Say It To His Face

Okay, so I was all set to noodle around with this:

Twins notes: Morneau back in lineup:
Morneau returned to the starting lineup Wednesday in a 10-0 victory over Arizona after missing four starts because of a sore left elbow that required a cortisone shot Sunday. He expected to start Tuesday, but didn't see his name in the lineup.

"Frustrating? Yep," said Morneau, who talked to Gardenhire about it. "Frustrating? Yes again.

"From my understanding, I was going to get a shot and then be in there on Tuesday. The reason he gave me was that he wanted to give me another day." Morneau isn't happy about it, which was relayed to Gardenhire before Wednesday's game.

[Gardenhire said] that players have to learn to play through periods when they're not swinging well or when they are banged up. Morneau, in a 2-for-26 slump after going 1-for-4 Wednesday, is an example.

Morneau pointed out that he kept playing last year after getting hit in the hand by a C.C. Sabathia pitch Aug. 22. He played until Sept. 19, hitting five homers, before missing four games.

"If I feel like if I can't help the team, I'm not going to play," Morneau said. "You've got to be smart enough to know when you can't help the team."

Morneau also is aware of comments Torii Hunter made about younger players needing to step up and play through injuries. Morneau didn't mind the message, but didn't care for how it was delivered.

"I don't think the paper is the place to do it," he said.

Good stuff, eh? Ripe for blogging. But I hadn't finished my first cup of coffee yet, and no one wants me to write under those circumstances, so I browsed around my favorite Twins blogs for a while. And came upon this post on Sundappled Wood, which says everything I was going to say, and about 150% more.

So there you go. Good reading for you, more free time for me. We're all winners here. (Except the Twins, they lost last night.)