Liriano MRI good. Baker good. Nishioka good. Get well, Stelly

The worst news concerns bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek, who is in his 31st year with the club.

Stelmaszek suffered a torn retina last week that required surgery. His first procedure didn't take well, so he had a second one that he's recovering from. He's resting at his home in Chicago, and hopes to get clearance to fly down to Fort Myers soon.

I spoke with Stelly on the phone today, and he's a little frustrated. Having had my retina re-attached four times, I told him the process stinks but the process must be adhered to to get his eye back on line. You have to take your eye drops on time, stay off your feet, don't scratch the eye, etc. But it has to be done.

My eyes? It was the hand I was dealt. I was wearing thick glasses at age 3. I had cataract surgery in my early 30s. I have long eyeballs. My doctor calls them, ``The Shaquille of eyeballs". My retina first tore in the fall of 2005 and would tear three more times. That's the way it goes sometimes. There have been worse cases.

My last surgery was in May 2006 at the Mayo Clinic. I returned to work on June 7. On June 8, the Twins started their big run to the postseason. Just sayin'. And I haven't had any problems since.

Anyway, I know what Stelly is going through. You feel like a loser. You worry that your other eye is going to go haywire and that you'll end up blind. You feel like a big, fat zero. Having gone through it, you just have to respect the process and remain optimisitc. It's not easy. I'm grateful for modern medicine.

Anyway...

Scott Baker threw in the bullpen today. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Baker is feeling some discomfort when throwing his changeup, so he's going to be careful about how much he throws it for now.

Bullpen catcher Nate Dammann has left the team to return to the Twin Cities to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. With Joe Mauer on the take-it-easy plan, Gardy would like to bring in another catcher but is not having any luck with GM Bill Smith.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is working by himself - in non-Twins gear - as the other position players in camp work out on a neighboring field. Gardy has told Nishioka that he's welcome to join the others. But Gardy indicated that Nishioka wants to stick to his plan because that's how he won the batting title last season while with the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Technically, position players can wear whatever they want during the voluntary phase of workouts. I mentioned Nishioka being decked out in addias gear to Michael Cuddyer, and Cuddy had no problems with it.

I am mildly surprised that he's not working out with other position players. He did earlier in the week and seemed to enjoy meeting new people. Again, full squad workouts aren't until Wednesday.