Leskanic shows signs of rebound

After the 2001 season, Curtis Leskanic had surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear on his right shoulder -- one season after the veteran reliever had been named the Milwaukee Brewers' Newcomer of the Year. The righthander did not pitch in the major leagues in 2002, after aggravating the shoulder at the Double A level.

The long-term prognosis was equally aggravating.

"The doctor cleaned up [the shoulder] as best he could, gave me a pat, and said, `You might have one pitch, you might have a thousand, I don't know,' " said Leskanic, whom the Red Sox signed as a free agent June 22 to shore up the bullpen.

With some doubts that he may never pitch in the big leagues again, Leskanic worked hard to rehabilitate the shoulder. He dispelled any doubts by coming back in strong fashion in 2003, having one of his best seasons. Between Milwaukee and Kansas City last year, he went 5-0 with two saves and a 2.22 earned run average, the lowest mark of his career.

The 36-year-old has steadily shown that form of late.

In the Red Sox' triumph over the Orioles Wednesday night, Leskanic pitched a scoreless 12th inning, setting the stage for Orlando Cabrera's walkoff home run in the bottom of the inning. It was Leskanic's third win in a Red Sox uniform.

Leskanic has not allowed a run in 13 of his last 14 appearances since being activated from the 15-day disabled list Aug. 17. He entered last night's contest with a 3-0 mark, one save, and a 1.69 ERA in those 14 outings.

The 11-year veteran, who was placed on the disabled list July 25 with tendinitis in his right shoulder (he missed 20 games), has taken his recent success in stride.

"I've just been lucky. Baseball's all about being in the right place at the right time," said Leskanic. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. I'm still making the same pitches that I did before, instead the balls are falling in. It's baseball, that's the way it is.

"That's why we have averages, because you can go up there and hit three line drives and go 0 for 3 and the next day have three broken-bat hits. You feel in a groove because things are bouncing your way, not because you feel that you're making good pitches."

But there was nothing lucky about coming back from rotator cuff surgery. "That was cortisone and fortitude," he said. "I just wanted to be out there. I made a commitment to my family that I was going to go out there and I told them that I was going to pitch one more year."

Leskanic made the decision after last season, in which he went 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA for Milwaukee and 1-0 with a 1.73 ERA for Kansas City, which picked him up in a trade July 2.

"I went on vacation after the season, and I talked about it with the family and everyone was gung-ho about me having another season," said Leskanic. "I had told them all year that I was probably going to retire after the season ended."

Overall, Leskanic entered last night with a 3-5 mark, three saves, and a 5.63 ERA. He earned his first win as a Red Sox July 8 against Oakland, as he pitched a perfect 10th inning in an 8-7 win.

Still, the player who broke into the majors with Colorado in 1993 insists he's been more fortunate than dominant and that Wednesday night's contest underscores that assertion.

"How many times have you seen a 3-2-4 double play?" Leskanic said. "That's just being in the right place at the right place and at the right time. The planets and the stars were lined up where they're supposed to be."