For the second straight year, the Minnesota Twins will play the postseason without Justin Morneau. The 2006 AL MVP hasn't played since July 7 because of post-concussion symptoms stemming from an inadvertent knee to the head during a slide into second base at Toronto. Morneau has begun to improve and hasn't had any recent setbacks, but general manager Bill Smith said Monday the team doesn't want to rush back its four-time All-Star first baseman. Already ruled out for the first round of the playoffs, Morneau had hoped to be ready for the AL championship series or the World Series. But Smith said there's not enough time for him to return to full strength. "To get him ready to play at the highest level he would have to be up and ready in two weeks, and that's just unrealistic," Smith said. "It's one thing to go out and take batting practice and groundballs, but he hasn't done any sliding, he hasn't taken any relays and he hasn't done some of the quick-reaction plays that go on in a game." Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=5648242
