Justin Morneau arrived at Twins camp today, then conducted a long, thoughtful interview on the subject of his concussion, recovery and timetable.
He said he won't play in the first four or five games of spring training. Later, I spoke with Twins GM Bill Smith, who told me it might be more like seven to 10 games.
Here's what we know: Morneau has been out of action for more than seven months and remains cautious. I've been optimistic about his eventual recovery all along, because Morneau is a hard worker and great competitor, but this is an obvious sign that the Twins have no idea whether he'll be ready for opening day.
Which is fine. Too often we spend spring trainings obsessing about the opening day roster, and then by June the roster has turned over significantly because of injuries and failures, and is due to be overturned more by midseason trades.
It doesn't really matter whether Morneau is ready on opening day. What matter is that he has a productive season. The Twins' caution is appropriate.
-Star Tribune photographer Carlos Gonzalez is doing a daily photo gallery at startribune.com. You can also find it by following him on Twitter at @CarlosGphoto.
-I'll be on at 2:40 p.m. every afternoon on 1500espn, and will conduct another Sunday Sports Talk from here at 10 a.m. on Sunday, while partner Tom Pelissero will be in Indy at the NFL combine. We're everywhere.
-Too early to give you any impressions about players at spring training. Delmon Young is the only player I haven't seen in the clubhouse so far, but that's not a big deal. I saw him at TwinsFest and he looks like he's in excellent shape
