Twins Shut Justin Morneau Down For Entire Playoffs

The team is confident that Morneau will be ready to go in time for 2011 spring training. They believe that trying to get Morneau back at some point in this year’s playoffs would’ve just been moving too quickly.

The tricky thing about concussions is that they’re unpredictable. You have to take them day by day, and that’s what makes them so maddening. There’s no telling how long a guy will be out, or when he’ll be able to recover.

Justin Morneau hasn’t played in a game since sustaining a concussion on July 7th. He’s been dealing with symptoms ever since, and even though he’s been present for workouts, he has yet to really push himself, and when asked about Morneau’s return, Ron Gardenhire didn’t sound very optimistic:

Morneau certainly appears finished for the regular season, and then it’s an open question as to whether he’s able to come back for the playoffs. The good news for the Twins - if there is any - is that, even without Morneau, they’ve been playing terrific baseball, and currently have the best record in the league. Everyone wants to be at full strength in October, and no one wants to be without one of their stars, but the Twins have gotten by for this long.

It’s been a full month since the last one of these updates, which clearly can’t be good news:

Morneau hasn’t played in a game since July 7th, and the fact that he still hasn’t had a symptom-free day suggests that it would be impossible to give a timetable for his return. He has recently intensified his workouts in an effort to get into game-playing shape, but it appears his head doesn’t want to cooperate.

Justin Morneau is eligible to come off the DL this coming Friday, but there is growing reason to believe he may be a little while longer:

The Twins did manage to take three of four against the White Sox without Morneau, and play their next 13 games against Cleveland, Baltimore, Kansas City, and Seattle, so even an extended absence wouldn’t kill them. Still, no team ever wants to play without its best bet, so all eyes are on Morneau as he proceeds in his recovery from an accident that initially wasn’t considered particularly severe.

Morneau worked out Thursday morning, and said he felt fine, but later experienced some “fogginess” and was scratched from that night’s game against the While Sox. Morneau is eligible to come off the DL on July 23:

The timing of the injury is especially bad for the Twins as they are in the midst of a four-game set with the White Sox, who they are 4.5 games behind in the Central. Minnesota dropped the first game of the series on Thursday night.