Morneau: Didn't play tonight...thoughts?

Was anyone else surprised that Morneau didn't play tonight? I wasn't, and it doesn't seem like they're sure on when he'll return. With an already short bench thanks mostly to 13 pitchers, it won't be much longer until refusing to place Morneau on the DL will be another questionable roster move. Maybe it's simply due to the fact that I'm get so much information about the Twins, but I've been extremely disappointed with their judgement at the margins this season, both in terms of management and talent evaluation (use of relatively poor information even more than inability to find players).

I know some would argue those margins (last couple of active roster spots) don't matter, but I think that we're seeing just how important depth is.

According to the Twins website, the soreness is normal after this type of surgery and they are waiting for Morneau to say that he is ready to play. Let's hope that this is correct, because Morneau is a proven hitter when he is healthy.

I agree with you about the importance of the bench players, but Morneau could be a very positive force (or appealing trade bait) if he can get hot.

I didn't mean that Morneau was a marginal player, but not DLing him was a move on the margins. If he plays this weekend, probably not a big deal. If not, they it's another poor move by the Twins - a team carrying 13 pitchers and an extremely short bench.

The part that I find disappointing about this particular injury is that somehow having Morneau out = call up Drew Butera and dump Burroughs. The logic being that Mauer and Doumit will play more innings in the field and less behind the plate, so the Twins need a third catcher on the roster.

Instead of having another utility player or at least another middle infielder, the bench becomes microscopic. Butera can only come in for one thing, that's defense at catcher. I didn't think that Burroughs was the ideal bench bat, but at the very least he's a pinch hitting option. The Twins don't have a lot of flexible position players on the 40-man, so on some level having Butera instead of Burroughs or Luke Hughes is no big deal, but on the other hand, doesn't it seem like Hughes would be the best guy to have at the end of the bench over Burroughs, Butera or another guy that only plays one position?

The guys at the end of the bench are probably not going to win or lose games for the Twins- I just have the nightmare scenario in my head of a game with a couple injuries or an ejection and boom - there's Butera standing in Right Field picking dandelions. Sort of a reversed version of Gardenhire worrying about who's going to catch if Doumit and Mauer are both in the lineup...

Is this, or is this not, the exact lingering tweener injury scenario that the Twins said they were not going to allow to happen again this year? He should have been DL'd right off of the bat.

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Originally Posted by Todd G

Is this, or is this not, the exact lingering tweener injury scenario that the Twins said they were not going to allow to happen again this year? He should have been DL'd right off of the bat.

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He played April 30. Today is May 5. They said "Friday at the earliest" after the exam. If he plays today, they'll be off-by-one. If this lingers, I will agree that questions about accountability will need to be asked. It's still a few days premature for that. And putting an important player on the 15-day list, to avoid roster problems for three games (if he resumes playing today), would be a tough one to swallow.

I prefer to wait and see before second-guessing. :)

I was the biggest Morneau fan in the World waiting for his arrival. I started to resent Meintkiewicz even though I loved his defense because he appeared to be standing in Morneau's way. Morneau was everything I hoped he could be and I waited with anticipation for his turn in the order.

Since the concussion on July 7 2010. He has been out with variety of injuries. Neck, Wrist, Head, you name it.

When he has played he has been nothing like he was before. You don't even know if he can be the same player without regular at-bats. You can only find out what you have if he actually plays.

Since July 7, 2010... He's hit under .230... .300 OBP... 8 dingers. That's 330 some at bats total since the concussion.

For comparison... Doug Meintkiewicz hit .238 his final year with the Twins with 6 dingers in a similair amount of at bats. So the question isn't... is he worth 15 million? because he hasn't been and we know that answer. The obvious question is... Is he still a major league baseball player period?

If it's not the Head... It's something else. His ability to stay on the field and play and PERFORM is killing his career and challenging our franchise.

Morneau needs his current value to increase. The return on 15 million a year is out of whack. It only returns to normal if he can stay in the lineup and perform at an exceptable level.

You have one hope for Morneau... That is Health. Once you get the Health... It's not gaurenteed in my mind that you have the same player but you won't know unless he stays healthy. People are hanging on to what Morneau once was... That's a big question mark! I hope he can return to that player like Hafner is doing this year... For his sake and ours!

The only thing for sure is that he costs 15 million this year and 15 million next year.

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Originally Posted by ashburyjohn

He played April 30. Today is May 5. They said "Friday at the earliest" after the exam. If he plays today, they'll be off-by-one. If this lingers, I will agree that questions about accountability will need to be asked. It's still a few days premature for that. And putting an important player on the 15-day list, to avoid roster problems for three games (if he resumes playing today), would be a tough one to swallow.

I prefer to wait and see before second-guessing. :)

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Very true, but there were/are other options to having such a short bench even if you don't want to DL him. Mauer's injury further complicated it by forcing them to call up Butera. Maybe the point is they're valuing a 13th pitcher right and sacrificing depth everywhere else for it.