Twins catcher Joe Mauer clearly wasn't thrilled that manager Ron Gardenhire informed the media that he received an injection in his left knee yesterday.

``I kinda wish it wasn't out there," Mauer said, ``but here we are."

Mauer was injected with Supartz, a solution that helps lubricate knee joints. Treatments like Supartz and Synvisc (which Nick Blackburn has in his knee) have been very effective over the years. Mauer said some NFL linemen are injected with Supartz, which could be a good sign for someone who has to squat for nine innings,

The decision to have the injections came in the weeks following his December surgery to clean up the knee.

``We talked about it a little bit as a possibility," Mauer said. ``It's pretty common. A lot of athletes have them. I guess being a catcher and all that stuff, it might sound a lot worse than what it is."

Mauer is supposed to take it easy today and be checked on again Thursday. There are still no plans to have him catch in the bullpen.

Supartz, by the way, is administered through as many as five shots. Mauer acknowledged that he will need two or three more shots, each one given about a week apart.