March 6, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - TarHeelBlue.com recently caught up with redshirt freshman pitcher Colin Bates, a native of Naperville, Ill., who missed all of last season after a blood clot was removed from his pitching shoulder. A second complicated surgery has made it possible for Bates to pitch again, and he is making the most of his opportunity. He has appeared in three games out of the bullpen and opponents have a batting average of .189 against him. Bates is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings with 10 strikeouts and only two walks. His best outing was six shutout innings with six strikeouts in a 6-2 win over St. John's March 1. Bates and the Tar Heels begin conference play Friday at Duke.

THB.com Could you describe the type of surgery that you underwent last year?
Bates: "The second, more major surgery that I underwent last year was very wearing on my whole body. The name of the surgery is thoracic outlet decompression, and it involves the doctor cleaning out my shoulder of scar tissue, removing my first rib, which I still have on my desk, and then taking a vein graft from my right thigh to replace the damaged vein in my shoulder. When the doctor warned me what the surgery was going to be like he said, `You're going to wake up and feel like you were hit by a bus, but some people say it's more like a train and he laughed.' That was not very encouraging, but explained it perfectly. I couldn't even stand up for about three or four days and moving my arm seemed impossible. The surgery was 12 hours long, and when I woke up I didn't remember anything from the next few days after."

THB.com How disappointing was it to sit out last year?
Bates: "It was certainly disappointing to sit out last year, but after thinking and re-thinking the situation, it was probably the best year of my career to have to sit out. The pitching staff was already very deep, so I probably would not have gotten very many innings. Had this happened during high school, I could not have been recruited, and had it happened later in college, any chance at the draft would be thrown out the window. It was hard to watch the team go to Omaha, and know that there was nothing I could do to help, but an amazing experience either way."

THB.com Did sitting out a season help you to mature in any way?
Bates: "I think so. Especially now that I see other people being unable to play like I was, I think I have more to offer as far as advice goes. It is hard for someone with an injury to hear `be patient' from a doctor or a coach, but I feel like I can help out a teammate more now that I have gone through the process. I feel like my advice may be more meaningful to them now, after they saw me sit there for an entire season."

THB.com Did you ever think that this injury could prevent you from ever pitching again?
Bates: "When I was sitting at the hospital here at Carolina right after the doctor told me that I did in fact have a blood clot, I had no idea what to expect. I remember Coach Forbes told me `You're going to pitch for us on the weekend here,' and whether or not I knew what was going on, this was certainly encouraging. When I woke up from my surgery in St. Louis, my whole arm was swollen bigger than I had thought possible, and I had staples all over the place on my chest and shoulder, I didn't think I stood a chance. But once the swelling began to go down and I could at least stand, the belief began to come back. I knew that once I started my rehab, I wasn't going to do it half-way; I had to get all the way back, or it would not be worth the time."

THB.com What do you think your role is on this year's team or what could it be?
Bates: "Right now, I would say my role is to come in and slow a team down if they begin to get a little momentum on one of our starters."

THB.com How is pitching in the new park in Cary?
Bates: "Pitching in Cary is exactly where a pitcher likes to pitch. It's not that we lose concentration with our pitch location, but we're going to make hitters beat us swinging the bat rather than letting them walk to first. With the defense we have, our pitchers have the confidence that throwing consistent strikes will get batters out."

THB.com Are you excited to start conference play this weekend at Duke?
Bates: "This is the exciting part of the season. Wins are much harder to come by in the league, because these teams know much more about us than a non-conference opponent. Every win is very valuable and every team in the league can beat anyone else on any given night."

THB.com How much easier does FedEx (catcher Tim Federowicz) make it on the pitching staff?
Bates: "It is a real confidence-booster to have Tim behind the plate. I have the confidence to throw any pitch in any count knowing that he won't let it get by him. Another luxury is knowing that teams don't run on Tim. If our pitchers are quick to the plate, then base-runners have a hard time running on him."

THB.com The pitching staff has been a strong point thus far this season, how important are the young arms and the bullpen to this staff?
Bates: "All of our pitchers are going to be very valuable for us this year. Especially with us playing five games per week this season, we are going to need more pitching depth this year. We are going to have to use more of our bullpen this year than last year, and this is a good thing because our opponents are playing the same schedule. And I will take our bullpen over any other team's bullpen."

THB.com On your experience thus far at Carolina, have you enjoyed it/anything special?
Bates: "Everything has been great for me here so far. The thing that makes Carolina so enjoyable is the team that we have. It's like a family here, we all have one another's backs, and that's great to know with all we go through together. I couldn't imagine it any other way, and consider myself more than lucky to be surrounded by such a great group of guys."