Category: Injuries

Yup! Baseball season is here

Ervin Santana

The Super Bowl is in the rear view mirror and baseball is just around the corner. I know this is true because just yesterday the Minnesota Twins announced that their starting pitcher Ervin Santana will be out for 10-12 weeks due to surgery to a finger on his pitching hand. Geez, pitchers and catchers haven’t even reported yet. Injuries to Twins pitchers are a sure sign of Spring. We should drop Groundhogs Day and when the first Twins pitcher goes down we all know that Spring is just about here.

I ran across the following short video on Facebook and just could not resist borrowing it for all of you to enjoy.

Borrowed this from Facebook

Minnesota Twins disabled list history

DLHow often have you heard MLB GM’s and managers say that if their team stays healthy and avoids the DL that they can be good, maybe really good and make a run at the playoffs? You would be rich if you got a nickel for every time that has been said. But how true is it? Truth be told it is not the number of injuries or days spent on the DL that will hurt you, it is WHO gets hurt. Lose a key player or two and your goose is cooked and it is wait until next year most of the time. Injuries to average players can be covered by an adequate bench or minor league players ready to move up to the next level, injured stars usually can not be replaced.

Off and on for the last couple of weeks I have worked on putting together some historical information on Twins injuries going back as far as I could and that turned out to be 1982. I have put this data on a new page on this site called Twins DL or just click on Twins DL in the site menu above.  If you get a few minutes check it out.

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Categorized as Injuries

One of Twins top prospects hurt

Max Kepler
Max Kepler

One of the Minnesota Twins top prospects, Max Kepler hurt his elbow during pre-game warm-ups on March 16th in Sarasota and was shut down for a week to allow the swelling to recede. An MRI performed a week after the injury fortunately only showed a muscle strain. Kepler has been rehabbing since and faced live pitching yesterday for the first time since the injury but again experienced pain and has been shut down for 3 additional weeks. The injury and rehab is a huge disappointment and frustration to Kepler who had participted in an intense workout program this past off-season in San Francisco and was in great shape. Max was expected to be assigned to the Cedar Rapids Kernels “A” ball team and play in his first full season league this year. Instead, Max will stay in Ft. Myers for the next 3 weeks and rehab. The Twins aren’t going to let Kepler go anywhere until they are sure that Kepler is 100% again.  Kepler is one of my favorite Twins prospects and I hope that Max is able to recover quickly and resume his climb up the big league ladder.

And so it begins

Nick Blackburn
Nick Blackburn

Spring Training is still a month away and the Twins already lost a possible starting pitcher when the team announced that Nick Blackburn will undergo surgery on Wednesday at Mayo Clinic to repair a ligament in his wrist and it is expected that he will miss the beginning of the season. Blackburn will wear a cast for 6 weeks before even starting rehab. This isn’t a real serious blow to the team since it was unlikely that Blackburn would have been in the rotation anyway but it still hurts the Twins to lose one of their most experienced starting pitchers and a possible fallback option. Blackburn is currently not on the Twins 40 man roster but will still pocket $5.5 million this season regardless where he might be pitching. He had bone spurs removed from his elbow following the 2010 season, had the nerve surgery in 2011 and had a bone chip removed from his elbow following the 2012 season before this latest development.

Blackburn who will turn 31 in February had a miserable season in 2012 and was sent down in mid-August after putting up a 4-9 record with a 7.39 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. In 98.2 innings Blackie allowed 143 hits and 26 walks while striking out just 42. I know a lot of people will say “no loss” but you should never close the door on an experienced starter that has shown a good sinkerball in the past. Who knows, stranger things have happened.

The Twins and the Disabled List (DL)

The Twins had a miserable season in 2011 and many blame the Twins slide into the AL central basement on the number of injuries that the Twins endured. But looking at the numbers, injuries alone do not explain the Twins dismal play. The Twins came out of spring training in excellent health but it didn’t take long before players started dropping. It was like a contagious disease all season long, one injury after another. How do you explain it? No one can I think, just a matter of bad luck, sometimes, maybe it was brought on by not knowing how to play your position properly as in the case of Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Later in the season, after the Twins were beaten down and out of the race it seemed like some players just gave up and found it easier to sit on the bench than to get out on the field. The Joe Mauer mystery still remains unanswered. It appears to me that the Twins have several players that do not want to go to the gate unless they are feeling 100%, hell, no one feels 100% everyday. In the real world there are people going to work day in and day out regardless of how they feel for a whole slew of reasons. These players need to understand that they are letting their teammates, fans, and themselves down when they let a minor injury keep them from taking the field. I felt bad for Gardy because he had to make excuses for these malingerers. I wonder what it will take to get some of these guys to “suck it up” and play some baseball? But you think the 2011 Twins had injury problems, check out some of these sad but apparently true injuries that occurred to the boys of summer in a piece that was published back in September of 1992. You may find some former Twins on the list.

