Perkins to the disabled list

Glen Perkins went on the disabled list Wednesday with what was described as a "strain" in the back of his throwing shoulder.

I wish this was a surprise, but one could see it coming pretty much all spring. Perkins never displayed his usual velocity during training camp, and everybody kept shrugging it off. Joe Nathan never had his velocity during spring training, and he was always fine once the season started.

And then the season started for Perkins, and the fastball stayed in the low 90s, and that's not enough for a two-pitch reliever.

I won't pretend to know what Perkins' outlook is now. Shoulders are tricky things, all these fragile little muscles that give the human arm such remarkable range of motion and make it possible for well-trained and talented hurlers to throw baseballs upwards of 100 mph. And when something gives way in the shoulder, surgery is seldom a useful option.

So much of the Twins bullpen plan was based on Perkins being Perkins once again as the endgame. Now presumably Kevin Jepsen and Trevor May and Casey Fien move up one notch apiece in the late inning corps, and none of them have been anying resembling useful so far this season.

The Twins are, of course, 0-8, and the obvious big issue is the hitting. The Twins have scored just 13 runs in those eight games. But the late inning guys in the bullpen have been a problem as well. It is, by definition, a small sample size, but it's difficult to be patient with anybody, even a short reliever, when you're 0-8.