Wetmore: Perkins to get cortisone shot

[drjim]

Was May the acting closer last night, so he couldn't be used in the 7th inning?

 

Not that I endorse it, just trying to figure out why May wasn't used. No mention of May in the Strib game story:

 

 

I would assume so. I also imagine Jepsen and Fien were no gos. I do think he would have gone 4-5 outs with May but more than 2 innings was a little much.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I would assume so. I also imagine Jepsen and Fien were no gos. I do think he would have gone 4-5 outs with May but more than 2 innings was a little much.

Then use May to get out of the 7th and for the 8th, and go from there. If half your pen is unavailable, adhering to rigid roles with the remaining arms is a pretty terrible approach. Saying they were "forced" to use O'Rourke and Graham when they did is letting them off the hook.

[Parker Hageman]

To understand what Perkins is going through now, here are some of his comments from this spring discussing his injury in 2014:

 

“You can’t finish a pitch,” he said. “I would try to throw a slider I just couldn’t get the last little bit of the whip. You don’t have the spin. So you lose movement, you lose the life. The life and movement is the spin. Guy with late life spins the ball faster than a guy without late life.”

 

{snip}

 

“It wasn’t a hurt, it wasn’t a pain,” he said trying to make sense of the ailment. “It was a lack of any pain or feeling. Pitchers talk about feel and there wasn’t any of that. There was no feel for pitches, no feel for getting out front, no feel for being able to finish a pitch.”

 

 

So when people say things like "Why didn't he report something sooner" it is because there wasn't a big red flag of searing pain in his arm. Pitchers want to try to pitch through periods of dead arm -- when things don't feel right but don't necessarily hurt. 

 

But it was very apparent coming out of the gate after the All Star Game when his slider was doing the exact same thing it was doing in the second half of last year. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/0W8o5aM.gif

 

This is all disheartening for a team whose bullpen is rocky at best. Hopefully the cortisone shot does its job.

[Squirrel]

 

To understand what Perkins is going through now, here are some of his comments from this spring discussing his injury in 2014:

 

 

So when people say things like "Why didn't he report something sooner" it is because there wasn't a big red flag of searing pain in his arm. Pitchers want to try to pitch through periods of dead arm -- when things don't feel right but don't necessarily hurt. 

 

But it was very apparent coming out of the gate after the All Star Game when his slider was doing the exact same thing it was doing in the second half of last year. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/0W8o5aM.gif

 

This is all disheartening for a team whose bullpen is rocky at best. Hopefully the cortisone shot does its job.

Thanks for this, Parker. It certainly gives a lot more context and perspective. 

 

But it also deflates hope quite a bit.

[Thrylos]

Hopefully he comes back and pitches a few good games, so his value is higher when they trade him this off-season.

 

Either: He had no business pitching if he knew that he was getting his team into trouble

Or: His manager and GM knew of the issue and still chose to a. do nothing in the deadline while competing and b. still getting him out there to pitch awful appearance after awful appearance.

 

Hard not to blame someone here, since this was a major contributor from a +3 to a -4 in the wild card race, and likely threw them out of the post-season for good...

[Mike Sixel]

I stick to my guns....for two years I have said cash him in at the deadline......and for two years I have been right. I will be right next year also.

[SwainZag]

Nothing like trading your 32 year old hometown All-Star cost controlled closer at the deadline in the middle of pennant race.  

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I think Perkins has stated he will be retiring after this contract in 2018 and that he wants to retire a Twin. And we know how loyal the front office is to favored players. So people should factor all of that into any trade proposals they dream up.

 

That's not to say Perkins will remain an All Star closer for the remainder of his contract. I actually hope we see a situation where he moves into more of a set up role or closer by committee with someone who can actually throw some heaters. 

[twinsnorth49]

 

I stick to my guns....for two years I have said cash him in at the deadline......and for two years I have been right. I will be right next year also.

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