So what is the MLB DL and how does it work? In simple terms it works like this. A player may be placed on either the 15-day or the 60-day disabled list, usually depending on the severity or the expected recovery time of the injury. A player may be shifted from the 15-day to the 60-day DL at any time, but not vice-versa. The player may not rejoin the team until 15 or 60 days has elapsed; however, a player’s time on the DL may exceed the specified number of days. Something the Twins know very well. In addition, if a player is sent to the 60-day DL after August 1, he may not return to the active roster for the rest of that season.

The 15-day DL does not count the player on the active roster (comprising the 25-man roster until September 1), whereas the 60-day DL does not require the player to be counted on either the team’s active roster or its 40-man roster; however, a team’s 40-man roster must be full in order for the option of a placement on the 60-day disabled list to be available.

In 2011 MLB instituted a change to the DL policy where as a new 7 day DL was put in place specifically for concussions and brain damage. MLB also put in place a paternity leave policy this season where a team can replace a player who is an expectant father on the roster for 1-3 days in order for them to attend the birth of their child.

Until the late 1980s, there were 10-day and 21-day disabled lists. The number of players who could be placed on each list was limited, and there was much less flexibility about when they could return to action. Back then, players with major league contracts were not allowed to go to the minor leagues for rehabilitation.

But getting back to the Twins situation, I took a look at the Twins injuries for the last 10 seasons 2002-2011 and here is what I found.

Year Record Finish DL Moves DL Days Out for the season
2002 94-67 1st 14 700 Duvall (P)
2003 90-72 1st 10 430 none
2004 92-70 1st 14 593 Mays (P)
2005 83-79 3rd 11 578 Kubel (OF), Balfour (P)
2006 96-66 1st 10 403 none
2007 79-83 3rd 15 995* Liriano (P), Machado (P)
2008 88-75 2nd 11 487 none
2009 87-76 1st 12 551 Bonser (P), Neshek (P)
2010 94-68 1st 18 760 Condrey (P), Nathan (P)
2011 63-99 5th 27 785 none

 * = In addition to Liriano and Machado being out for the season, Perkins, Crain, White, and Rabe all spent 95 or more days on the DL

The table above seems to indicate that the Twins usually average between 10-15 DL moves in a season but the last two seasons have seen a jump in the number of DL moves to 18 and 27 respectively.

From a trainers perspective, like the rest of the Twins organization, changes are few and far between. Up until 2011, the Twins had a head trainer, an assistant trainer and a strength and conditioning coach but in 2011 they added a second assistant trainer.

2002 – Jim Kahmann (HT), Rick Mcwane (AT), Randy Popple (SCC)
2003 – Jim Kahmann (HT), Rick Mcwane (AT), Randy Popple (SCC)
2004 – Jim Kahmann (HT), Rick Mcwane (AT), Randy Popple (SCC)
2005 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Randy Popple (SCC)
2006 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Randy Popple (SCC)
2007 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Perry Castellano (SCC)
2008 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Perry Castellano (SCC)
2009 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Perry Castellano (SCC)
2010 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Perry Castellano (SCC)
2011 – Rick Mcwane (HT), Dave Pruemer (AT), Tony Leo (AT), Perry Castellano (SCC)

 

Popple and Castellano each have served as strength and conditioning coach for 5 years. When Popple was the SCC, the Twins averaged 541 DL days per season, during the last 5 years under Castellano, the Twins have averaged 716 DL days. coincidence? Maybe. Of course you can’t compare apples to apples here because the players change but still, 175 DL days difference.

We all have an opinion on what Twins we think are always hurt and always on the DL but the table below will show you over the last 10 years who has been on the DL most frequently. The table covers the years of 2002 through 2011 and players that have two or fewer DL trips are not listed.

