Justin Morneau Injured, Taken To Hospital

Justin Morneau was injured while scoring on a Jason Kubel double in the 8th inning against the Marlins. The Twins tied the game on the play. Morneau collided with catcher Miguel Olivo, who didn't catch the ball. Morneau, who looked like he hit his chin and sternum on the play, was apparently coughing up blood in the clubhouse after he was taken out. He was taken to the hospital for chest X-rays by stretcher.

This does not look good for the Twins. Morneau is a tough guy, and outweighed Olivo by 10 pounds, but he got stood-up on that play. He was visibly jarred on the field, and my first reaction was that he could have easily broken a rib or his collarbone. While a broken bone is one of the more serious injuries he could have sustained, coughing up blood is very serious. The Twins offense, already lacking WITH Morneau in the lineup, would be downright anemic without him in it. If Morneau needs to go on the DL, that could drop the Twins out of contention rather quickly. To make matters worse, after tying the game on the play and getting their MVP knocked out of the game, former setup man Juan Rincon allowed the go-ahead home run to '06 NL Rookie of the Year Hanley Ramirez, allowing the Marlins to win 5-4. Rincon couldn't manage to pick up the team after Morneau put his body on the line to score one run. This is a huge blow for the Twins if it proves to be a DL-worthy injury.

Update - Morneau has a bruised lung, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. CT scans were negative, and there were no broken bones. He is done for the rest of the weekend, but as for a DL stint, it is unknown so far. Let's hope for the best for MVP