Joe C. is pounding out a blog entry right next to me. We were a pretty good team tonight. I had to file a story by 11 p.m. but got a few extra minutes, which was enough for Joe to feed me some quotes from the clubhouse. Teamwork at its best.

The one thing that struck me was that Morneau usually battles through pain and says nothing about it, but he eventually realized something was different this time.

“Most of time have a little aching annoying pain, this was a little sharper,” he said. “Swing and miss and follow through and finish a swing.”

The debate will rage on about how much his back limited him - and for how long. He batted .201 after the All-Star break and was 7-for-70 (.100) after Aug. 15.

This coincides with the dizziness he battled in August. He took himself out of a Aug. 17 game in Texas and didn’t return until Aug. 24.

So when was the last time he was at all systems go? One thing is for sure: Dude was messed up.

Couple other notes:

Joe Mauer had his 23rd three-hit game of the season.

Delmon Young turned 24 on Monday. By the way, Gardy doesn’t have to worry about whom he should start in the outfield now. Young and Carlos Gomez will get all the at-bats they deserve.

Cuddyer’s homer was the 100th of his career.

Jason Kubel has four career pinch hit homers, three this season.

Sorry this is late. Gardy’s session ran long, then I had a session with my baseball editor, the dangerous Dennis Brackin.

Francisco Liriano threw in the bullpen before the game and felt great. He told pitching coach Rick Anderson that his arm feels better than it did in spring training.

No word on when Glen Perkins will pitch for Class AAA Rochester.

A lot of talk about Jose Morales before the game. Gardy said Morales’ defense, his throwing and footwork, has improved some but he still has work to do. Gardy added that in a pinch - like an extra-inning game when the bench is empty, Morales could play in the field. That won’t happen very often.

So it’s no surprise that Mike Redmond is catching today while Joe Mauer is the DH. Gardy said Mauer will get a full day off sometime during the next road trip.

The Twins are facing Mark Buehrle for the fifth time this season. Buehrle won the first two meetings but the Twins scored 13 runs off him in the next two meetings.  Red Dog, by the way, is batting .457 against Buehrle.

To get Jim Souhan off my back, I’m mentioning here that he can be read on Twitter @SouhanStrib

Lineups

White Sox (64-69)

1. Scott Podsednik, DH
2. Gordon Beckham, 3B
3. Paul Konerko, 1B
4. Jermaine Dye, RF
5. Carlos Quentin, LF
6. Alexei Ramirez, SS
7. Alex Rios, CF
8. Jayson Nix, 2B
9. Ramon Castro, C

Pitching: Mark Buehrle, LHP

Twins (67-65)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Joe Mauer, DH
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5, Jason Kubel. LF
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Brendan Harris, 3B
8. Mike Redmond, C
9. Nick Punto, 2B

Pitching: Brian Duensing, LHP

 ROSTER MOVES

After the game, the Twins placed third baseman Joe Crede on the 15-day DL because his back is going to need a few more days of rest. But Twins manager Ron Gardenhire added that Crede was going to have a second epidural. The first shot went into the top of the problem. The next one will go in the other side.

And Crede wasn’t moving all the great as we saw him leave out the players’ entrance to the clubhouse while we waited to be allowed in.

Catcher Jose Morales was called up to replace Crede. Morales was 3 for 4 on Thursday to raise his average to .329 at Class AAA Rochester.

The Twins also sent righthander Armando Gabino back to Rochester. This will clear space on the major league roster for the arrival of Ron Mahay, which is expected to be announced Saturday. No word on what 40-man move they will make.

TUESDAY’S STARTER

Gardenhire hinted strongly that righthander Jeff Manship will get his first-ever major league start on Tuesday against the White Sox.

That, of course, could change if the Twins, ahem, acquire another pitcher before then.

Monday will be an interesting day, with waivers expiring on Rich Harden and Brad Penny. I think the Twins have a way better chance at landing Penny. Carl Pavano, his former Florida teammate, apparently likes it here and would make it easy for Penny to fit in.

One scout at the game tonight did say that Penny is better suited for the National League.

ABOUT RAUCH

Twins General Manager Bill Smith pointed out that new Twin Jon Rauch led the majors in appearances over the last three years.

Rauch also is set to make $2.9 million next season, so he’ll be in the bullpen mix.

“It helps,” Smith said, “We’re pleased about that. We’re glad to have him the rest of this year and next year.”

That also tips their hand a little about what the expect from righthander Pat Neshek next year - nothing.

