He had the surgery the other day. He wants to be back by Opening Day 2006; apparently, word is that the surgery went really well:A'S REPORT Dotel's surgery goes well; he could pitch Opening DaySusan SlusserThursday, June 9, 2005Washington -- Octavio Dotel's "Tommy John'' surgery was so successful, the reliever said, that renowned arm specialist Dr. James Andrews told him that he probably will be able to pitch in the majors on Opening Day 2006, easily six to 12 months sooner than projected. "Dr. Andrews said, 'Hey, you're going to be fine. If you were throwing 94- 95 mph before this, you're going to be really good now,' '' Dotel told The Chronicle a day after having a new ulnar collateral ligament put into his right elbow. "He said, 'If you do all your rehab, you'll be pretty much ready for spring training.' '' Dotel said that a tendon was taken from his leg and it was so long that Andrews was able to wrap it three times around the elbow, which is unusual. In addition, Andrews took out two large calcifications. "I'm telling you, they were big,'' said Dotel, who will start rehab a week from today. Dotel is upset that he was second-guessed for electing to have the surgery after four doctors, including Andrews, advised him to rehab the elbow instead. Dotel felt he was portrayed as if he were shirking his duty by going against the recommendations, but he knew he could not pitch with any consistency because the tremendous pain he was having essentially prevented him from using his slider. The fact that Andrews removed the calcified chunks makes Dotel feel vindicated. "I asked the doctor, 'Did I do the right thing?' and he said, 'Yes, you did,' '' Dotel said. "The things people said ticked me off -- why would I have surgery unless I had to, especially with no contract for next year? The last thing I wanted to do was stop playing, but I had no choice, I had to get this straightened out.'' A reason the doctors advised against surgery was that MRI exams showed that things might not go smoothly, but, Dotel said, "Once he got in there, everything was different from the MRI. When he saw that, he said I could be pitching in April.''