In 2008, we saw the foundation being built for the future of the Twins' rotation. Johan Santana and Carlos Silva had departed in the previous offseason, and young hurlers like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn were stepping up to pick up the slack while Francisco Liriano embarked upon his comeback from Tommy John surgery. One entrenched figure in that '08 group, though, has seen his stock drop dramatically to the point that he's now not much more than an afterthought.
After an impressive rookie campaign in 2008, Glen Perkins opened the '09 season with three consecutive eight-inning gems and appeared poised for an outstanding sophomore year. Then, the wheels came off. Perkins struggled over the next few months, battling injuries and posting a 7.34 ERA over his next 15 appearances (14 starts). When he was sent to Triple-A in August, Perkins and his agent cried foul, claiming that the demotion was a ploy to delay his arbitration clock and rob him of future earnings. The Twins, who certainly had legitimate reason to send Perkins down given his terrible performance, were clearly annoyed by the accusations. When the Twins assembled a vast array of past and present players late in the season for a ceremony to bid farewell to the Metrodome, Perkins did not attend. Many saw it as a foregone conclusion that the lefty, a Stillwater native and University of Minnesota alum who had seemed destined to play out his career as a Twin, would be dealt during the offseason.
Perkins wasn't dealt, perhaps due to a lack of demand, and he entered spring training this year ostensibly vying for the fifth spot in the Twins rotation. It's impossible to say whether or not the Twins truly viewed him as a candidate for that spot, but Perkins did himself no favors by performing poorly in Grapefruit League play before being sidelined by yet another injury, and he found himself in the minors to start the season. Things have continued to cascade for him there. After allowing two runs over three innings in his first start for Rochester, Perkins was pounded on Monday night, allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits over just 3 1/3 innings. Perkins' ERA with the Red Wings now sits at 9.95, and it's tough to imagine at this point that he'd be even third or fourth in line to be called upon should one of the Twins' current starters falter or suffer an injury.
The Twins have a tough call on their hand with Perkins. He seems to be languishing in this organization. Whether due to confidence problems, lingering injuries or some other combination of issues, the 12-game winner with the Twins in 2008 can no longer seem to get Triple-A hitters out. At age 27, Perkins' career may hang in the balance. With Blackburn's arm hurting and the Twins dealing with some injuries in the bullpen, the opportunity definitely exists for him to get back onto the major-league roster and resurrect his career. But first, he needs to get on track in Rochester. Despite all the bad blood that seems to now exist between him and the Twins organization, I'm really hoping Perkins gets another chance -- if not here, then elsewhere.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
This has always been Perkins problem from high school on. He is too cocky and has an opinion of himself that doesn't always match how he performs. No doubt he has talent, but until he gets his head right he will always be up and down in the bigs. Look and Lohse and Garza, these two pitchers I feel are similar in make up (character-wise) to Perkins. Good pitchers with terrible attitudes and at a younger age at least, seemed to hate being coached. They righted their thinking when they left and aren't doing so bad now.
I think it is time for Perkins to go.
I agree with Jason. I think he could definitely catch on somewhere else as he seems to have the stuff to pitch effectively in the majors. He rubbed me the wrong way after last years episode. I can't imagine ever trying to publicly call your home-town team out because you don't realize that this is a business and you aren't performing. He had a shot at living the dream that most of us had as children - playing baseball for the team that he grew up watching. Kind of sad to think he threw it away for the chance at a few extra dollars. But I guess he wouldn't be the first.
Anyway, I wish him the best, but I don't think he'll get another chance with the Twins barring some sort of team bus accident. Just my two cents.
I wonder if the Neshek injury will affect Perkins. If Neshek has to go on 15 day DL and the Twins want to call up Slama, might there be a good chance Perkins would be dropped from the 40 man roster?
Perkins has made only two starts, which is nowhere near enough to start drawing conclusions. He was battling injuries in spring training and he's building up arm strength at AAA. Plus, the weather conditions in April in the IL are usually far from ideal. And Perkins still has six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings with three walks and one HR allowed. Those peripherals aren't bad at all. Perkins is a former supplemental round pick, so the Twins will give him plenty of opportunities unless they get a good trade offer.
David, Neshek's injury is considered a short-term problem, so I'm sure the Twins would just call up someone already on the 40-man, such as Rob Delaney, who has more AAA experience than Slama anyways.
I remember Perkins giving a great interview to BYTO a couple of years ago, and always thought it kind of sucked the way people kind of turned on him after last year's incident (really, who knows what was said).
With that said, Perkins has gone from averaging 92 miles an hour with his fastball to averaging 89 with a curveball that doesn't have have the same snap to it anymore. It doesn't look like the stuff that helped him rack up strikeouts in the minors is coming back. It's a shame that people are going to take the wrong road with Perkins (blaming his attitude) instead of focusing on the real problem. No one minds an attitude as long as you excel at what you do. It's the American way.
It might be the American way, but as the Twins have shown, it's not the Twins way. They rarely keep the guys with poor attitudes around regardless of their ability (See Garza).
I remember Perkins giving a great interview to BYTO a couple of years ago, and always thought it kind of sucked the way people kind of turned on him after last year's incident (really, who knows what was said).
Yeah, he also co-hosted a podcast with Seth last year. Seems like a good guy willing to reach out to fans, although I don't have a hard time believing that his ego is a bit out of control.
Hey Nick,
A bit off topic, but I read a few places that the Twins will get almost $10 million back from the insurance they have on Joe Nathan's contract. I was just wondering your thoughts on what they should do with the extra dollars?
Perkins has 6 ks and 3 bbs in 6 innings. Maybe a little early to draw any conclusions.
Perkins told his classmates in high school to hold on to their signed yearbooks because they would be worth big money some day. The guy has an insane ego and I would rather see all other options explored before he even sniffs the bigs again.
Boof Bonser Part II.
It sucks because you want the local guy to make it. He's got a bit of an attitude but not terrible. He's probably got some future in the MLB as an end of the rotation starter or long reliever, which in all fairness is still pretty dang good at that level all things considered.
I just don't think that future will be with the Twins barring some injuries or an unlikely turnaround. I still really wish him the best. Hopefully he gets his act together and the Twins can deal him for something and everyone wins out to some degree in the end.
You don't get to the highest levels of professional sports without a well-developed ego. You have to believe in yourself before anyone else will. So Perkins has a mind of his own, so what? He also throws the ball with his left arm, pretty well at one point, and that will get him plenty of chances to regain his form. Letting him pitch at Rochester for awhile isn't going to impede the development of anyone else in the organization.
I have a buddy who played with Perkins at the U, pretty much said he was a jerk who was better than anyone else on the pitching staff, and acted like it.
Post a Comment