Reliever Riske returns

In Fenway Park's home clubhouse, assorted paraphernalia is taped above nearly every locker.

There are baseball cards. Pictures. Newspaper clippings. Drawings scribbled by children.

The space above David Riske's stall, however, remains clear. The bare-bones look is appropriate because it feels like Riske, brought in from Cleveland along with Coco Crisp and Josh Bard, Tim Wakefield's short-lived personal catcher, barely has been around Fenway, where he has become the mystery man of Boston's bullpen.

``I just wanted to get myself healthy. That was the biggest thing," Riske said before last night's game, when he was finally activated from the disabled list. He had spent more than a month on the DL nursing a lower back strain.

This season, good health has eluded the righthander from Renton, Wash., who has pitched only one inning for his new club (April 4 vs. Texas). It didn't go so well.

Riske didn't feel any pain in his back, but his ERA took a beating. He allowed two hits and two runs, both scoring when the Rangers' Rod Barajas belted one of Riske's 14 pitches out of the park. Eight days later, Riske, who had felt some discomfort during spring training, was placed on the DL (retroactive to April 5). The Sox didn't expect Riske to be out long, but he missed 36 games.

In retrospect, Riske said he didn't feel comfortable from the very beginning. In spring training, Riske said he woke up each morning in Fort Myers not feeling great. And while he pitched pain-free, the slender 29-year-old recognized that he had altered his mechanics to compensate for his injury. During spring training and in his one appearance this season, Riske said hitters were spotting the ball leaving his hand because of his poor mechanics, giving them a better look to make solid contact.

For Riske, who compiled a 3.04 ERA with 208 strikeouts in 224 2/3 innings over the last three seasons with the Indians, the good looks he was giving hitters proved problematic. Throughout his career, Riske has relied on deception, taking advantage of a sneaky fastball to get opponents off-balance. So it was a no-brainer for the Sox to shut him down, giving him an opportunity to rest his back and eliminate the flaws in his delivery.

``Every time my mechanics go wrong, my deception goes bad," Riske said. ``I just wanted to make sure my mechanics stayed together so my deception would be there."

Once Riske regained his health, he began to make the commute from Boston to Pawtucket, where he made five rehab appearances. Riske, who had surgery in 2000 to repair a bulging disk in his back, started two of those games. Last Saturday, in his final rehab outing, Riske entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in relief of Tim Bausher, striking out the side. Riske needed only 16 pitches to get Peter Bergeron, Chris Coste, and Shawn Garrett, all swinging. During his time with the PawSox, Riske worked five innings, allowing three runs and recording eight strikeouts.

Yesterday, with lefty Abe Alvarez optioned back to Pawtucket, Riske reclaimed his spot on the roster. Manager Terry Francona said Alvarez likely would start for the PawSox Thursday or Friday.

The future, however, isn't as clear for Riske, who's aiming to earn the trust of his manager to pitch in tight spots. The Sox are without a lefthanded reliever, and with Keith Foulke, Mike Timlin, and Jonathan Papelbon effectively manning the back end of the bullpen, Riske most likely will see action in middle relief alongside Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez.

At this point, with only one inning on his 2006 ledger, Riske doesn't care how he's used or what hitters he'll face.

``I just want to pitch again," said Riske, who wears No. 54. ``Just get in and face hitters. I don't care how it is or when it is. I just want to get in there and help the team out. You've got to pitch to earn a role, so I just want to go out there when the phone rings and get in there."