SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Of all the players in camp, pitcher Vicente Padilla may be the ultimate symbol of what went wrong for the Rangers in 2007 and what needs to be addressed this season.

The Rangers keep bringing up the importance of health to this team. It's the main topic of discussion in this camp.

Texas shortstop Michael Young showed up on Sunday and said, "We just need to stay healthy and pick each other up. Obviously we have some guys who are coming off injuries that have been highly productive in the past. We just need them to stay on the field."

Padilla is high on the list.

The simple fact is Padilla was hurt last year. He was healthy when he arrived for Spring Training, after signing a three-year $33.75 million contract. But at some point before the Rangers broke camp, Padilla hurt his arm. Nobody is quite sure when because Padilla never really told anybody.

He admitted on Sunday that was a mistake.

"It probably would have been better to have backed off," Padilla said through teammate German Duran after his workout. "But the team started off not so well, and I wanted to get some innings in and help out and get some wins."

He didn't help anybody. The problem only grew worse, and it impacted his stamina. He would pitch well to start a game, but fall apart after the fourth or fifth inning. His record suffered. The Rangers knew something was wrong, but they didn't know it was physical because Padilla wasn't upfront with anybody.

He went 3-8 with a 6.69 ERA in his first 15 starts before pitching coach Mark Connor finally confronted him. Padilla went on the disabled list June 25 with inflammation in his right triceps, but by then the Rangers, with their rotation almost completely unraveling, were out of contention.

"He didn't tell us he was hurt," manager Ron Washington said. "He felt like he had to go out and live up to his contract. Mark finally got him, and he admitted that he was hurt. That's when we shut him down. But the guy's a professional, and he felt he needed to take the ball."

Maybe, but it didn't help the Rangers that they won just twice over Padilla's first 13 starts. And that contributed significantly to them getting buried early in the American League West.

"It was bad," Padilla said. "It hurt the team. I wanted to throw well, but I couldn't because I was hurt. I was upset because it hurt the team."

When Washington talks with his team about the need for health, he also talks about the need for honesty. The Rangers don't need heroes.

"We're trying to get them to be honest with us," Washington said. "We don't want them out there when they're hurt. They need to tell us. We want them to be healthy. If they're hurt, we'll put somebody else out there or go find somebody."

Connor said the Rangers will take it slower with Padilla this spring. He wants Padilla to build up to Opening Day, rather than go hard and too fast at the start. Connor said that was the plan in 2006, and Padilla went 15-10 with a 4.50 ERA in 200 innings. The right-hander had 20 quality starts in 2006, but just seven last year.

"He's one of the best pitchers in the league when he's healthy," Connor said. "I really believe that. We've seen it before."

The Rangers did see it again to a degree when Padilla returned from the disabled list. He was 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA in his last eight starts, including a game in Oakland on Sept. 16 when he was ejected in the first inning after hitting Athletics outfield Nick Swisher with a pitch.

That forced the Rangers to overuse an already overworked bullpen, and Washington made Padilla apologize to the team the next day. Padilla insisted he didn't mean to throw at Swisher, who charged the mound after getting hit. The pitcher said it was an accident.

Washington still wasn't happy he had to go to his bullpen in the first inning. Padilla also ended up getting suspended for seven games, and he pitched just once more for the Rangers over the final two weeks.

"That's in the past," Washington said. "We all get a new start, learn from our experience and move on. He was told that he left the bullpen out to dry. Let's not rehash that again. That's old."

But it's still a reminder that the Rangers need Padilla on the mound and pitching well if they have any realistic hope of contending in the American League.

"Nobody expects to have a season like that," Padilla said. "But it's not something you can control when you get hurt. But I feel good now. I'm locating the ball well and throwing hard. I want to finish off Spring Training and go from there."