CLEARWATER, Fla. – Jerad Eickhoff was in the Phillies bullpen on Thursday afternoon ready to begin his warm-up tosses, knowing that his two-innings of work against the University of Tampa in an almost-empty stadium would carry little meaning, when the feeling hit him.
Eickhoff had not pitched in a game in six months. Last season was a wreck. Poor mechanics triggered a series of injuries that plagued him almost all season. He was not the durable pitcher he proved to be a year earlier. So Eickhoff, even if his opposition was a group of college kids, was eager to get back.