With Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, J.J. Hardy, Orlando Hudson and Nick Punto all not available at times this season, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the team wouldn't be where it is in the standings if it wasn't for one of the best benches the team has had in years.

"We've got some pretty good guys off the bench," Gardenhire said.

Regarding position players, Hardy and Hudson are both back now after each one spent two stints on the disabled list. Punto is scheduled to come off the DL soon, and there might not be room on the roster for infielder Matt Tolbert once he is ready to be activated.

As for Morneau, it's been more than a month since he suffered a concussion at Toronto. And while the Twins' reports on Morneau have been cautiously optimistic, a source close to the All-Star first baseman reported it will be fortunate if Morneau is back as early as Sept. 1.

Morneau himself acknowledged how unpredictable the recovery is, having good days followed by not-so-good ones. That's something you hear a lot of with people trying to come back from a concussion; there is no consistency day to day.

That's a good reason why the Twins are not going to rush Morneau back into action. Another is that he has a history of concussions.

Morneau is without a doubt one of the best first basemen in baseball and one of the great hitters in the game, a player who contributes so much that it is amazing to see the Twins play so well without him for the second year in a row.

Give Michael Cuddyer a lot of credit for taking over first base again, after previously having been moved to third base for a stretch, too. That's why Gardenhire describes Cuddyer as the team MVP during this stretch without Morneau.

Were there before Getting back to the job the reserves have done, Gardenhire said: "I think we've been there before. We were there last year when Morney went down and Cuddy had to play first and guys had to be moved around. It's just the nature of the beast.

"You have to have a little depth. The one thing we've seen in spring training is that we use a lot of players in spring to get them comfortable, knowing that if you have injuries during the course of the year, these guys are comfortable enough, and we're comfortable with them that they can help us."

Danny Valencia wasn't seeing much playing time before Morneau got hurt and appeared to be possibly headed back to the minor leagues, but over the past month he has been hitting well above .300 and playing fine defense as the everyday third baseman. Alexi Casilla played great both in the field and at the plate during Hudson's recent stint on the DL, and he made some great plays at shortstop in Friday night's victory over Oakland. Jason Repko, called up in June, has been a capable fourth outfielder. Drew Butera started the first seven games of August at catcher while Mauer battled a sore shoulder, and he has been a winner while catching Carl Pavano.

Pohlad not surprised Jim Pohlad, Twins chief executive officer, said recent history has shown most new ballparks enjoying early success when it comes to attendance, so he is not surprised by the capacity crowds every game at Target Field.

"We just have got to make sure that we continue the success into the future," Pohlad said. "I think it's a great experience for the fans."

As for the Twins winning division and going further, Pohlad said: "I hope so. It's going to be a contest, and that makes it fun. We're looking forward to that. But I think we can do it."

And he made it clear he would be in favor of improving the club if possible for the stretch run, though he added, "It's a little harder at this time of year. But if [GM] Billy [Smith] can come up with a way to help, we're there."

Mbakwe will stay Now that Trevor Mbakwe has been cleared of his legal problem in Miami, there is little doubt that the 6-8, 240-pound player from St. Bernard's will remain with the Gophers and will be a member of the team when they start practice Aug. 23 for their three-game series in British Columbia.

If he stays with the Gophers, Mbakwe will have two years of eligibility left after redshirting last season. If he transferred to a school such as Memphis or Georgia Tech, he would have only one year unless he got a waiver from the NCAA.

Mbakwe said Saturday that he wants to sit with Gophers coach Tubby Smith, see where he stands and then make a decision. "I just want to make sure I am on the same page with the coach," Mbakwe said. "Once I do that, there is a great chance I will stay at Minnesota."

Smith has made it clear that he has a good relationship with Mbakwe, who practiced with the team all last season, and that Mbakwe would be a Gopher once he was cleared.

The presence of Mbakwe could make the Gophers a Big Ten contender for the upcoming season. He is a great rebounder, one thing the Gophers missed last season.

Jottings • Without the Twins as a tenant, the Metropolitan Stadium Facilities Commission budget for 2011 projects expenditures of $11.26 million and revenues -- mostly from the Vikings -- of $9.21 million, so the operators of the Metrodome will have to draw some $2.05 million from their reserves if their budget is accurate. This budget doesn't assume any Vikings home playoff games, though. ... The Twins' departure gave the Dome the ability to increase the number of events from 386 to 430 by the end of 2010. Dates were gobbled up college and other baseball teams.

• StubHub is one of the top Internet sellers of sports tickets. In 2009 at the Dome, the Twins were 29th in the major leagues in StubHub sales. This year, they have jumped to sixth. Meanwhile, scalpers in Minneapolis have been getting as much as $200 for tickets priced at $50 at Target Field.

• There is no doubt Texas canceled its home-and home football series with the Gophers when Notre Dame offered a four-year deal. The Gophers have a strong opponent from a BCS conference to fill the dates in 2015 and '16, but they are holding back announcing it before future Big Ten schedules are revealed with the addition of Nebraska to the conference next year.

• While here for Rose Bowl meetings, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany praised University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks for being someone who has been influential in building the conference athletic programs.

• Rochester John Marshall product Tyler Cain, who just graduated from South Dakota, signed to play for VEF Riga in the Baltic Basketball League. The 6-8 forward was the Great West Conference Player of the Year last season, averaging 14.7 points and 10.0 rebounds for the Coyotes.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com