As Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, ``It was about the best bad news you could get."
Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya does not have any ligament damage to his elbow, but a displaced fracture of the tip of the elbow. It's an injury that usually occurs when the tip of the elbow hits something. In this case, it happened because of the torque created when he threw a 98 mph fastball to Delmon Young yesterday.
So Zumaya and the Tigers are relieved. But the reality is that this will be the fourth straight season in which he's missed significant time because of an injury. He admitted staying up with his wife last night, having the, ``why me?"talk.
I received a few e-mails from Tigers fans who appreciated how Twins fans applauded Zumaya as he left the field.
Here's one from Jason Friday, of Cheboygan, MI:
``As he left the field I expected the crowd to give him an ovation, but a standing ovation, in the opponents park, meant a lot to this Tigers fan and really shows the class the organization and its fans have. The injury made me sick for Joel (I didn't care about the impact it would have on the Tigers at all) but the way he was treated really meant a lot to this Tigers fan."
Zumaya will undergo more tests once he gets back to Detroit. Surgery is still considered an option at this point.
J.J. Hardy took more batting practice with the team before the game as he proves he's ready for a few minor league games. We expect an official announcement after the game. The plan is for Hardy, who has recovered from a bruised left wrist, to play a few minor league games then re-join the Twins on Saturday.
Gardenhire trotted out the same lineup as yesterday. The key will be how much more of a workload Jim Thome can handle. Thome has had to watch out for his back flaring up in recent years, and Gardenhire is wary of that.
