Zumaya's injury leaves right-handed hole to fill

Terry Ryan tried to make a move that he thought could be one of the important additions to the Twins prior to the start of the 2012 season. Joel Zumaya had been often injured since his rookie year in 2006 but the thought of a hard throwing right-handed pitcher was too much for the Twins to pass up. The honeymoon phase did not last long for Zumaya and the Twins as bad news came out of Ft. Myers over the weekend.

The team had only been in spring training for a handful of days before Zumaya left the mound on Saturday with right elbow discomfort. An MRI on Sunday revealed the hard throwing righty has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and this type of injury usually results in Tommy John surgery. The recovery time from this injury is usually around 12-months so Zumaya's time with the Twins was over before it even really started.

Before his injury, Zumaya offered hope to a bullpen that struggled to produce on the field last season. The thought of a healthy Zumaya in a seventh inning role leading up to Glen Perkins and Matt Capps was something fans could look forward to at Target Field. Now the Twins will be looking for a variety of right-handed options with little experience at the big league level to step up and produce on the big stage.

There are a handful of familiar names that will now be fighting for a late inning role with the club. Anthony Swarzak and Alex Burnett saw time out of the bullpen last season with Swarzak also filling in as a started on 11 occasions. Burnett found some struggles in his 50.2 innings as he posted a 5.51 ERA with a 1.401 WHIP. Swarzak had some up and down moments but showed he could handle a long relief role and making the occasional spot start. There is a good chance that the organization will be looking to these players to prove they can handle some of the pressure of late inning situations.

Lester Oliveros was one of the key pieces brought to the Twins as part of the Delmon Young trade and the rookie showed some positive signs in his limited action with the club. After dominating in the lower levels of the minor leagues, Oliveros found some sticking points in his travels to the MLB level. His marginal experience at the big league level is a strike against him and the club will surely take this into account when making a final decision on the bullpen.

For the second year in a row, the Twins have a bunch of pitchers in camp in hopes of finding a few options that will be serviceable as bullpen arms. The team had to add Danny Rams, another catcher, to the big league camp in order to have enough men to catch the 32-pitchers with the club. Names like Jason Bulger, Casey Fien, Jeff Gray, and Esmerling Vasquez will be given every opportunity to show they belong as right-handed options for the 2012 Twins.

Most of the available free-agent right-handed relief pitchers have been scooped up by this time of year as clubs were making their final additions before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. MLB Trade Rumor lists five right-handed relief pitchers who are still on the market. This list includes Dany Baez, Jason Isringhausen, Sergio Miltre, Tony Pena, and Michael Wuertz. All of these options are bottom of the barrel relief arms but the Twins could take a flyer on Wuertz who is a Minnesota native and only a couple seasons removed from a career year in 2009.

Overall, the Zumaya signing was a good move but luck didn't fall on the Twins side. Luckily for the Twins they are left with a big chunk of the rest of spring training to find out who will be able to fit into a right-handed relief role with the team. To some of the players mentioned above, this should be seen as a major opportunity to be part of the bullpen turnaround for the Twins. Let's hope some of them take the opportunity and run with it.

Friday Links-N-Thinks

Well spring has sprung across the baseball world. Pitchers and catchers from MLB teams have reported for duty in Florida and Arizona. The position players for the Twins have also made their way to Ft. Myers and the team will begin full squad workouts in the coming days.

It is a great time of year to be a fan of baseball. There is hope in the air and every team is on an even playing field. There can be surprises around every turn and no one knows who will take home the World Series Trophy at the end of the year.

I got my season tickets delivered this week and I got to pick out seats for Opening Day at Target Field. The offseason is over and it is time to get the 2012 campaign underway.

Enjoy this weeks version of "Friday Links-N-Thinks" with plenty of headlines coming out of camps at this early juncture of spring training.

• To correspond with the start of a new season, a brand new Twins mega-site was launched by the TwinsCentric crew. Make sure to bookmark Twins Daily as some of my work has already been featured on the site.
• A Minnesota Twins fan has made the top 30 finalists for the MLB Fan Cave. Lindsay Guentzel is headed to Arizona to see if she can make it to NYC for 2012.
• The Twins Armchair GM looked at the Keith Law's Top 50 prospects for the June Draft and how the Twins will fare with the number two pick.
• In preparation for the draft, Seth Stohs took a look back at the Twins draft history since 1987.
• NBC's Hardball Talk site gave Ron Gardenhire the quote of the day earlier this week.
• Over at Twins Rubes, they tackled the issue of who should start in CF for the Twins.
• After I posted the Rays terrifying new mascot in last weeks links, they have a promotional giveaway that might be just as scary.
• Twins Fan From Afar tries to decide what the Twins should do with Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Brian Dozier at the start of 2012.
• The Twins haven't had an All-Star left fielder since before I was born.
• Former Twins prospect Wilson Ramos showed up to Nationals camp with a new tattoo as a reminder of the horrific events surrounding his kidnapping in Venezuela.