Player DL appearances Season with the Twins
Nick Punto 9 7
Joe Mauer 6 8
Francisco Liriano 5 7
Kevin Slowey 5 5
Scott Baker 4 7
Alexi Casilla 4 6
Michael Cuddyer 4 11
Justin Morneau 4 9
Glenn Perkins 4 6
Grant Balfour 3 4
Lew Ford 3 5
Torii Hunter 3 11
Corey Koskie 3 7
Jose Mijares 3 4
Pat Neshek 3 5
Luis Rivas 3 6
Shannon Stewart 3 4
Rondell White 3 2

Is Justin Morneau “really” healthy?

Justin Morneau

January 25, 2011 – Yesterday the big Twins story was that GM Bill Smith has asked Justin Morneau not to attend TwinsFest this coming week-end so that he does not take 3-5 days away from his workouts as he prepares for the 2011 season.

I am not a believer in coincidences and to me a glass is more often half empty then it is half full so I have to ask, how healthy is Justin Morneau? Without Morneau at first base the Twins hope for another post season appearance is all but done before the first “play ball” echo dies at Target Field. Smith is a master at providing as little information as possible and playing his cards close to the vest. I take everything that Mr. Smith says with a grain of salt, no, I am not saying that Smith is not being truthful, I am just saying that he provides you with a bit of valid information but he never answers the question head on.

So what is the deal with Morneau? Morneau has a history of being an extremely hard worker and starting his baseball regiment early to prepare for the up-coming season. So much so, that in past years he has been asked to “back it down” and take it a bit easier early in the spring so that he can conserve some of his energy for the long and grueling season ahead. Morneau is famous for his bright and early workouts at Ft. Myers; he is like those Army ads “where he gets more done by 9AM than most people do in an entire day”. Now Smith is saying that he doesn’t want to tear Morneau away from his workouts for 3-5 days and get him out of his rhythm in late January? Come on now Mr. Smith, tell me how Justin taking a few days off in late January is going to hurt him. Justin is either healthy and ready to play for the Twins this season or he is not, attending TwinsFest or not attending makes absolutely no difference.

This is not about Morneau attending TwinsFest; it is about Morneau’s health. I really hope that I am wrong here but I am very concerned about Morneau’s health and if he is going to be able to answer the call come April 1 when the season gets underway. Without Morneau at first base the Twins hopes of getting into the playoffs are almost nonexistent and everyone knows that. So what is to be gained by keeping Morneau’s health status a secret? Ticket sales? No, they will sell out again this year no matter if Morneau is at first or not. Will Smith get the competitive advantage in some kind of a trade or free agent signing? Who knows, but I really have an uneasy feeling about all of this. I will feel a lot better when I see Justin working out like he normally does in early February at the ballpark.

Joe Nathan and the Twins

March 10, 2010 – It is all over the news, bad news for Joe Nathan, the Twins, and Twins fans everywhere. Joe Nathan has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow and right now the decision has been made to rest if for several weeks to see if that helps. No one seems to be holding out much hope that the rest will allow Nathan to pitch in 2010. You can understand the Twins point of view; they have a lot on the line so waiting two weeks or so seems a small price to pay in hoping for a miracle.

The Twins can pursue a trade for a proven closer or a closer in waiting. Word is that Jason Frasor who is currently with Toronto is available as are Heath Bell and Kerry Wood and all three have the necessary experience. Right now that seems like the best option but the price could be more than the Twins want to pay since everyone will be asking for the moon with the Twins in dire straits. If the Twins look internally to fill the void, that would present another problem because they would weaken another area to fill the closer role. But if the Twins choose that path, then I think that the pecking order for the closer role should be Rauch, Crain and Mijares. I think that Guerrier is too valuable in the role he is currently in to move to the closer position. Neshek is coming off TJ surgery himself and I can’t see the Twins putting him into the closer role at least during the first half of the season. The Twins don’t have anyone in the minors that they would trust in such a key role for a team expected to go deep in the playoffs. Whatever they do, the Twins must make a decision soon and get the bullpen calmed down with designated roles for everyone, and you don’t want the relievers to go day to day without knowing what their role will be on any given day.

