Quick Notes: Mar. 2, 2011

The Spring Training games have started. It's still kind of early to really know much about anything, but it's certainly fun listening to live radio broadcasts of live pitching, batting, and fielding.

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Justin Morneau is making good progress from his head injury, but he's still waiting to be cleared to play in games. Even though steady progress is good news, fans are still quite concerned. We all remember how Corey Koskie's career was cut short due to concussion symptoms, and no one wants a repeat of that. Concussions are so hard to predict and understand; there is no way to put a timetable on it. It is, after all, a bruise to the brain, and every bruise -- and every brain for that matter -- heals differently. Fans are also concerned about who would play if Justin can't. I think Cuddyer does just fine -- he's no superstar, but he's serviceable -- but there is no other depth at the position.

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Speaking of Michael Cuddyer, he returned to the Twin Cities to have a pesky wart on his foot removed. He figured now would be a better time than, say, April. I've had nasty plantar warts, and let me tell you, they're painful. And gross. He said that there is a 60% chance that it's gone. Yeah, that's the thing about warts; they're like dandelions -- the root runs very deep, and if you don't get it all, it comes back. With attitude.

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Speaking of feet, Delmon Young still hasn't played because he's got turf toe. Seriously? Turf toe? He's been in Fort Myers, what, fifteen minutes? And they don't even have turf. Actually, turf toe is pretty painful and isn't as silly as it sounds. He must've been working hard preparing for Spring Training, and over-did things a bit. I'm sure it's sore, but it shouldn't be too serious.

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Joe Mauer had some sort of lubricant injected in his knee. I imagine it was the equivalent of the Tin Man's oil can. A couple of shots of 3-in-1, and he's good to go. Some folks are wondering if this should indicate that maybe he shouldn't be catching. I don't think it's a big deal. He had cartilage removed from that knee, so it stands to reason that it would need some maintenance every 3,000 miles.

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If Nishioka turns out to be a good player, I think he'll quickly become one of my favorites. He seems to be a really fun guy. And it sounds like he and Alexi are developing ways to communicate with each other. Dan Gladden said something about that they're using their mouths to indicate who has it -- mouth open for one, mouth closed for the other. I just hope neither one of them suffers a serious head cold and has to breathe with his mouth open.We'd all hate a rhinovirus-induced collision.

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Gardy announced that he fully expects to give Brian Duensing a spot in the starting rotation. Good for Brian; I kind of like him. With Liriano and Pavano already locked in, that leaves three guys for two remaining spots. I've gotta believe Baker gets a spot. So that leaves Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn to duke it out. Personally, I think Slowey's pitching style is more fitting for starting and Blackie would be all right in the bull pen. But, we'll have to see how things shake out in Spring Training. Or, they could just play rock-paper-scissors for the job.