Thread: Nick Blackburn had elbow surgery

The Twins also announced this afternoon that RHP Nick Blackburn had arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove bone chips last Thursday.

Was the last Twins pitcher to have bone spurs removed Joe Nathan? Nathan blamed the procedure for causing his ligament damage and the ensuing TJ surgery and I don't think anyone disagreed with his assesment.

I guess that's it....Nick Blackburn's surgery is going to ruin his pitching career.

Sarcasm aside, anything Blackburn can change before next years is good thing. At least if there was a medical issue resolved, there is a glimmer of hope that he will bounce back to have some value.

Originally Posted by Craig in MN

I guess that's it....Nick Blackburn's surgery is going to ruin his pitching career.

Sarcasm aside, anything Blackburn can change before next years is good thing. At least if there was a medical issue resolved, there is a glimmer of hope that he will bounce back to have some value.

Agreed. Now instead of being the worst pitcher in baseball, maybe he can only be bottom-third.

The only thing that can possibly help Blackburn is arm replacement surgery.

How about turning him into a cyborg (if only that were possible)? That pretty much removes the risk of his arm getting injured, and we would end up with one of the fastest pitchers in all of baseball in the deal.

Nick Blackburn underwent arthroscopic surgery on October 25 to remove a bone chip from his right elbow.

It was a relatively minor procedure, and Blackburn is expected to be 100 percent for spring training. The veteran right-hander will be a non-roster invitee and must impress next spring to earn a spot in the Opening Day rotation. He posted an ugly 7.39 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over 19 starts this season.


Source: Joe Christensen on Twitter

Blackburn is not good. I don't want him back on this team.

Originally Posted by J-Dog Dungan

How about turning him into a cyborg (if only that were possible)? That pretty much removes the risk of his arm getting injured, and we would end up with one of the fastest pitchers in all of baseball in the deal.

Only if he gets one of those red eyes that open and close like a lens....those are scary.

Any word if they inserted some talent while they had him opened up?

Wow. I started the snark, but I expected a little bit of positivity from someone. He wouldn't be the first sinkerballer who fell off a cliff due to not finishing off his pitches well, due to a little junk in his elbow. That's connecting the dots a little bit, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is back to being above replacement level in 2013.

The bone chips could explain why Blackburn had altered his mechanics (Parker Hagerman analysis last June).

Originally Posted by Craig in MN

Wow. I started the snark, but I expected a little bit of positivity from someone. He wouldn't be the first sinkerballer who fell off a cliff due to not finishing off his pitches well, due to a little junk in his elbow. That's connecting the dots a little bit, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is back to being above replacement level in 2013.

I would be surprised.

They should perform the same procedure that was performed on that kid in the movie "Rookie of the Year"

Originally Posted by Craig in MN

Wow. I started the snark, but I expected a little bit of positivity from someone. He wouldn't be the first sinkerballer who fell off a cliff due to not finishing off his pitches well, due to a little junk in his elbow. That's connecting the dots a little bit, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is back to being above replacement level in 2013.

I'm not sure it's possible to remove enough bone chips for that to happen.

Originally Posted by Craig in MN

Wow. I started the snark, but I expected a little bit of positivity from someone. He wouldn't be the first sinkerballer who fell off a cliff due to not finishing off his pitches well, due to a little junk in his elbow. That's connecting the dots a little bit, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is back to being above replacement level in 2013.

I wouldn't be surprised, I'd be flat out shocked.

Originally Posted by righty8383

They should perform the same procedure that was performed on that kid in the movie "Rookie of the Year"

Yes, but not just that, he would need "Angels in the Outfield" to help with his non-sinking meatballs.

Originally Posted by Craig in MN

Wow. I started the snark, but I expected a little bit of positivity from someone. He wouldn't be the first sinkerballer who fell off a cliff due to not finishing off his pitches well, due to a little junk in his elbow. That's connecting the dots a little bit, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is back to being above replacement level in 2013.

The same people will snark about the Twins being idiots for letting Blackburn go if he pitches well elsewhere.

Originally Posted by sorney

Originally Posted by J-Dog Dungan

How about turning him into a cyborg (if only that were possible)? That pretty much removes the risk of his arm getting injured, and we would end up with one of the fastest pitchers in all of baseball in the deal.

Only if he gets one of those red eyes that open and close like a lens....those are scary.

Yeah, but then wouldn't he want to take over the world? Isn't that kind of a pre-req for all scary looking cyborgs? If that was the case, we should trade him to the Yankees.

Originally Posted by old nurse

Originally Posted by Craig in MN

Wow. I started the snark, but I expected a little bit of positivity from someone. He wouldn't be the first sinkerballer who fell off a cliff due to not finishing off his pitches well, due to a little junk in his elbow. That's connecting the dots a little bit, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is back to being above replacement level in 2013.

The same people will snark about the Twins being idiots for letting Blackburn go if he pitches well elsewhere.

I don't know. I don't hear a lot about the "mis-handling" of RA Dickey...