PORTLAND -- As some of his teammates walked about the Portland Sea Dogs clubhouse, cursing the weather, Tommy Hottovy played backgammon and smiled.

Hottovy waited more than a year to get back to the Sea Dogs. He could handle another rain delay.

Portland's Tuesday night game against Binghamton at Hadlock Field was rained out. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader today, starting at 5 p.m.

Hottovy could be coming out of the bullpen today, striding to the Hadlock mound for the first time since June of last year.

Hottovy, who turns 28 on Thursday, is a lefthander who was chosen in the fourth round of the 2004 draft, out of Wichita State. He looked promising in 2006 (a combined 122 strikeouts and 3.15 ERA in advanced Class A and in seven starts with the Sea Dogs.

But arm troubles began creeping in the next year, finally culminating in Tommy John -- ligament replacement -- surgery on his elbow last June.

"It was kind of a gradual thing," Hottovy said. "Mine wasn't a complete tear. It started fraying. It's a little harder to diagnose."

But now that he's fixed, Hottovy is cruising.

"He looks as strong if not stronger than before he got injured," Sea Dogs pitching coach Mike Cather. "He's actually creating more angle with his fastball. He has a great feel for pitch selection and changing speeds. We saw all that (Monday).

"It was really like he didn't skip a beat."

Hottovy re-joined the Sea Dogs over the weekend and entered Monday's game in Manchester. He threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three.

Along with Hottovy's fastball (86 to 88 mph), Hottovy commanded his curve and changeup. He threw 22 pitches, 18 for strikes -- 5 of 5 change-ups for strikes, 4 of 4 curveballs for strikes.

"Coming back from surgery, I can feel the ball coming out of my hand and that's a good thing," he said. "The arm feels great. It's night and day the way I feel. I don't have to worry about it anymore. I don't have to think about it anymore. I don't have to get here three hours early just to get it ready for the game."

Hottovy has always been an optimist. When he struggled in Portland in 2007 (4-10, 5.61 ERA), he never dropped his head. And when he was shutdown after only two starts last season, he vowed to work hard and come back.

Easier said than done.

Hottovy experienced from the purgatory of the Fort Myers, Fla., minor league complex. He has been there, off and one, for 12 months.

"Way too long," said Hottovy, who could not step on a mound until January.

Hottovy did get time off to be married last Nov. 27. His wife Andrea accompanied him to Fort Myers. "I wouldn't have survived without her," he said.

The slow rehab process finally got Hottovy on the mound in an extended spring training game in mid-May. After a brief stop in Lowell, Hottovy is back in Portland and, for the first time in his professional career, is in the bullpen.

"I love that role," said Hottovy, who was a reliever at Wichita State.

Interestingly, Hottovy becomes the third left-handed reliever in the Portland bullpen -- along with Andrew Dobies and Dustin Richardson -- and all three used to start for Portland.

Dobies, like Hottovy, first joined the Sea Dogs late in the 2006 season and helped Portland to the Eastern League title. Dobies is coming back from shoulder surgery.

And Hottovy appears recovered from his time on the operating table.

"I'm confident," he said.