Article: What do we make of Justin Morneau's quotes?

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?243-What-do-we-make-of-Justin-Morneau-s-quotes

[Mr. Ed]

What a slippery slope he's on. How hard should he go after that ground ball? Should he dive? Should he let it go, allowing a run to score?

 

Or try taking that extra base?

 

Very difficult situation he's in. I wish him the best.

 

Hopefully the Twins take it easier on him than he will on himself. Take it slow!

[Loosey]

I personally think he has come to grips with his concussion situation. Right now it sounds like Morneau and the doctors have symptoms under control but he knows that if he gets hit in the head or issues persist it might be time to hang 'em up. I think he has prepared himself for the worst but is hoping along with the rest of us that he is going to be something close to the Morneau of the past.

[John Bonnes]

These quotes scare the hell out of me. I hope they scare the hell out of the Twins. For the love of god, get a backup plan beyond pushing Parmelee.

[scottz]

In the Star Trib article addressing the same thing, Morneau is quoted as saying, "Everything has been pretty good since January, I'd say." It is February now. I'm pretty sure that in January somewhere on the Caravan, he said that everything had been pretty good since December. So, he's having concussion symptoms every month. Which means he hasn't been symptom-free...maybe ever since the last one. It sure looks like he's going the way of Koskie. Sad.

[jameshenke78]

I'm not a neurologist, but considering the length of time he's been struggling with these symptoms, I just don't envision him having a complete recovery at this point. I'm reading into these quotes a bit but retirement is definitely an option for him. So my question is, how would his retirement affect the payroll for this year and next? I assume his salary would be taken off the books and that gives us 14 million for this year and next. What moves would the Twins consider if retirement occurs?

[John Bonnes]

The question that I'm not sure it totally being answered is: is he healthy now? If so (and I think that's what may be lost in all of this) then the message should be: "I'm great and ready to go, except possibly for the wrist which is still at 90%. But if I get another concussion, and it's hard to come back from again, I'm probably done."

 

If that's the message, I think we all would be thinking "Yeah, that's kind of what we figured." But I don't know if that is the message that is coming across.

 

I also shook my head when, like last year, we heard that he doesn't need to be healthy until Opening Day. That's never a good sign.

[Parker Hageman]

Not to be negative, but you kind of hope that if the concussion symptoms are going to manifest, that you want them to do so in spring training rather than during the season. That way, the Twins will be able to collect more insurance on his salary and likely be able to spend it on a replacement at some point.

[John Bonnes]

I'm not a neurologist, but considering the length of time he's been struggling with these symptoms, I just don't envision him having a complete recovery at this point. I'm reading into these quotes a bit but retirement is definitely an option for him. So my question is, how would his retirement affect the payroll for this year and next? I assume his salary would be taken off the books and that gives us 14 million for this year and next. What moves would the Twins consider if retirement occurs?

To be honest, I don't know. He may not retire. He might go on the DL and not come back. If so, the Twins might get some of that salary back from insurance, but not get all that money back. Or I supposed a deal could be worked out.

[denarded]

Not good, And a little late for a backup plan for this season. How did the Twins not recognize that a problem in January was probably going to be a problem in February? I can't wait for a month of "Mauer to 1b" gnashing

[John Bonnes]

This is no way he plays first base full time now, right? They'll play it safe and have him be the designated hitter. I know that's not a lot safer, but what is the upside of having him at first?

[gunnarthor]

This is no way he plays first base full time now, right? They'll play it safe and have him be the designated hitter. I know that's not a lot safer, but what is the upside of having him at first?

Yeah, that's what I'd think. Still, I'd probably bet he retires before the season ends.

[jameshenke78]

I completely agree with you John. There's no way he plays first regularly this year. The ripples of this are not insignificant....does that slot Mauer as the starter at 1b? He can't be thrilled about that because he wants to catch. Does Doumit become the starter at 1b? he's played only 34 games there through 7 seasons. Does this mean more Butera catching? I sure hope not.

[Cody Christie]

These quotes are very scary. I hope they are just some frustration out of Morneau and that everything will turn out fine. He is in camp and hopefully he can get back into a rhythm with the club. Maybe this can all be a thing of the past but I doubt it at this point.

[gunnarthor]

CF Span

SS Carroll

C Mauer

DH Morneau

RF Willingham

1B Parmelee

3B Valencia

2B Casilla

LF Benson

 

If the team does that, instead of using 1B as a committee thing, it pushs Doumit to the bench and probably prevents Gardy with going with 3 catchers. (Bench - Hughes, Doumit, Plouffe, Nishi)

[Thrylos]

Still too early to tell... Let's see him play some games and see how he plays and then we can figure it out. As a reminder, last spring training he played only 4 games and was hitless in 10 PAs. Still got a month and a half to see in what shape he is.

