Ricky Nolasco, Mike Pelfrey, and Tommy Milone have all had disappointing seasons for the Twins. Glen Perkins is having a rough finish to his season. The four pitchers named have all had injuries disclosed after they struggled. The cynics among us would all be of the opinion that perhaps the pitchers were using injury as an excuse for poor performance.

Pelfrey started the season in the Twins rotation. He had a couple outings where he looked sharp, but would lose it and not be able to battle through tough innings. He was disabled with what seemed like a convenient and questionable groin injury. On rehab, Pelfrey had discomfort in his pitching shoulder, then had surgery and was lost for the year.

Nolasco was a member of the Twins rotation from the start and ranked near the bottom of starters in hits per inning pitched, runs allowed and ERA. Nolasco mixed in a few good starts with a couple of so-so outings and a handful of no-chance disasters. Ricky was placed on the DL after a no-chance start in July with forearm and elbow tightness. Nolasco rehabbed and has been much better since his return, with three fine starts and one OK performance in seven outings.

Milone was acquired from the A's for Sam Fuld after having a nice half-year with the A's, despite and early July demotion to the minors. He has had one decent start (his first for the Twins) and since hasn't been able to pitch five innings in a game. It was disclosed after his last disappointing start that Milone had a "dead arm" and needed to miss a turn. Since then, he has been slowed by a neck ailment and has missed his second turn. With only 11 games remaining, he may not get another chance to earn his first Twins victory.

Glen Perkins was very good the first half of the year. He made the All-Star team for the second year in a row and has stayed on the leader board for saves while pitching for a last-place team. Perk has struggled mightily in the last quarter of the season. He has been unavailable after high pitch counts in consecutive games and then missed time with a sore neck. After his bad turn, Perkins' numbers aren't very good for a closer. According to sources, Perkins might be done for the season after allowing three runs in the ninth to the Tigers last night.

Which brings me to the topic--were all of these injuries things that players deal with or were they used as excuses? The next question is, can we expect improved performance from these guys in 2015? It appears that Nolasco might be OK, given his last two starts. Pelfrey will have to prove himself in the spring and has no guarantees of a spot in the rotation. Unless Milone throws a couple of gems, he will be in a similar position to Pelfrey, but with having more recent big-league success. Finally, there is Perkins. For the last three years, Twins fans have had reason to be confident when he got the ball with a lead. Now, that will be an anxiety to be dealt with early in 2015.

This assumes that all four will be pronounced "healthy" in spring training. Not a sure thing.