51s’ Riley armed with fresh outlook

Everything came easy to 51s reliever Matt Riley early in his professional baseball career. So easy that the former top prospect for the Baltimore Orioles took the game for granted.

"I was a very arrogant, cocky guy when I was younger," said the left-hander, who made his major league debut at age 19 in 1999. "I think that was one of the biggest knocks on me. I didn't appreciate the game. I thought the game owed me something, where I owe everything to the game. Now I appreciate every day I have in the game of baseball."

It didn't take long for the game to humble Riley, who underwent the first of two Tommy John surgeries in 2000 and missed the entire 2001 campaign before reaching the big leagues again in 2003.

Riley, who is 5-4 with a 5.99 ERA in 26 games in the majors with the Orioles (1999, 2003-04) and Texas Rangers (2005), underwent a second ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery in July 2005.

"That was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with in my entire life," said Riley, who has 790 strikeouts in 699 1/3 innings in the minors. "But I had a great supporting cast. My wife and my family stood by me 100 percent, and that's what has allowed me to get back to this point."

Unfortunately for Riley, who was married last year and became a father this year, that wasn't the end of his elbow problems.

About 10 months into his rehabilitation from his second Tommy John surgery, Riley tore his UCL again in May of last year during an intrasquad scrimmage.

"I felt my elbow pop again, and an MRI the next day revealed I tore the ligament 100 percent, that it was completely blown out," he said. "That was very tough to deal with. It was almost surreal."

With his doctor advising against another Tommy John surgery -- which would've involved pinning the ligament down with a screw, followed by 18 to 24 months of rehabilitation -- Riley opted for prolotherapy, an alternative procedure in which he received four injections of a dextrose (sugar water) solution in his ligament where it attaches to the bone.

"I'm assuming that it worked," said Riley, who considered retirement. "The only way I was going to stop was if my arm told me to stop. I wasn't sure if my arm was going to hold up, but it has."

After tossing only 25 1/3 innings in 2005 and missing the entire 2006 season, Riley started this year with one main objective: to stay healthy.

"It's been since 2003 that I've had a year where I haven't been hurt, and so far I've had no problems with my elbow or anything," Riley said. "It feels great ... knock on wood."

Riley started this season at Double-A Jacksonville, where he had a 1.47 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. He was promoted to Las Vegas on May 8 and is 4-1 with a 6.82 ERA in 33 innings for the 51s.

The Dodgers organization has brought Riley along slowly -- he still hasn't pitched on consecutive days -- and the strategy has paid off so far as his velocity has steadily increased.

In fact, Riley is throwing as hard as ever, from 91 to 95 mph. He tossed two strong innings in Thursday's 9-0 win over Albuquerque at Cashman Field, allowing one hit with two strikeouts and no walks.

"He's been a little more consistent his last three times out, but to pitch in the major leagues you've got to do it a whole bunch of times," 51s pitching coach Ken Howell said. "For me, the biggest thing is for him to finish the year healthy more than anything. He can't worry so much about the big leagues this year."