Justin Morneau Finally Back On Field

"MLB.com reports that Justin Morneau will make his first appearance in a spring training game on Tuesday, playing in the Twins' "B" game against the Pirates and starting at first base. He had been making steady progress since the opening of spring training, as he works his way back from a concussion he sustained last July (CBS Sports)."

About damn time, I was really starting to wonder if he had permanent damage or something. The good news is (for us nerds) that he is much less of a risk going into MLB fantasy drafts.

As for the Twins, this is obviously great news. When healthy the Twins should have a very good lineup with Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Delmon Young, and Kubel. You add that with an above average starting rotation and the Twins should once again be making a push for the playoffs.

What The Hell Is Wrong With Justin Morneau?

It has been 7 months since Twins first baseman Justin Morneau took a knee to the head in Toronto and suffered a concussion that would put an end to his 2010 season. We were surprised that he wasn't able to make it back before the end of the season, but now it seems he is still having some trouble...

Twins general manager Bill Smith spoke about the matter on Saturday with ESPN 1500 AM:

“It’s still a work in progress,” Smith said. “He is not 100%, but I’ve talked to his doctors, I’ve talked to him. He’s getting better all the time, he’s doing very good workouts. We only want to go through this process one time. We want him to get healed, get back on the field and resume his career without having that rollercoaster up and down (NBC Sports).”

How bad was this concussion? I mean Aaron Rodgers has had two this year, and was able to come back in no more then 2 weeks, yet Morneau has had 7 months and his head still isn't right. I'm no doctor, and I'm not going to call him out for being a wuss, but this is all very strange to me.

People don't talk about Morneau a lot, but he is one of the best first basemen in the AL. In 2010 he was able to put up good stats even though he only played 81 games (.345 BA, .437 OBP, 18 HRs, 56 RBIs). If you build on those numbers over an entire season and we are talking about a guy who could challenge for MVP. Typically he is around a .300 hitter with about 30 HRs 115 RBIs, and is still only 29 years old.

The Twins are really going to need him to be 100%, so hopefully he can get over this concussion before Spring Training starts up.

Morneau Out For Playoffs

For the second year in a row Justin Morneau is going to miss the Twins playoff run. Morneau has been out since July 7th for a pussy concussion and not only did he try to fuck my fantasy team he is fucking the Twins who have a giant series verse Yankees.

I know concussions are the new injury that people should be extra cautious with, however, he plays baseball and has been out since mid season. Morneau is necessary for this team to win, he is the 2006 MVP and a giant bat in the middle of the order. Second to Joe Mauer, he is the most important player on this team. They better hope that their pitching staff does their job correctly because no way they are outscoring the Empire.

Justin Morneau Out For Rest Of Season?

"Morneau, who has been out since July 7 with a concussion, did not join his teammates for the opener of a homestand against the Tigers. Manager Ron Gardenhire said the doctors told the first baseman to stay home. That was another red flag for Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune, who writes Wednesday that the chances of Morneau returning this season seem slimmer and slimmer (ESPN)."

This is huge news. The Twins are only 4 games ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central, and the White Sox may have got a big boost in the waiver claim of Manny Ramirez. The Twins really need this guy back, but it is seeming more and more likely that they are going to shut him down for the season.

If that happens it has been a terrible year for AL first baseman. Youk is down the for the year, Berkman is on the DL, Chis Davis/Justin Smoak have been busts, Morales is out for the year, and Morneau could be out.

Twins Lose Justin Morneau For Season

"Already struggling to catch the Tigers in the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins received another setback Monday when a CT scan revealed first baseman Justin Morneau has a stress fracture in his lower back. He will miss the rest of the season. Morneau has been bothered by a sore back for about a month and after an MRI showed fluid buildup on Sunday the team sent him in for a CT scan Monday. The scan showed the stress fracture in the L5 vertebrae in his lower back. He said he'll have to rest the back for three months but said surgery is not necessary.

"It's one of those bad news/good news things," Morneau said while standing by his locker after the Twins rallied for a 6-3 victory over Cleveland at the Metrodome. "I'm being shut down for three months but it's also something that should heal on its own (ESPN)."

The Twins are 5 1/2 games back of the Tigers and I just don't see them catching them Morneau is one of the best first baseman in the game, but he could not play through this injury even if he wanted to. He hit .220 in August and was batting just .077 (3 for 39) in September, so you can see that there was just no way he could play. The good news is that he doesn't need surgery and should be ready for the start of next season.

Red Sox 2 Twins 5

Once again one bad innings kills Lester's outing. Lester threw 4 scoreless innings before letting up 5 runs in the 5th. Sadly that is all the Twins needed to beat the Red Sox. Boston once again left a lot of guys on base...

In the pregame post I wrote that basically the Twins rely on Mauer and Morneau for offense. Well last night all they needed was Morneau, as he went 2-3 with a HR and 3 RBIs. The HR that he hit was a rocket off Lefter, which basically ended the game. The Sox seemed flat last night, but they were kind of due for a bad game.

Even with the loss the Sox are still a game ahead of the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

Homerun Derby

Well Josh Hamilton lost and no one cares or will remember Justin Morneau won after Josh's 28 homer first round. But I just want to point out Chase Utley saying fuck you to the New York crowd:


It is good to see Chase saying fuck you to all the New York fans, who hasn't wanted to do that.