Thread: Article: What do we make of Justin Morneau's quotes?

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.ph...rneau-s-quotes

What a slippery slope he's on. How hard should he go after that ground ball? Should he dive? Should he let it go, allowing a run to score?

Or try taking that extra base?

Very difficult situation he's in. I wish him the best.

Hopefully the Twins take it easier on him than he will on himself. Take it slow!

I personally think he has come to grips with his concussion situation. Right now it sounds like Morneau and the doctors have symptoms under control but he knows that if he gets hit in the head or issues persist it might be time to hang 'em up. I think he has prepared himself for the worst but is hoping along with the rest of us that he is going to be something close to the Morneau of the past.

These quotes scare the hell out of me. I hope they scare the hell out of the Twins. For the love of god, get a backup plan beyond pushing Parmelee.

In the Star Trib article addressing the same thing, Morneau is quoted as saying, "Everything has been pretty good since January, I'd say." It is February now. I'm pretty sure that in January somewhere on the Caravan, he said that everything had been pretty good since December. So, he's having concussion symptoms every month. Which means he hasn't been symptom-free...maybe ever since the last one. It sure looks like he's going the way of Koskie. Sad.

I'm not a neurologist, but considering the length of time he's been struggling with these symptoms, I just don't envision him having a complete recovery at this point. I'm reading into these quotes a bit but retirement is definitely an option for him. So my question is, how would his retirement affect the payroll for this year and next? I assume his salary would be taken off the books and that gives us 14 million for this year and next. What moves would the Twins consider if retirement occurs?

The question that I'm not sure it totally being answered is: is he healthy now? If so (and I think that's what may be lost in all of this) then the message should be: "I'm great and ready to go, except possibly for the wrist which is still at 90%. But if I get another concussion, and it's hard to come back from again, I'm probably done."

If that's the message, I think we all would be thinking "Yeah, that's kind of what we figured." But I don't know if that is the message that is coming across.

I also shook my head when, like last year, we heard that he doesn't need to be healthy until Opening Day. That's never a good sign.

Not to be negative, but you kind of hope that if the concussion symptoms are going to manifest, that you want them to do so in spring training rather than during the season. That way, the Twins will be able to collect more insurance on his salary and likely be able to spend it on a replacement at some point.

Originally Posted by jameshenke78

I'm not a neurologist, but considering the length of time he's been struggling with these symptoms, I just don't envision him having a complete recovery at this point. I'm reading into these quotes a bit but retirement is definitely an option for him. So my question is, how would his retirement affect the payroll for this year and next? I assume his salary would be taken off the books and that gives us 14 million for this year and next. What moves would the Twins consider if retirement occurs?

To be honest, I don't know. He may not retire. He might go on the DL and not come back. If so, the Twins might get some of that salary back from insurance, but not get all that money back. Or I supposed a deal could be worked out.

Not good, And a little late for a backup plan for this season. How did the Twins not recognize that a problem in January was probably going to be a problem in February? I can't wait for a month of "Mauer to 1b" gnashing

This is no way he plays first base full time now, right? They'll play it safe and have him be the designated hitter. I know that's not a lot safer, but what is the upside of having him at first?

Originally Posted by John Bonnes

This is no way he plays first base full time now, right? They'll play it safe and have him be the designated hitter. I know that's not a lot safer, but what is the upside of having him at first?

Yeah, that's what I'd think. Still, I'd probably bet he retires before the season ends.

I completely agree with you John. There's no way he plays first regularly this year. The ripples of this are not insignificant....does that slot Mauer as the starter at 1b? He can't be thrilled about that because he wants to catch. Does Doumit become the starter at 1b? he's played only 34 games there through 7 seasons. Does this mean more Butera catching? I sure hope not.

These quotes are very scary. I hope they are just some frustration out of Morneau and that everything will turn out fine. He is in camp and hopefully he can get back into a rhythm with the club. Maybe this can all be a thing of the past but I doubt it at this point.

CF Span
SS Carroll
C Mauer
DH Morneau
RF Willingham
1B Parmelee
3B Valencia
2B Casilla
LF Benson

If the team does that, instead of using 1B as a committee thing, it pushs Doumit to the bench and probably prevents Gardy with going with 3 catchers. (Bench - Hughes, Doumit, Plouffe, Nishi)

Still too early to tell... Let's see him play some games and see how he plays and then we can figure it out. As a reminder, last spring training he played only 4 games and was hitless in 10 PAs. Still got a month and a half to see in what shape he is.

Originally Posted by gunnarthor

CF Span
SS Carroll
C Mauer
DH Morneau
RF Willingham
1B Parmelee
3B Valencia
2B Casilla
LF Benson

If the team does that, instead of using 1B as a committee thing, it pushs Doumit to the bench and probably prevents Gardy with going with 3 catchers. (Bench - Hughes, Doumit, Plouffe, Nishi)

I think that if Morneau is not the 1B, Aaron Bates will probably make the team instead of Parmelee and will split time there with Doumit and Luke Hughes... There is no way you keep Doumit on the bench and start Parmelee and Parmelee needs to play every day (thus he will do that in Rochester)

I don't know what to think about this. Are the doctors telling him that he is "healthy" and free to go all out but he is simply unable to trust his body (and his mind). Or is he having recurring symptoms that the doctors recognize as concussion-related but not endangering his health?

I suppose that there is a chance that repeated "good" days in practice will alleviate his fears enough so that he can still function as a major league ballplayer but that seems a longshot. I wish him all the best. At this point, it seems like he is fighting a battle on two fronts -- his actual concussion symptoms and what he perceives as concussion symptoms. While I don't think that is unusual, it does sound as though the latter may be Justin's biggest enemy.

I would only DH him. They need his stick in the lineup.

Doumit and Mauer would likely play most of the time at 1B. Parmelee and Benson most likely won't make the big league Opening Day roster... maybe in June. Revere will be in LF.