Mauer sore and is not in the lineup

Got a zinger during Ron Gardenhire's pre-game presser.

``Joe is sore," Gardenhire said. ``He's a little sore.Give him another day here."

Um, can you specify the soreness?

``No, he's sore," Gardenhire said. ``You don't need to know any more than that. He's sore. It doesn't matter where or when or how. He's sore and we're not going to catch him."

Will he sit out just tonight?

``We will reevaluate him tomorrow," Gardenhire said. ``But he is sore today and we're not going to mess with him."

Can he pinch hit?

Just before we were allowed into Gardy's office, Mauer was seen in the clubhouse with a smile on his face as he chatted with a teammate. He didn't show any negative body language - but what do I know about body language? I'm the guy who teed off on Jay Cutler on twitter during the playoffs.

Before we were allowed into Gardy's office,the manager was in a lengthy meeting with GM Bill Smith and head trainer Rick McWane. As I write this, Mauer is on the field warming up with teammates.