No target date for Morneau’s return
July 30, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Minnesota’s Justin Morneau(notes) has made progress in his recoveryfrom a concussion, but the Twins first baseman still does not have a target datefor his return.
Morneau played catch and took some swings in the batting cage beforeFriday’s game at Target Field. He told reporters after the light workout that hewas feeling fine, and if he’s up for it he’ll increase his activity on Saturday.
Morneau has been out since taking a knee to the head while sliding intosecond base on July 7. He first wanted to be back after the All-Star break, andthen by July 23 when he was eligible to come off the disabled list. But he’s nolonger setting goals like that.
“I think that’s put more stress on me,” Morneau said.
Instead, he’s simply taking his comeback one day at a time.
“I’ve just kind of come to terms with it. We’ve taken this long, so we’regoing to wait ‘til it’s better and we’re not going to rush back,” Morneau said.“When it’s better it’s better, and we’ll be happy and we’ll be out there forthe rest of the season playing.”
The absence has been frustrating, but it helped last week that he was ableto start watching TV again and see the Twins win. He laughed as he recalledhearing announcer Dick Bremer declaring that Morneau must be frustrated havingto sit at home and watch while the Twins racked up 19 runs in a win over theKansas City Royals.
“I was like, ‘Why would it be frustrating?”’ Morneau said. “It’sfrustrating watching us lose.”
General manager Bill Smith said Morneau will probably need a rehabilitationassignment in the minors before he’s cleared to rejoin the Twins. Regular rightfielder Michael Cuddyer(notes) has been playing first base in his absence.
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