Friday. "It's just one of those mindsets you put in your head. I'm a big believer in positive thinking and positive thoughts."
Although many players may have declared "mission accomplished," after the rookie season Wells had, this 27-year-old right-hander still sees his fledgling big-league career as a work in progress.
With Ted Lilly recovering from shoulder surgery, manager Lou Piniella said Friday Wells was his No. 3 starter. While Wells says he doesn't believe in the sophomore jinx, he's also not taking anything for granted, lest he finds himself back in the minor leagues, where he spent parts of seven long and sometimes frustrating years.
So take a look at Wells' workouts this spring, and you'll see he's all business.
"For me to get relaxed - I just go out there and pitch on the edge," he said. "When I go out there and throw my bullpens, I want to impress Larry (pitching coach Rothschild). I want to impress Lou (manager Piniella). For me, if I go out there like, 'I've got a spot and let me lob it up there,' I don't get any work out of it.
"There are guys like (Sean) Marshall, (Jeff) Samardzija, (Tom) Gorzelanny, (Carlos) Silva all battling for spots. Let's say they go out there and they shove and I pitch like crap, I'm sitting back in Triple-A again because I got too lax."
It's easy to understand Wells' determination. Drafted as a catcher in the 38th round in 2002, Wells made the move to the mound in 2003. He slogged his way up the minor-league chain but never could crack the Cubs roster.
He got a break in late 2007, when the Toronto Blue Jays claimed him in the Rule 5 draft and had him pitch in one big-league game in 2008 before returning him to the Cubs. Wells seemed buried again, but the Cubs finally brought him up in September of 2008.
"It's kind of a Catch-22," he said. "At the time, I was like, 'What's going here? I've been in the organization for seven years. I've been in Triple-A for three now. You didn't have any plans for me before.' Toronto couldn't use me at the time, and the Cubs wanted to see what I figured out over there. It worked out. I'm glad it happened here. I grew up in this organization. I love it over here. It's kind of a blessing in disguise."
Wells couldn't break camp last year, either, but he came up to stay in early May and made his first major-league start May 8 in Milwaukee, where he pitched well but got a no-decision.
"I just told myself, 'I'm going to put it all on the line there in Milwaukee,'" he said. "I was still a little scared and a little timid. It wasn't that I was pitching scared or timid. I was just, 'Here it is, I'm letting it go. If I get hit, I get hit.' It's like playing poker. I just put it all in and said, 'Hey, this is the time. I'm 26 years old.'"
The hard luck continued for Wells. Five of his next 6 starts were quality starts, but he wasn't able to get his first win until Father's Day against the Indians at Wrigley Field.
"You want to get one," he said. "It's baseball. It's part of the game. That kind of stuff happens. It happened a little more escalated than what you like. It was cool. It's just one of those things that kind of worked out. It happened on Father's Day.
"It's just one of those stories you'll never forget. It's a memory that'll last in my family for a long time."
Wells wound up 12-10 with a 3.05 ERA and a solid WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 1.28. His 18 quality starts ranked third on the Cubs.
All in all, Wells was one of the biggest pleasant surprises in baseball.
"Everybody gets a little surprised," he said. "I was a little surprised, having that kind of success and to get it consistently. Even the bad games, to be able to bounce back and give your team strong outings, that's something you never know you can do until you do it.
"I think fans and people have the right to be surprised. I had been in the organization a long time, and everybody was asking, 'Where has this guy been?'"
As it is now, Wells looks like he's going places.
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