Justin

Morneau

It was his first at-bat since he had a cortisone shot in his sore left hand last week. Morneau could return to the starting lineup this weekend in Cleveland.

The injury is hampering his swing. “It’s just not getting better. I’m not going to do much with it today, and then we’ll see”, said Morneau. He will likely miss this evening’s contest against the Tigers. Matt LeCroy will continue to play in Morneau’s absence.

He is nursing a sore left hand.

Morneau is having trouble swinging pain-free at the moment. The Twins hope he will be able to play on Wednesday. Matt LeCroy will likely start until Morneau returns to the Minnesota lineup.

The chicken pox was reported, but the two more serious problems weren’t. The Twins wanted to fly Morneau into camp over the weekend, but he was still too sick to travel. It’s unclear now whether his problems will have him start the season at less than 100 percent.

Morneau reported late to camp after suffering through a multitude of health problems during the offseason and is expected to miss the Twins’ first several spring games. ''He took swings today,’' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ''He took some ground balls today. Just a slow process. He felt better. Strength-wise, he’s still not there. But he’s back on the field. That’s what we want to see.’'

At least his strength should be there by the time the season starts. Morneau, who also had his appendix out and contracted chicken pox over the winter, probably won’t take part in games at the start of the exhibition season.

Such a shame. You won’t want to draft Morneau this year, especially if you’re in a league with a RotoWorld.com staff member.

Morneau still leads Double-A New Britain with six home runs. If the Twins elect to demote Todd Sears today when Denny Hocking returns, it will be interesting to what they do with their minor league first basemen.

Morneau is still hitting .302 with an 821 OPS since being called up, but he’s cooled considerably over the last week.