As expected, Justin Morneau has had surgery to remove a bone spur from his wrist, just below the back of his right hand. Morneau was spotted in the Wild locker room after their victory over Colorado last night with his hand wrapped up.

Morneau is expected to  be ready by spring training. That includes the stress fracture in his back. In an interview the night the Twins were eliminated from the playoffs, Morneau said his back was just starting to feel better.

What wasn’t known, however, is that Joe Nathan had two bone chips removed from his right elbow on Tuesday after Twins doctors recommended a cleanup. Nathan flew to Birmingham, Ala. on Tuesday to have the surgery done by noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews.

I’ve also been informed that Joe Mauer will be named Baseball America’s Player of the Year - not Albert Pujols. I don’t think this will be the last signifcant postseason award Mauer will win!

There will be more on this development later and in Friday’s print editions.

The Rochester Red Wings have announced that Tom Nieto has been named manager of the Class AAA club. Nieto, who managed Class AA New Britain to a 72-69 record this year, replaces Stan Cliburn, who was let go after the season.

Bobby Cuellar will return as pitching coach. Floyd Rayford will take over as hitting coach. Here’s the Red Wing’s release. 

The Twins are expected to release all their minor league coaching assignments in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, if you want to talk Twins, I’m filling in for the flu-ridden Paul Allen tomorrow from 9-Noon on KFAN. Phil Mackey will join me for awhile to talk about the Twins and Vikings. And there will be other treats as well. Tune in!

The Twins have announced that if they win today that the first pitch of Game 4 on Monday will be moved to 6:37 p.m., central time.

The Twins-Yankees and Rockies-Phillies would be the only Division Series in action. That has forced TBS to juggle its schedule.

We were just told by the Twins that they have released single seats for tonight’s game. My guess is that these are tickets that were returned by season ticket holders who didn’t use the entire strip.

So call the Twins ticket office at 612-33-Twins or 1-800-33-Twins if you’re interested. Or go to www.twinsbaseball.com.

We’ve heard that Game Three of the ALDS is tentatively scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Dome. That time could be made official during tonight’s game.

In two-and-a-half hours following Tuesday’s dramatic win, the Twins sold 46,000 tickets for both Game Three and Game Four.  The Twins were getting close to shutting off sales so they can determine how many tickets will be returned by season ticket holders.

Homer Hankies are on sale now at every Twins Pro Shop as well as the ticket window at the Dome. Cost: $2.00.

Reggie Jackson spent several minutes talking with Twins great Tony Oliva as photographers zeroed in. Mr. October then chatted up Joe Mauer, who then called Justin Morneau over to join the conversation. Good move by the Twins to bring Oliva on the trip and have him in uniform on the field.

The umpiring crew strolled across the front of the Twins dugout on their way to their dressing area. St. Paul’s own Tim Tschida is the crew chief and will work behind the plate tonight. He spotted Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson, walked over and shook hands with them as photographers clicked away. Wonder how that will go over…