[Thrylos]

CF Span

SS Carroll

C Mauer

DH Morneau

RF Willingham

1B Parmelee

3B Valencia

2B Casilla

LF Benson

 

If the team does that, instead of using 1B as a committee thing, it pushs Doumit to the bench and probably prevents Gardy with going with 3 catchers. (Bench - Hughes, Doumit, Plouffe, Nishi)

I think that if Morneau is not the 1B, Aaron Bates will probably make the team instead of Parmelee and will split time there with Doumit and Luke Hughes... There is no way you keep Doumit on the bench and start Parmelee and Parmelee needs to play every day (thus he will do that in Rochester)

[JB_Iowa]

I don't know what to think about this. Are the doctors telling him that he is "healthy" and free to go all out but he is simply unable to trust his body (and his mind). Or is he having recurring symptoms that the doctors recognize as concussion-related but not endangering his health?

 

I suppose that there is a chance that repeated "good" days in practice will alleviate his fears enough so that he can still function as a major league ballplayer but that seems a longshot. I wish him all the best. At this point, it seems like he is fighting a battle on two fronts -- his actual concussion symptoms and what he perceives as concussion symptoms. While I don't think that is unusual, it does sound as though the latter may be Justin's biggest enemy.

[kirbyelway]

I would only DH him. They need his stick in the lineup.

[Seth Stohs]

Doumit and Mauer would likely play most of the time at 1B. Parmelee and Benson most likely won't make the big league Opening Day roster... maybe in June. Revere will be in LF.

[Shane Wahl]

Derrek Lee. For the love of God, Derrek Lee.

[Thrylos]

Derrek Lee. For the love of God, Derrek Lee.

No much panic or anything ?

As long as Morneau is not retired, adding another player does not make much sense.

[Steve Lein]

Sounds like Justin really wants to give it another go, but is nothing close to confident that he'll be able to keep playing. Any way you look at it, what a shame it is that his career has taken this path. And I'm with those that say DH him exclusively.

[JeffB]

What I read from Morneau's quotes is that he's tired of the long process of working hard only to face another long and uknown recovery process.

[Seth Stohs]

check our www.1500espn.com now to listen to the full interview with Morneau. Doesn't sound so bad. Sounds like he's ok now, but IF something were to happen, he'd consider his options.

[tpb8]

I have to beleive that Plouffe is going to be factored into the mix at 1B with Doumit & Mauer. He's basically Cuddyer II so why not get his 1B apprenticeship underway?

[TwinsMusings]

After listening to the whole 14+ minute interview with Morneau, I think he is mostly upbeat and excited to be back on the field doing the same things as the rest of the players. He is also just being realistic about the concussion related issues. If they return, he is not going to continue to battle back in spite of how much he loves to play. He was pretty clear, though, that he feels much better than he did last year and does not expect to have any set-backs as spring training progresses.

 

I happen to think that hitting will be the real test of whether or not he is back 100%. He was never close to full recovery from concussion symptoms last year even before the infamous first base diving incident. You could see, even just on TV, that he was not able to react quick enough to hit well. He missed or fouled off pitches he would have killed previously. He could not catch up with balls on the outer half of the plate and pitchers quickly figured that out.

 

This year, there is reason to be more optimistic than last year because he is starting ST in good shape and able to do from day one all the same workouts as every other player. He says the wrist is about 90%, but it is only strength and endurance for repeated swings that is not 100%, and expects to be full strength by opening day. I hope he gets opportunities to face live pitching every day so he can continue to improve his ability to see the ball, identify pitches and get around on the ball.

 

Since I believe hitting and base-running will be almost as high risk as playing first base is, I don't think being the regular DH will do much to avoid future concussion symptoms. I expect him to play in the field, with an occasional game at DH, or else not be in the line-up at all.

[JB (the Original)]

These quotes scare the hell out of me. I hope they scare the hell out of the Twins. For the love of god, get a backup plan beyond pushing Parmelee.

You must have read my response to this news on Hardball Talk, eh?

[Steve Lein]

 

Since I believe hitting and base-running will be almost as high risk as playing first base is, I don't think being the regular DH will do much to avoid future concussion symptoms. I expect him to play in the field, with an occasional game at DH, or else not be in the line-up at all.

Yes, base-running essentially is as high risk, but you have to understand that baserunning is an occurrence that puts him on the field of play far less than playing 1B does. If He's DH-ing, he's in the batters box for maybe 20 pitches a game, maybe on the basepaths for another 20. If he's playing 1B, add 100+ pitches to that equation of opportunities for something to happen to him (or 27 more outs if you want to look at it that way). That's why I say DH him.

[John Bonnes]

And what exactly is he downside of Morneau playing DH 80% of the time? It just means Doumit moves to first base. ON those occasions that Mauer needs a break at catcher, he and Doumit switch. If anything, it helps the roster to have Morneau DH, because then Gardy doesn't need to worry about his backup catcher being DH.