Baseball fans who were following the progress of former Nevada Union pitcher Gary Daley last summer might have noticed a dramatic downturn in the second half of his season.

And by the end of the year, after being sent down from Palm Beach to the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, Daley was reportedly sidelined by an "undisclosed injury," according to the team's Web site.

But truth be told, Daley said, he wasn't dealing with an injury at all.

"I was having trouble throwing strikes," Daley said by phone from spring training in Jupiter, Fla. "They came up with a phantom injury and put me on the DL (disabled list).

"I was trying to work through it, but I never quite got through it. Although now things are pretty much back to normal."

Like a golfer dealing with a case of the yips or a hitter who suddenly has found a hole in his swing, Daley said he didn't know from where the problem arose.

After compiling a 3-3 record for the Palm Beach Cardinals with a 4.94 ERA in 58 innings worked, Daley's sudden struggles eventually led him to the Rookie team of the GCL, where he ended the year with an 0-2 record and a 15.43 ERA.

His final outing of the year, a July 27 loss to the GCL Mets, saw him surrender five walks, seven hits and 10 earned runs in six innings.

All of the sudden, he just wasn't himself.

"Basically, it just feels foreign to you, even though it's something you've been doing all your life," he said. "It was pretty frustrating. I tried going at it every day, but I finally realized that was not the best idea and I took a month off."

Problem, apparently, solved.

Daley said after taking a break he was finding the strike zone once again. And after an offseason of working out at Cal Poly, where he pitched in college, the 22-year-old righthander is ready for some redemption.

"This spring, everything has gone well," he said. "It looks like I'm going to be in Palm Beach to start the year."

And he's looked so strong that he's also likely to start the year on the mound for the Cardinals in their April 3 season opener against Jupiter Hammerheads, a Class A affiliate of the Florida Marlins.

Through the course of the team's 142-game campaign, he hopes to progress to the point that he's pushing his pitching peers at the next level of pro ball. But the former NU star said he's currently focused on helping his current club compete in the Florida State League.

He's already been on both sides of being moved up and moved down in the minors. After starting out with the Class A short-season State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League, he was promoted to Palm Beach, before his bout with control troubles.

"My goal is to just be better this year," he said. "I try to make attainable goals and if I reach them, I might make some more."

However, if you're playing as a team with a winning attitude, as Daley says, individual goals aren't as important.

"But you're all trying to win. Even though you all have individual goals, you still have that collective goal in the end."

To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.