I went to my first Twins spring training game of the season yesterday and saw the Twins beat the Cardinals 7-6 in an entertaining game. When we drove to the park it was crazy, traffic was backed up everywhere and I was sent driving all around the complex before they finally found a parking spot for me in right field of one of the complex’s softball fields. A five minute walk got me in the ballpark but it was the bottom of the first inning and the Twins were already down 2-0 and Adam Wainwright was starting for the Cardinals. It was a back and forth game and I think the Nathan situation was on some of the player’s minds. Nick Punto, playing 3B made two errors and just did not look like his head was in the game. There were some other fielding plays that could have been called errors but were not due to the generosity of the official scorer. Carl Pavano started for the Twins and looked OK but he did give up six hits in three innings. The big blow came in the bottom of the 8th inning with the score tied 6-6 and Danny Valencia came up to the plate for the first time and parked the ball over the left field fence for a home run. It was a nice ending to a fun day at the ballpark. Oh, why the traffic jam? I guess it was because the Twins drew their largest ever crowd to a spring training game at Hammond Stadium, 8,220 baseball starved fans got to see the Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

UPDATE March 21 – The Twins announced this morning that Joe Nathan will undergo “Tommy John” surgery sometime this week. The doctor and location are still to be determined.

Sad to see

August 26, 2009 – Elias reported today that the New York Mets announced on Tuesday that former Twins ace Johan Santana will undergo season-ending surgery on his left elbow. Only two pitchers have started more games than Santana since the 2003 All-Star break, when he joined the Twins’ rotation. The leaders during that time: Derek Lowe, 209; Barry Zito, 208; Johan Santana, 207; Livan Hernandez, 205; Mark Buehrle, 204.

To me it is always depressing when star pitchers go down, but for me, Johan Santana is something special, besides playing for the Twins at one time, I really enjoy watching Johan pitch. I think it is interesting to note too that most of the starts for the pitchers named above came in the American league where the DH exists. Coincidence? Maybe. Get well soon Johan!

What’s up with Joe?

March 10, 2009 – So what is ailing Joe Mauer? The situation with Joe has been handled very strangely this past off season. First Joe has kidney related surgery about 2 ½ months ago and everyone said no problem; Mauer will be ready to go when the season starts, no worries. Then as we get deeper and deeper into spring training Joe is still working on the back fields and once he starts to swing a bat and catch some bullpen the word is that Joe’s back is bothering him again and now he is scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday and Twins management is quickly backing off there “no concern” policy.

So let’s do the hypothetical thing here, what happens to the Twins line-up, bench and roster if Mauer starts the season on the DL? Who would be the starting catcher? Redmond? Mike could probably fill the slot for a couple of weeks but that is about it, he is not a young pup anymore. Even if that was true, who would the Twins use as the back-up catcher? Would it be Jose Morales who has had a taste of the big leagues, or would it be Wilson Ramos the young up and coming stud catcher who still has a lot to learn but who can hit circles around Redmond and Morales. That assumes that Drew Butera does not have a shot at the job and the way I see it and he shouldn’t. Some very interesting decisions would have to be made if Joe is out for any length of time. I am not even going to discuss who the Twins would have to put into the 3 hole in the batting order.

Too early to worry? I don’t think so, and everyone will be waiting for that medical report. Is it just me or does there seem to be something that happens to Joe to keep him from playing a full season every other year or so………. I sure hope I am wrong but I am afraid that where there is smoke there is usually fire.

Pat Neshek Out For The Year?

May 12, 2008 – The injury to Pat Neshek’s elbow is a serious blow both to the Twins and to Pat Neshek. The Twins lost a quality set up guy and a pitcher that I think manager Gardenhire could put into a tight situation and feel comfortable that he would get them out of the jam with a minimum of damage. If needed, you could count on Neshek to get a strikeout if the situation required it. Pat will be out for several months and very possibly the season. Even more serious is the possibility for both Pat and the Twins is that rest alone will not cure the partial tear in his elbow and that surgery may be necessary but that will not be known for some time and if that comes into play, then we could be looking at no Neshek in 2009 or even worse, if this is a career ending injury. Neshek throws the ball very hard and how much faith will Pat have in the elbow coming off an injury like this? Although I have never met Pat, he sure seems to be a very personable guy and is one of the players that seem to enjoy his interaction with the fans from his home state. The fans will miss him and I will miss watching him on the mound as opposing batters flail at his offerings. The Twins bullpen took a big hit losing Pat but that is part of baseball. Who will step up and take over that setup spot? Will it be Juan Rincon, Mark Guerrier, or Jesse Crain? Dennis Reyes is best when he faces a batter or two so he is not a good choice, Brian Bass is unproven. Bob Korecky is not a lights out kind of a pitcher but more prone to give up hits and walks and wiggles his way out of trouble. Maybe the right man is the Cincinnati Reds all time saves leader that the Twins currently having pitching in Rochester in Danny Graves? It might be time to give him a shot at the big leagues again.