Neshek hasn’t pitched since May of 2008 because of elbow problems. Club officials have told me that the safe route is to not expect Neshek to be available until he proves he’s available. By not counting on him, there’s no pressure  on him to rush back.

PERK UPDATE

Lefthander Glen Perkins will throw an inning for the Gulf Coast League Twins on Saturday as he works his way back from shoulder problems. The Twins are going to be patient with Perkins too, to make sure there’s no more setbacks.

FINALLY…

When Joe Mauer threw out Elvis Andrus with a perfect throw in the eighth inning, I swear I heard Mauer yell. “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!”

O.K. I made that up…..

The last two nights, there have been some questionable calls. I’m not talking about ball/strike calls (even while watching games on television, umpires seem to be inconsistent in this park for some reason).

Yesterday, it was clear that Carlos Gomez was hit with a Scott Feldman pitch - I think the sight of Gomez looking like he’d just been electrocuted sold the play. But home plate umpire Dale Scott, who has botched calls against the Twins in the past, claimed the ball ticked Gomez’s bat.

Gomez’s hand was red and throbbing. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire asked Scott to just look at Gomez’s hand for proof that it hit him. Scott refused.

Funny…there was a memo on Gardy’s desk before the game talking about how hard umpires are working to get calls right and that managers should understand that. Hah!

Tonight, it looked like Julio Borbon missed third base as he scored on Michael Young’s single. The Twins bench threw their arms up in the air immediately, and Gardenhire had Scott Baker appeal the play. Safe. 

Now, I’m not close enough to see for sure, but it was clear Borbon didn’t touch much of the bag. Umpire - Dale Scott - claimed that Borbon’s foot landed on the inside of the bag but he felt the foot turned inward and brushed the bag as he went by. Whatever. No one has the guts to call those appeal plays, anyway.

The whopper was the ninth inning, when Andruw Jones clearly went around on a two-strike swing against Joe Nathan. I’ve had surgeries on both eyes and could see his wrists snap the bat across the plate - and the replays showed that it wasn’t even close.

Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa said Jones didn’t go around. An appeal to first base Jerry Meals got the same response. Gardy hit the roof, and I heard the language wasn’t very clean.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I barked in the pressbox. I was up against deadline. I didn’t care who was winning, I just wanted the game over so I could get in the clubhouse.

Nathan was hotter than I was. Joe Mauer - who got nicked up by a couple foul balls in the game, by the way - had to go out to the mound and put his arm around Nathan to calm him down. Jones, of course, then drives a Nathan pitch down the line that hooked foul. Whoa. But Nathan finally struck Jones out to end the game.

I try not to go Patrick Reusse on umpires. It’s a game played and judged by humans, and humans make mistakes.

But what game were those guys watching? And that memo……..bah!

Could have went so many ways with tonight’s gamer. The Twins’ season is falling apart, and it’s happening pitch by pitch, blast by blast, walk by walk.

Nick Blackburn sounded like a man on edge after the game.

“That wasn’t much fun. It’s getting kind of old, going out there and not feeling myself. Hopefully we can get something figured out soon,” he said. “Everything feels great. I think right now, my pitches are a little flat and up and we just have to figure out what it is.

“I know I can get guys out. I know I can pitch at this level. It is a matter of getting back to where I’m comfortable and where I should be.

“Some sort of adjustment needs to be made.

“I don’t notice any different than the beginning of the season. My arm feels good and feels strong. Something mechanically I have to deal with right now.

“To go out there and throw 1.2 innings is not going to be easy to take. It’s embarrassing and it’s frustrating. Just to be honest,, I’m getting tired of these outings.”

The 3 hour, 36 minute game destroyed deadline, then the few minutes I had left over were taken up by Bill Smith and Ron Gardenhire meeting in Gardy’s office.

(Strange moment after the game. We’re standing in the hallway waiting for the clubhouse to open. Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla walk out of the back entrance. Gomez has his shirt in his hands and is putting it on while walking down the hallway. Talk about wanting to get out of there…).

With Bob Marley music playing in the background, Gardy tells us that Glen Perkins is headed to the DL with shoulder tendinitis. They didn’t announce who was coming up.

My well-educated guess is that Jeff Manship will be the choice. He’s 4-2 with a 4.22 ERA in eight starts, and IIRC,he’s coming off a gem last week. The Twins probably will have him work out of the bullpen, but he could start if they decide to come up with a reason to put Francisco Liriano on the DL.

Good night…