• Everyone kind of already knew the Yankees didn't push themselves to win the division in 2010. They were content getting healthy and playing the Twins in the first round.
• Former Twins infielder Cristian Guzman found his way back into the AL Central.
• Prospect list continue to trickle out with Baseball America releasing their top 100. Miguel Sano is high on the list but who else joins him?
• Is there one postseason award the Twins could be favored for this year?
• Seedlings to Stars tried to make sense out of the new CBA and how it will impact the 2012 MLB Draft.
• Puckett's Pond posted about the players who are out of options for the Twins and there is a good chance that not all of them will make the team. 

My Weekly Rundown:

• Monday: Twins will use Nathan's blueprint for Zumaya
• Tuesday: Blackburn shooting for a bounce back season
• Wednesday: To block the plate or not to block the plate?
• Thursday: Twins headlines turned into Oscar movie plots: 2012 edition

Video of the Week: As I mentioned before, Lindsay Guentzel is trying to be one of the fans selected to watch every MLB game this season from the comfort of the MLB Fan Cave. First she made the top 50 finalists and now she has qualified for the top 30. This means she is getting closer to representing Twins Territory on a big stage. Here is a look at her audition video:

Twins headlines turned into Oscar movie plots: 2012 edition

Last year I had fun writing a post about two of the things I am passionate about, the Twins and the Academy Awards. It was a fun post for me to compile and I got positive feedback from multiple sources after last year's post. With the Oscars around the corner and spring training already started in Florida, I figured it was time for another rendition of my "Twins headlines turned into Oscar movie plots."

Below you will find all of the films nominated for Best Picture in this weekend's ceremony and a Twins plotline that connects to that film. I hope you enjoy the following.

Lights, camera, action...

The Artist

Plot Summary: In Hollywood during the year 1927, a silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion. As the movie goes on, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break. 


Twins Plot: A former top prospect tries to find a spot on the Twins roster before he fades into oblivion. Could he beat out a younger third baseman for the starting role in 2012? Only time will tell if the veteran player has enough to make an impact.

The Descendants

Plot Summary: A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident. The eldest daughter informs the father of his wife's extra-marital activities and he sets out on a path to find his wife's lover.

Twins Plot: A center fielder tries to re-connect with his team after he suffered an accident at home plate last season. He tells the team that he is ready for the riggers of season and he sets out on a path to prove the doubters wrong.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Plot Summary: A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Twins Plot: A 23-year-old former first round pick, outfielder, and speedster searches the Target Field outfield for any balls that come his way. He follows in the footsteps of other great center fielders like Puckett and Hunter as he tries to find his place in the big leagues. 

The Help

Plot Summary: An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maid's point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.


Twins Plot: An aspiring shortstop during a rough time for the Twins is asked to take over a role in the outfield. His transition to this new position could be "the help" that the organization needs to succeed in 2012.

Hugo

Plot Summary: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. The mystery he uncovers jeopardizes his secretive way of life.


Twins Plot: The secretive way of life for this superstar player was brought into question during the previous year. The organization is paying him to be the face of the franchise and to perform on the field. Can this young man step out of his secretive ways and lead the team?

Midnight in Paris

Plot Summary: A family travel to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple who are forced to confront their differing views of a perfect life. A young man finds out there is plenty of truth to the phrase about the grass being greener on the other side.

Twins Plot: A player travels to another country to try and succeed after a disastrous year. His view of a perfect life has fallen apart in the last 12 months and he will try to see if the grass can get greener on the other side.

Moneyball

Plot Summary: Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to compile his roster.

Twins Plot: The Twins turned the reigns over to their former GM to try and scale back the payroll while still producing a winner on the field. He was able to lead the team to success in the past but how will he fair during his second time around?

The Tree of Life

Plot Summary: A family with three boys growing up in the 1950s has to deal with an overbearing father. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and is changed for the future.

Twins Plot: A former MVP slides into second base and sees his entire life changed for the future. He must deal with the nagging effects of concussion symptoms as he tries to prove to the team he can still succeed on the field. 

War Horse

Plot summary: Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.

Twins Plot: The Twins enlist a variety of players to try and piece together a bullpen that can find success on the field. There is a full cavalry of players in camp for the team and it is hard to know who the team will turn to in the late innings.

To block the plate or not to block the plate?

