The Minnesota Twins' diminishing playoff aspirations took one more hit on Tuesday when it was announced that All-Star 1B Justin Morneau will be sidelined the rest of the year.
Morneau has been battling back pain for weeks, although a CT scan as well as an MRI on Monday indicated that he has a stress fracture in his lower back.
The condition doesn't figure to need surgery. Physicians have told Morneau to relax the back for the next three month|fall season.
Morneau wounded himself on a diving slide into 1st base on Friday and hasn't yet played since.
Prior to this past week's accident, the slugging first baseman had already been playing through tenderness off and on for a fair amount of time. As a result, his numbers have declined mightily; Morneau was hitting just .077 in September to descend his season batting average to .274. Prior to this slide, he had been batting over the .300 mark. Having gotten only nine hits over a span of 22 games, it was unambiguous that something was amiss.
"You could play through the discomfort if you feel as if you're helping the franchise or doing something to help your teammates out and victory contests," Morneau stated. "When you play and you do not feel as if you're helping your team, that's when you have to take a step back and say, 'All right, maybe I am doing more damage than good.' "
Despite his troubles of late, Morneau finishes the '09 campaign with 30 HRs and 100 runs batted in. The HR output is higher than his 2008 figure of 23.
Michael Cuddyer should turn into the primary first baseman in Morneau's lack.
Despite the injury, Morneau remains upbeat about the Twins' chances the rest of the season.
"Hopefully I'll watch the guys embark on a run here and act as cheerleader and that's," Morneau said.
Morneau has been battling back pain for weeks, although a CT scan as well as an MRI on Monday indicated that he has a stress fracture in his lower back.
The condition doesn't figure to need surgery. Physicians have told Morneau to relax the back for the next three month|fall season.
Morneau wounded himself on a diving slide into 1st base on Friday and hasn't yet played since.
Prior to this past week's accident, the slugging first baseman had already been playing through tenderness off and on for a fair amount of time. As a result, his numbers have declined mightily; Morneau was hitting just .077 in September to descend his season batting average to .274. Prior to this slide, he had been batting over the .300 mark. Having gotten only nine hits over a span of 22 games, it was unambiguous that something was amiss.
"You could play through the discomfort if you feel as if you're helping the franchise or doing something to help your teammates out and victory contests," Morneau stated. "When you play and you do not feel as if you're helping your team, that's when you have to take a step back and say, 'All right, maybe I am doing more damage than good.' "
Despite his troubles of late, Morneau finishes the '09 campaign with 30 HRs and 100 runs batted in. The HR output is higher than his 2008 figure of 23.
Michael Cuddyer should turn into the primary first baseman in Morneau's lack.
Despite the injury, Morneau remains upbeat about the Twins' chances the rest of the season.
"Hopefully I'll watch the guys embark on a run here and act as cheerleader and that's," Morneau said.
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