Repko feels he's recovering from a concussion

MINNEAPOLIS The Minnesota Twins begin a three-day, four-game road trip Friday in Cleveland, but outfielder Jason Repko won't be joining the team. Repko continues to recover from a concussion he suffered Sunday against Cleveland after he was hit in the head by a Justin Masterson pitch. Now four days removed from the incident, Repko said Thursday that he's feeling much better than he did in the previous few days. "Today, I could tell on the way to the field I didn't get nearly as car sick as I've been," Repko said. "I felt like I was going to throw up just because of how dizzy I felt. This is the fourth day, and it's a big difference from yesterday to today. Hopefully that just means the end of feeling that way. We'll go from there." Repko hasn't officially been ruled out for the season, and he's holding out hope that he can get into a game or two in Minnesota's final three-game home series against Kansas City, which begins Monday at Target Field. Repko said the plan is to take a few days to relax while the Twins are on the road and hopefully rejoin the team for workouts on Monday. "I'm really hoping in the next couple days to feel back to where I was, and then when they get back, hopefully practice and see how I feel," Repko said. "If I'm available to come off the bench or whatever, they can use me. That's what I'm hoping for, but I've got to feel good. I've got to not feel that motion sickness or when I move quickly that I've got to sit down. As long as that feeling's gone, that's what I'm shooting for." Repko, 30, has been used sparingly in 67 games for Minnesota this year as a reserve outfielder. He's batting .226 with 11 RBIs and four extra-base hits in 133 at-bats. He said Sunday's concussion was the fourth or fifth he's suffered during his career. Twice, he's been knocked unconscious as a result. "One was getting hit in the head with a ball, and the other one was my head hitting a metal pole diving for a ball down the right field line. Those are the two times that I actually was unconscious," Repko said. "The other times, it's just been hitting the wall and getting hit in the head with the ball." It's not the first concussion the Twins have had to endure recently, either. Last season, a concussion sidelined first baseman Justin Morneau for the second half of the season. Morneau's concussion occurred after he slid into second base in Toronto, and his head collided with infielder John McDonald. This season, outfielder Denard Span missed two months with a concussion after he collided at home plate with Kansas City catcher Brayan Pena. Span tried to return in August, but played just nine games before going back on the disabled list with migraine symptoms. On Wednesday, Span was back in the Twins' lineup for the first time in over a month, but did not play in Thursday's series finale. "We left it up to him to come in and tell us when he thinks he can play," Twins head athletic trainer Rick McWane said of Span before Thursday's game. "He said that he'd like to get ready to go (Friday)." Any time a concussion occurs, there's no easy fix to help players back onto the field quickly. The Twins have found that out the hard way over the last two seasons. Having dealt with concussions in the past, Repko is well aware of that as well. "The thing is each time you get them, you never know how quick you're going to recover from it," Repko said of concussions. "It worries you, but it's the fourth day and I've noticed a big difference in how I feel. I'm happy that I know that I'm going to feel better here, hopefully real soon."