Category Archives: Injuries

Tigers Minor Leauge and Rehab Wrap – 4/21/09

Indianapolis 13 Toledo 10
Joel Zumaya is probably one outing away from rejoining the team. He pitched a scoreless inning fanning 2. Scott Drucker was shelled for 7 runs allowing 9 baserunners in 4.1 innings. Fu Te Ni didn’t fare better with 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk in 2.2 innings. Mike Hessman hit a grand slam and Dusty Ryan hit a 3 run homer. Brent Dlugach had 3 hits and Clete Thomas and Ryan Robertson added 2 apiece.

Erie – suspended in the 3rd inning

Willis pitches against Clearwater - cr Roger DeWitt
Willis pitches against Clearwater - cr Roger DeWitt

Clearwater 4 Lakeland 0
Dontrelle Willis went 7 innings, which by itself should tell you something. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits with 2 K’s and no walks. He was perfect through the first 3 innings and recorded 16 ground ball outs. Michael Bertram went 2 for 2 with 2 walks.

West Michigan 5 Fort Wayne 2
Brandon Douglas was a homer short of the cycle. Jordan Newton added 2 hits. Casey Crosby pitched a no hitter for 3 innings, but he walked 6 in that time, but he also fanned 5.

Zumaya and Willis rehab progress

Joel Zumaya is taking his rehab up I-75 to Toledo and Dontrelle Willis will join up with Lakeland next week.

Zumaya hasn’t been particularly effective or accurate in his 2 appearances in Lakeland, and I’m a little surprised he’s moving up so soon. I thought they would have at least wanted him to throw on back to back days.

Willis hasn’t been anywhere on the field, but he’ll take those first potential steps back on Tuesday.

Zumaya and Willis taking next steps in rehab | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Tigers Minor League Wrap 4/11/09

Toledo 5 Indianapolis 4
Ryan Roberson doubled and walked. Mike Hessman added two walks and Clete Thomas tripled. Ron Chiavacci allowed 2 runs on hits and 3 walks while fanning 3 in 5 innings.

Altoona 1 Erie 2
Scott Sizemore had two hits. Ryan Strieby had two hits and a walk. Brooks Brown pitched 5 shut out innings allowing 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. Cody Satterwhite allowed a hit and a walk but K’d two for the save.

Tampa 3 Lakeland 5
Joel Zumaya made a rehab appearance and struggled a little allowing 2 runs on a hit and two walks with 1 strikeout in 1 inning. He started the game, so that was a little unusual for him. Brett Jacobson pitched a scoreless inning. Charlie Furbush fanned 6 and walked none in 4 shutout innings. Shawn Roof was 3 for 5. Chris Carlson homered and singled. Audy Ciriaco had 2 hits.

South Bend 0 West Michigan 5
Brandon Douglass went 3 for 4. Billy Nowlin and Luis Palacios doubled and singled. Mauricio Robles allowed just 2 hits and 1 walk while fanning 8 in 5 innings. Matt Hoffman pitched the other 4 innings and allowed 2 the same while K’ing 3.

Zumaya, Willis to DL

The Tigers announced three more roster moves today. Not surprisingly Joel Zumaya will start the season on the DL as he tries to overcome his shoulder maladies. A little more surprising is that Dontrelle Willis will be joining him. The official reason is “anxiety disorder.”

Clearly the team thinks that Dontrelle’s problem is mental which presumably means they still believe in his pitching ability. He worked with a performance coach during his Lakeland sabbatical last season, but the problems seem to be recurring. The reports are glowing when he pitches in camp or minor league games, but the results aren’t appearing in regular exhibition events.

This seemingly means that Willis can stay on the DL indefinitely. The trick is that there are limits to rehab assignments. So while he can be on the DL to work through these issues, he has limited time to demonstrate a recovery.

This is a very sad story for Willis and I wish him the best.

The third and least notable move is Kyle Bloom was returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates. That leaves 35 players in camp.

Bonderman not quite ready

According to Jim Leyland it is “highly unlikely” that Bonderman will be available to start the season. While Bonderman isn’t feeling pain at this point, his arm strength (or lack thereof) has his fastball sitting in the high 80’s instead of the low to mid 90’s.

They are clearly playing things by ear at this point, but it does bolster Miner’s and Porcello’s chances of making a start. If it is Miner that gets the nod, that also means a bullpen position may be temporarily open.

Hopefully this situation resolves itself fairly quickly. I view Jeremy Bonderman as one of the keys to the season. If he can’t get back to normal, thoughts of an 85 win season become harder to envision.