One of the hottest topics across the baseball universe as pitchers and catchers have reported is surrounding whether catchers should block the plate. The Giants suffered a major blow last season when their budding superstar Buster Posey was bowled over at home plate by outfielder Scott Cousins. As a result of the collision Posey suffered a broken leg and ligament damage that required multiple surgeries to repair the damage. The Giants offense suffered without their star and the manager of the Giants felt that changes needed to be made for 2012.

On Monday Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced that Posey would no longer be blocking the plate. He told reporters that the decision was "out of Buster's hands," and he went on to say, "As a manager, that's my job. I certainly don't want people to think he's backing off on his own. It's something we'll work on with him this spring." Bochy is a former catcher so there might be lessons he could teach his young catcher about the art of making plays at the plate.

The Twins have millions and millions of dollars tied up in their MVP catcher so the thought of Joe Mauer getting taken out at the plate is a scary thought for fans to process. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan told the Star Tribune that Mauer wouldn't be told to stop blocking the plate. The Twins claim that their All-Star catcher knows plenty of techniques to help protect himself in event of a collision. But even knowing this, there will be a collective gasp from Twins Territory every time there is a collision involving Mauer.

The debate over plays at the plate has intensified with the spotlight shining so brightly on Posey's return to the Giants. Executives from across baseball have discussed a potential rules change and it seems there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Regardless of all of the talk, it seems that a rule change will not be coming in the near future. Even though the play at the plate can be dangerous, it is part of the history of the game and it is very hard to make a significant change to the rules in baseball. 

After Posey's ugly injury last year, I wrote a piece about the debate over collisions at home. In that post I took a look at the history of plays at the plate. The most famous home-plate collision came in the 1970 All-Star Game when Pete Rose charged into Ray Fosse. Fosse's left shoulder was injured on the play and he, at age 23, was never the same player again.

At the end of July in 2004, the White Sox and Twins found themselves in the heat of a pennent race. That heat would turn into an all-out fire when Torii Hunter leveled White Sox catcher Jamie Burke on a play at the plate. Burke would suffer a mild concussion as a result of the hit he took at the plate. The Twins would be spirited by this play and some look at the collision as the turning point for the team on the way to their third consecutive AL Central Division Championship.

In the end the question still remains, should catchers block the plate or should they try to avoid collisions?

The moral of the story seems to be for catchers to be smart about how they go about blocking the plate. If catchers are taking the proper precautions and setting themselves up in the proper position, the risk of injury can be greatly reduced. Sometimes the speed of the play and the throw to the plate can put a catcher in a precarious position. It is important for the catcher to also know the tendencies of the runner who is coming in hard. Will that runner slide to try and avoid a tag or is that runner not planning on slowing down until he crosses the plate?

Teams like the Twins and the Giants have a lot invested in keeping their catchers off of the disabled list. The debate will continue in regards to plays at the plate but for now it looks like they are still part of the baseball world. 

Blackburn shooting for a bounce back season

It seemed no one was safe from the plethora of injuries suffered by Twins players in 2011 as it seemed to hit every part of the roster. From position players to the pitching staff, there was hardly anyone who was safe from the injury bug. One of the players that missed a big chunk of the second half of the year was Nick Blackburn. In the midst of a multi-year contract extension, Blackburn was limited to 148.1 innings and 26 games on the mound.

After averaging 200 innings pitched in 2008 and 2009 with a 4.04 ERA, the Twins locked up the rest of Blackburn's arbitration eligible years by signing him through 2013 with a club option 2014. Since Blackburn was still under team control for multiple seasons, a long-term contract extension seemed a little pre-mature. The Twins wanted to make a commitment to him and the results of this commitment have not been the greatest.

The 2010 campaign was a nightmare for Blackburn as he suffered through inconsistencies on the field and he was even sent back to Rochester at one point in the year. For the months of June and July, Blackburn posted an ERA of over 10.00 and he finished with a record of 1-6 in those months. After his pit stop in Rochester, the numbers did improve slightly to leave hope open for Blackburn entering the 2011 season.

Blackburn started the 2011 season slow out of the gate as he fumbled his way to a 1-4 record in the first month of the year with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.643 WHIP. The month of May would be his best month of the 2011 season as he pitched a season high 42.2 innings. Over the course of the month, he posted a 2.53 ERA with an outstanding 1.102 WHIP. The rest of the season would be a downhill fall before ending up on the disabled list with a right forearm injury.

This leaves the Twins with plenty of questions entering the 2012 season. What can they expect from Blackburn? Can he stay healthy and on the field for the entire season? Is there any way he can get back to pitching the same way he did in 2008 and 2009?

