Dodgers Report : What a Strange Trip It Has Been for Cromer

Infielder Tripp Cromer has been through elbow surgery. He has suffered from a strained leg muscle. He has had a broken thumb.

He knows pain. He has endured rehab. And he has remained optimistic and determined.

But those were injuries he could handle. Those were setbacks with a clear program for recovery.

None of that prepared Cromer for what happened around two months ago.

The sound of his heart beating rapidly scared Cromer more than all those injuries he had suffered. His father had died of heart problems.

Cromer was diagnosed as suffering an irregular heartbeat, but tests failed to reveal a problem serious enough to require medication.

Still, Cromer couldn’t get it out of his mind.

The Dodger put him on the disabled list. But after playing five games in a rehab assignment for the Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers’ triple-A team, Cromer decided he needed more time off.

“I didn’t feel comfortable playing,” Cromer said, “not knowing what could happen. Your mind controls a lot. I didn’t want to hurt the team. If my mind was not on what was going on on the field, I could cost us a game.”

Finally, with no reoccurrence of the heart problem, Cromer was ready to return.

“I just needed time,” he said.

He was sent to the San Bernardino Stampede, a Dodger Class-A team, and is expected to be called up when rosters expand Wednesday.

Tonight DODGERS’ MIKE JUDD (2-1, 5.09 ERA) vs. BREWERS’ KYLE PETERSON (1-4, 3.28 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7

TV--Fox Sports West 2. Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Update--Judd, recalled from Albuquerque on August 12, continues his mission to convince the Dodgers that he should be part of their future. Judd gets his second start in a row against the Brewers, having beaten them, 5-2, a week ago at Milwaukee.