Starting pitching not so ready

The news from Lakeland today is that Joel Zumaya and Jeremy Bonderman may not be ready by Opening Day. The Zumaya news isn’t at all surprising. The Bonderman news isn’t especially surprising, but a little concerning as he looks to regain velocity. But that’s not all…

There is of course the Nate Robertson thumb injury which thankfully doesn’t sound too serious. Still, it’s not a lock that he’ll make his next scheduled turn.

And option Rick Porcello hasn’t been quite as dazzling since the finger injury. He’s struggled somewhat with his control against the Yankees on Saturday. Tonight he walked 3 and allowed 3 hits in 2.1 innings against Tampa.

This spring has seen a lot of ups and downs from the various members of the rotation. Verlander was working on stuff and all over the place before finding his groove. Robertson was washed up and done before turning in back to back nice outings before the thumb injury. Porcello was the best pitcher in camp before his finger injury. Zach Miner was relegated to the bullpen before he seemed to figure things out. Who knows what will happen over the next week. Maybe Dontrelle Willis and his new leg kick will give us reason for hope.

Injuries for everyone

So the Tigers just get everybody back from the WBC, and then they lose Adam Everett and Nate Robertson in the first inning today.

Everett sprained an ankle sliding into second and Robertson took a throw from Danny Worth on his pitching hand resulting in a sprained thumb.

Neither injury sounds especially serious, but with a week left in camp with the whole team together, this is at minimum a nuisance. It also puts into jeopardy Robertson’s ability to start the season in the rotation, a position he was working himself into with his last couple outings.

On the other hand, Zach Miner who was almost assured of a spot in the pen, has now pitched two strong outings in a row and may find himself back in the hunt.

One guy who may have pitched himself off the roster today was Scott Williamson. Williamson allowed 5 runs in one inning of work today. He was probably on the wrong side of the bullpen bubble, and today certainly didn’t help his cause.

The injury report

Catching up on the Tigers injuries and recoveries of note:

I’m looking for pitching

"I’m looking for pitching," Leyland said. "You can write whatever you want."

That’s the message that Jim Leyland sent to reporters today when he announced that Rick Porcello would get a start on Wednesday. Further solidifying that Porcello might really be a rotation candidate this season.

With Dontrelle Willis still shaky, Zach Miner getting rocked yesterday, and Nate Robertson not blowing people away, the door is a little bit open. Or maybe all the way open, but are there 4 guys trying to fit through it?

The Tigers got as good of news as they could have today on Jeremy Bonderman’s shoulder after an examination in Detroit today. Of course he’s still not throwing, but it doesn’t sound like things are structurally a problem.

Now whether or not Porcello getting a turn is out of curiosity, a message to the incumbents, or further evaluation for a rotation in flux remains to be seen. But this could be a pattern for the next few weeks. With Bonderman day-to-day, Armando Galarraga now pitching for Venezuela, and Justin Verlander first alternate for Team USA, the guys competing for the back end of the bullpen should have a chance to show what they have (or don’t have).

Bad Boding for Bonderman

Rocky performances from Dontrelle Willis and Fernando Rodney in their first appearances didn’t worry me too much. But Jeremy Bonderman being handed over to the training staff already has me greatly concerned.

Bonderman had already been scratched from his regular turn today in favor of a simulated session. Jim Leyland said they were just being cautious and it wasn’t a red flag situation. However, Bonderman is now on the sidelines receiving medication for stiffness and inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Maybe the flags aren’t red, but they sure aren’t green or checkered.

Things could certainly be worse, like something being messed up structurally. And day-to-day isn’t a dire status at all, but things are also very unknown. My first thoughts went to Fernando Rodney’s day-to-day status last year at this time, and it turns out Jon Paul Morosi was on the same page. You may remember that Rodney was day-to-day for several months.

They are different situations and a direct comparison probably isn’t appropriate. Pitchers have recovered from the surgery that Bonderman had which is promising. But if the Tigers are going to have success this year, the turnaround will have to come in large part from the incumbent starters. Anything that could throw a wrench in that is cause for pause.

Winter Meeting Eve Rumor Roundup

Are Larish and Thames on the trading block?
Are Larish and Thames on the trading block?
UPDATED 12.08.08 5:08 a.m.

Tomorrow is the start of the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas and things are going to get crazy-stupid when it comes to rumors and people who saw people talking to people. It was at the winter meetings last year (a year ago last Thursday to be exact) when the Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. It was a move that came out of nowhere, so you never know what will happen. With that in mind, here is a cautious look at Tigers related rumors before the meetings begin.
Continue reading Winter Meeting Eve Rumor Roundup