Diamond making progress
FORT MYERS, FLA. - Lefthander Scott Diamond, a lock for the rotation before having a bone chip removed from his elbow in December, is getting close to facing batters.
Diamond has thrown a bullpen session every third day for around a week and is making steady progress. He will continue that program until around March 12, when Twins could have him pitch live batting practice. If that goes well, Diamond could finally get in some game action.
But it's unlikely that he will build up enough endurance to be part of the Opening Day rotation.
Long-term comebacksRighthander Rich Harden and lefthander Rafael Perez are both coming off shoulder surgery, Harden's more extensive than Perez's.
Both are slowly working their way back to the mound. They threw in the bullpen early in camp, and it was determined that they needed more time. Both are going through long-toss drills. Perez is at 90 feet, Harden at 150 feet.
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan indicated that Perez is working through some post-surgery discomfort. Harden needs to build strength and general flexibility. "He's feeling good," Ryan said, "so we'll take this in increments."
Harden added that one of his hurdles will be to get rid of all the bad mechanical habits he developed in recent years to compensate for his shoulder.
Thielbar updateLefthanders Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, Caleb Thielbar and Andrew Albers combined to throw 42/3 scoreless innings. They all looked sharp, especially Thielbar, who was born in Northfield, lives in Randolph, attended South Dakota State and pitched for a while with the Saints.