Horne hopes for big comeback

Former Marianna High School and Chipola pitcher Alan Horne left home for Tampa Monday in preparation of yet another spring training.

This year’s camp, the New York Yankees farmhand hopes, will be the last he attends as a minor leaguer.

The 6-foot-4-inch right-handed pitcher made it to Triple-A Scranton last year before a shoulder injury derailed his season.

Horne, 26, suffered a slight tear in his rotator cuff, which resulted in a sharp decline in his production and eventually a demotion to Single-A Tampa.

It was a disappointing development for Horne, who pitched brilliantly in 2007 in Double-A Trenton, finishing 12-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 27 starts.

“It was definitely frustrating,” Horne said of his injury problems in 2008. “When you're as close as I was to pitching in the majors, close to being one of the first guys called up, it’s tough.

“It will be something to drive me to get back to where I was before the injury. The rest will take care of itself.”

At the end of the 2008 season, Horne saw renowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, famous for performing surgical procedures on the elbows and shoulders of various Major League pitchers, and underwent what Horne termed “a clean-up surgery.”

“The tear was causing my shoulder to bind up really bad, so he cleaned it up so it would work a little better,” he said. “It feels good so far.”

Horne couldn’t throw for three months following the surgery, but since resuming his workouts in early December, he has had no complaints.

“I feel great so far. I’ve been real pleased with how the rehab's gone,” he said. “I feel no pain so far. I feel like I’ve got the problem fixed and I can continue to move forward toward my ultimate goal, which is pitching in the big leagues.”

It was a struggle for Horne last season, starting off by losing three of five decisions in the International League, then dropping his only decision in three starts in Tampa.

For the year, Horne was 2-4 with an 8.77 ERA, a far cry from his 2007 success.

In retrospect, Horne said it’s obvious why the struggles were so great.

“(The injury) was a big struggle for me,” he said. “It wasn't a huge pain, it was just pretty uncomfortable. My arm wasn't working like it was supposed to work and it just wasn't allowing me to extend a long way.

“It took more effort to be able to throw. I was having to work a lot harder to do things I normally do without a problem. Towards the end of the season, my stuff started deteriorating.”

Horne said being demoted back to A-ball was very disheartening.

“That stuff is definitely not fun,” he said, “especially with the hopes I had going into the season. I got off to a really good start and saw it go downhill really quick. It’s something that was really frustrating.

“It's tough especially when you get up in age a little bit and you have new guys coming in every year that are younger and have a lot of money invested in
them. They'll push those guys, so you have to fight your way to get in the mix again. I think it’s something that will make you stronger in the end.”

And with every new spring comes a renewal of hope and expectations to get over the hump and Horne said that he has not lost his confidence to achieve his dream.

“I feel pretty confident knowing now that there was something wrong last year, something we didn't know for a long time,” he said. “Now we’ve got a finger on it and fixed it.

“You still have a plan laid out and now you know where you're going and what you're dealing with, as opposed to last year when it was a mystery to everyone.”

Horne said he hoped to start throwing off the mound by early February, with spring training officially starting later in the month.

A big part of the reason he’s going in early, according to Horne, is to let the coaches check his progress with his rehabilitation.

After seeing where he stands, the organization will decide whether to send Horne to Scranton, Trenton or back to Tampa where the warmer weather may help ease his transition back to full health.

Horne said he would understand if the organization felt the colder weather of the Northeast would be troublesome for him this time of the year, but he made his preference clear for where he wants to start the season.

“I understand the precautions, but you also want to pitch against tougher competition,” Horne said. “Being in that kind of atmosphere, it helps you step up your game.

“Personally, I’d much rather be at a higher level of competition, but I have very little power as far as that stuff concerned.”