Justin Morneau Would Roll Over and Play Dead, But His Back Hurts

R.I.P. 2009 Minnesota Twins. They had many, many chances to snag the American League Central crown from the middling Detroit Tigers but could never really master the .500 mark with much aplomb. Despite employing the frontrunner in the AL MVP race in Joe Mauer, the Twins could not endure a miserable run of starting pitching from mid-July to late August that saw their team ERA skyrocket by over half a run. A thirty-game streak with a 6.25 ERA will bury any team. So as of today, they're not mathematically eliminated from any race, but with the creampuff news from yesterday, they're all but buried. Here's Twins beat writer La Velle E. Neal III with the report from the Twin Cities: First baseman Justin Morneau has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back and is done for the rest of the season. He'll need three months to recover Joe Crede is likely done for the rest of the season. He felt soreness in his back and legs while tyring to DH yesterday and...well, it...