Minutes from boarding a flight back to the states....
DOZIER"S BACK: Brian Dozier was one of several Twins players feeling the effects of playing on turf for three games, then Eduardo Nunez unintentionally put a knee in his back as the two chased after a pop fly early in the game. Dozier said the lower left side of his back was affected the most, but it responded well to treatment and he expects to be available on Friday.
HICKS' SHOULDER: Hicks said it's painful for him to throw, so he's getting it checked out in the Twin Cities on Thursday. But it's inevitable that he will be in the minors soon. Folks, this is an interesting case. The club is not happy with him. They've given him chances. They finally criticized him in the press for not preparing well. And he hasn't responded. There are people in the organization who believe he's blowing his chance here. Hicks needs to get healthy then go to the minors and invest into being a total professional and work on his game. The Twins look at his talent and wonder what is going on. They can't find the right button to push, and you wonder if they are tired of searching for the right button to push.
KENDRYS MORALES: I was wrong. A guy can walk on a major league field and produce after a long layoff. That it all.
La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
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