Fields to pitch Sunday

By CARL HENNELL

C-Falls star will be activated to Great Falls

The Daily Inter Lake

Sunday is the day for Columbia Falls native Josh Fields.

That's when the AAA pitcher for the Chicago White Sox will be activated with the Great Falls White Sox.

It will be his first game action since tearing the labrum in his throwing shoulder last August.

"I threw my last simulated game and Sunday is the day," Fields said.

The White Sox assigned Fields in May to the rookie-level Pioneer League to rehab. Great Falls is the only White Sox affiliate Fields has not played for. The team starts a three-game series in Orem, Utah, Sunday.

"I will be on a schedule to pitch one inning out of the bullpen every two or three days," Fields said. "We'll go from there and see if I go to AAA this season."

Fields finished last season with a 4-5 record and a 2.75 ERA with the Charlotte Knights of the AAA International League. He pitched 68 2/3 innings in 55 games as one of the Knights' top men out of the bullpen. He gave up only 21 walks while striking out 51 batters and posted a 1.19 WHIP. He was very close to being considered a late-season callup to the big club as it prepared for its eventual World Series championship.

Fields says he feels pretty good.

"You can never be satisfied with how you are

throwing, but I feel good," he said. "Obviously, I'm not throwing hard. But my breaking ball feels good. My changeup feels good. My cut fastball feels good. Now it's just about building up arm strength. All I can do now is just throw strikes and see what happens. It's been a little over a year since I've faced hitters. I'm excited. It's time to get over the hump and get going. It was my decision to be activated."

Fields was invited to participate in an instructional league from Sept. 17 to Oct. 15. The league, which he participated in in 2001, is normally reserved for a team's new draftees. But the White Sox invited him back to evaluate him after rehabbing.

From there, it will be on to winter ball for the month of November.

But first, it's the Great Falls White Sox, who were 4-14 prior to Wednesday night's game in the second half of the Pioneer League schedule.