Football
Associated Press 19y

Garciaparra recovering ahead of schedule

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said he
is recovering faster than he expected from surgery to repair a
ruptured tendon in his left groin and hopes to return for the final
two months of the regular season.

"Physically, I feel pretty good right now," said Garciaparra,
who is on the 60-day disabled list.

Garciaparra is taking ground balls and batting practice and
doing some light running, but he has difficulty pushing off.

He said his strength and stamina are increasing, and hopes to
start running the bases next week.

"Before, I couldn't do a crunch or a sit-up," he said before
Friday's game between the Cubs and the Nationals. "A few weeks
ago, on the 10th one, I was like, 'It's too much.' Now, I'm able to
do 50."

He plans to spend the weekend in Chicago before returning to
Arizona.

"With the injury he had, the biggest hurdle is everything,"
Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "It's an injury to his core, which
controls everything: getting out of bed, getting in and out of the
car, getting up and down, hitting, fielding, throwing."

Garciaparra was batting .157 with no home runs and four RBIss in
14 games when he slipped running out of the batters box at St.
Louis in late April. He plans to rehab in the minor leagues before
returning to the Cubs.

"It's driving me crazy," Garciaparra said of the layoff. "I
want to be out there."

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