Empty the Bench

Sheesh… calling the injury that will sideline him for up to 3 months a “ruptured tendon in the middle finger” would sound so much more hardcore. Detroit Tigers bullpen ace Joel Zumaya discussed his ailment yesterday with the Detroit News, calling it a “jersey finger” because of the frequency it happens to NFL players when they grab opposing players’ jerseys. Go ahead, cue the “holding, 10-yard penalty, still third-down” Lions jokes.

Dr. Charles Melone took one look at the middle finger of Joel Zumaya’s right hand when he examined him Monday at his New York City office, one look at the location of the injury and the swelling, and knew what was wrong. The baseball player he was examining had a football injury — associated more with tackling than pitching.

That in itself put Zumaya more at ease — that and the fact a definite amount of time (12 weeks) could be assigned to his absence. “After surgery (on Thursday), he wants me to take about five weeks off without doing anything,” Zumaya said. “At that point, I can go into my workouts and I should be back by late July. He said it’s not going to affect me throwing. I just know it’s the tendon that allows the tip of your finger to bend. It’s called jersey finger. When football players grab a jersey, the tendon sometimes rips off. But the doctor said it should grow back stronger.”

Zumaya went on to claim that he’ll come back “three times stronger” and that he expects to be back and ready to go before the 12-week guesstimate. The Tigers’ bullpen took a significant hit during the offseason when left-hander Jamie Walker signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent, and this certainly depletes manager Jim Leyland’s options even further. Fortunately for Leyland, Detroit’s potent offense is finally starting to hit its stride, and the starting pitching has been rock solid for the most part. Building leads early in the game and consistently getting six- to seven-inning performances from the starters will be key during Zumaya’s absence. In the meantime, Fernando Rodney will primarily assume the set-up role for Todd Jones.