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Mar 10, 2008 8:22 pm US/Central
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Brewers Beat Cubs 6-4; DeRosa Back After Procedure
PHOENIX (AP) ―
Mark DeRosa accomplished his main goal Monday. Now, he's ready to return his focus to baseball.
The Cubs' second baseman played for the first time since undergoing a heart procedure on Feb. 28 and went 0-for-3 in Chicago's 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
"Just to get out there and break a sweat and be with the guys was fun," DeRosa said. "I hadn't seen live pitching since (the postseason). I didn't strike out. Three balls in play, not quality, but I'll take and build off of it."
DeRosa, beginning his second season with the Cubs, experienced a rapid heartbeat on Feb. 23 during infield drills. He spent a night in a hospital in Mesa before returning to Chicago for a procedure that involved using electrical energy to destroy tissues in the heart that were causing the rhythmic disturbances.
He said he'd had the condition since he was a teenager, but acknowledged that there were some tense moments thinking about his short recovery time.
"The first three or four days were rough, just the scare factor of it, just dealing with the fact that I just had heart surgery and now I'm going to go back and play baseball," said DeRosa, who hit .293 with 10 homers and 72 RBIs last season. "That kind of ended just when I got back into the clubhouse with the guys. They take your mind off of it pretty quick."
DeRosa said he's fine and focusing now on getting the timing of his swing back.
"I feel better than normal because what my normal used to be has been enhanced. I feel really good. It was good to be out there," he said. "Now it's time to forget about it and start working on the fundamentals."
That started when DeRosa faced Brewers starter Dave Bush, who got him to ground out.
"I just didn't want to get overmatched," DeRosa admitted.
Bush, fighting for one of two open rotation spots among four Brewers pitchers, gave up three runs in the first inning after he allowed four of his first five batters to reach base. But he settled into a groove quickly, retiring his final 11 in a row, including four strikeouts.
"First inning, I thought I made some good pitches, but a couple of them got hit compounded with a walk in there," Bush said. "I was throwing all of my off-speed pitches today certainly better than I did last time."
Manny Parra, also competing for a spot in the rotation, was sharp, allowing just one hit over four innings with three strikeouts. He's allowed one run this spring with a team-high eight strikeouts.
"I've been throwing all my pitches the whole time, just trying to get comfortable with all of them," said Parra, who thought his splitter was his most effective pitch.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Rich Hill would be the fourth starter, but Piniella remains unsettled on the third and fifth slots in the rotation.
Hill said he likes his aggressive approach, but failed to get out of the third inning, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks. It could have been worse, but Tim Lahey got the final out of the inning with the bases loaded.
"I'm not disappointed about it," Hill said. "I'm not going to say every one of those balls were hit hard, but some of those balls that were hit hard, the fastballs weren't put where they should be."
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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