On the FanGraphs.com website there are two player projection estimates for Mr. Blackburn as the 2012 season is about to begin. Bill James has him pitching 162.0 innings to the tune of a 6-12 record over the course of 28 starts. Using the James estimation system, Blackburn would finish with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP during the coming season. The other prediction tool on FanGraphs is from RotoChamp and it aligns pretty closely with the Bill James projection. RotoChamp has Blackburn finishing with a 9-9 record, a 4.44 ERA, and a 1.52 WHIP in 160 innings pitched.

Almost all of the Twins starting rotation will be free agents at the end of the coming season. The only member of the projected starting rotation that has a contract for next season is Blackburn. Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, and Jason Marquis will all need to show the Twins they are worthy of another contract during the 2012 season. Blackburn doesn't have this immediate burden on his shoulders but he could still be looking to the future. Following the 2013 season, the Twins will have a club option on Blackburn for $8 million. The Twins need to see more of the Blackburn from the early part of his career to make that option a little easier to swallow.

The Twins are never going to look at Blackburn as the ace of their staff but he can provide productivity as a fourth or fifth starter. Some of the other pitchers on the staff are looking directly at free agency but Blackburn needs to show the Twins he was worth the investment they made in him a few seasons ago. 2012 should be the year for him to turn the corner and for him to prove his doubters wrong.

Twins will use Nathan's blueprint for Zumaya

One year ago the Twins were working with a relief pitcher who wanted to show he had fully recovered from an elbow injury. Joe Nathan had spent the last year trying to recover from Tommy John surgery. He hadn't been on a mound in a major league regular season game since the playoffs in 2009. When pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, he was ready to show the team everything he had and he told the team that he didn't "want to be babied if I don't need it."

Fast-forward to 2012 and the Twins find themselves in a very similar situation. There is a hard throwing relief pitcher who is trying to come back from a major injury to his elbow. Joel Zumaya hasn't been on a mound in a major league game since his horrific injury at Target Field in 2010. Now he is in camp for the Twins and he is ready to prove he can regain the form he showed during his rookie season in 2006. He is in the similar mindset as Nathan as he told the team, "Don't baby me; I'm here to go full out now." The coaching staff stated on Sunday that they would take a similar approach to Zumaya as they did with Nathan in 2011.

For Nathan there were many milestones along the way as he tried to prove to the Twins that he belonged as the team's closer. These milestones started in the spring with his first bullpen session, his first game action, and they would eventually lead to his first regular season action. The Twins knew the mindset of Nathan and this would lead him to be very eager to get back on the field. Ron Gardenhire and the Twins coaching staff put together a plan for easing him back in because they wanted to avoid another injury to a key piece of the bullpen.

Even with the cautious approach towards Nathan there were some speed bumps in the early part of 2011. He struggled in the first month of the season as he ended April with an ERA of 10.00 with two blown saves out of five opportunities. He turned the closing duties over to Matt Capps to try and help the team be more successful. By June he would find himself on the disabled list with right elbow soreness but he found his way back in the second half of the season. His ERA dropped from 5.82 in the first half to 3.91 in the second half and he posted a 1.000 WHIP.

Nathan found out during the regular season that he would need to change his approach as a pitcher. The Nathan that Twins fans were accustom to seeing on the mound threw hard most of the time to try and retire the batter. The post-Tommy John Nathan would need to use more than just fastballs to get batters out. During last year, I wrote this post about some of the changes in pitch speed from Nathan. It looks at him before the injury, at the beginning of 2011, and later in the season.

The Twins have plenty they can learn from Nathan's injury and apply it to their situation with Zumaya. During the 2011 Grapefruit League schedule, Nathan appeared in seven games for a total of 6.1 innings pitched. Not all of these outings were good but he showed enough for the Twins to give him the closers role. In 2012 the Twins won't be looking at Zumaya for the closers role so that takes a little of the heat off of him. If the Twins are following the same type of plan with Zumaya then fans can expect to see him make about seven appearances during the spring schedule.

Another interesting aspect for fans to watch will be how the Twins approach the use of Zumaya during the regular season. There has been some talk of the Twins not using him in back-to-back games at the start of the regular season. If the Twins are going to get a healthy season from Zumaya, it will be important to watch his workload. He has not pitched over 40 innings in a season since 2006 and the Twins will need more from his right arm in 2012.

In the end, the Twins were given a blueprint for handling relief pitchers trying to comeback from a major elbow injury with Nathan during last year. Both of these pitchers didn't want to be babied but the Twins are still going to take a cautious approach. Zumaya could be one of the most valuable assets the team added this offseason but there won't be any value gained if he doesn't make it out of spring training as a healthy pitcher.