Peavy has first catch since landing on disabled list

CHICAGO -- White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy played catch prior to Wednesday night's contest with the Mets at U.S. Cellular Field, marking the first time he has done so since being placed on the disabled list retroactive to June 5 with a cracked rib on his left side.

The right-handed hurler felt natural throwing, although being pretty much inactive since sustaining the injury means Peavy will have to build up his cardiovascular shape as much as arm strength.

"I couldn't do anything to get my heart rate up to where my lungs would expand because your ribcage is affected by that," Peavy said. "Not doing anything for a three-week period is not ideal in the middle of the season to try to come back and be full strength.

"So the biggest thing is trying to come up with a game plan to get your legs back under you, get your cardio back where it needs to be and arm. Make sure you mechanically stay the same. A lot goes into it. We'll do all we can do."

Peavy remains unsure about how this injury came about, offering up that it was a gradual thing and that the problem was slightly exacerbated by him pitching against Seattle on June 4. In a strange twist, Peavy told the media that he thought he had a broken rib last year in Detroit, but it turned out to be a false alarm brought about by an old X-ray machine.

If the rest of Peavy's rehab work progresses as smoothly as Wednesday, he believes a return right after the All-Star break is possible.

"We play catch through the end of the week," Peavy said. "Next week I'm going to try to get on a mound and see how that goes a few times. Get on a mound a few times pain-free, and I want to pitch. I'm sure they are going to make me go on rehab starts which is OK.

"I'll try to keep those to one," added a smiling Peavy. "We'll see how that goes. It's obviously for the front office to come up with. But I hope that timeline we just talked about is right around the All-Star break and I would love for that to be a reality."

Patience holds as a key for Peavy, even if he's not blessed with an abundance of that trait.

"I'm getting older. I am getting wiser," Peavy said. "I'm not going to run out there anymore like I tried to do there in Seattle, tried to tough through. At the end of the day, you aren't helping anybody by going out there."