Justin Morneau Out; Daisuke Matsuzaka In

Let’s start with the bad news first. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Twins MVP candidate Justin Morneau will miss the remainder of the season because of a stress fracture in his lower back. This just sucks out loud if you are a Twins fan. Morneau has a fracture of the L5 vertebrae in his lower back, but will not need surgery. The recovery time is expected to be three months and Morneau should be ready by Spring Training in 2010. Morneau is having a typical Morneau season – .271 with 30 HR’s and 100 RBI in 135 games for the Twins. Despite being only 5.5 games behind the first place Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, it will be almost impossible for the Twins to catch the Tigers without their star first baseman. Look for Michael Cuddyer to get the majority of playing time at first in place of Morneau. Now for the good news, or maybe not based on how he has pitched this year. Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-5, 8.23 ERA) will make his first start for the ...