Joe Mauer says he's made a lot of progress, regain

MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Mauer says he's made "a lot" of progress, regained strength in his legs and gotten back the 15 pounds he lost when he was sick.He's still not ready, though, to target a date for getting back behind the plate for Minnesota.Mauer took some swings off soft tosses and worked out on the field before Tuesday's game against Detroit, and manager Ron Gardenhire said the goal is for Mauer to take full batting practice with the team this week. But Mauer said he's being careful not to rush back and risk doing more damage."You've got to get back into baseball shape, things like that. Minnesota Twins Jerseys I've still got some work to do, and I wish I knew when I would be back," Mauer said. "I know everybody else out there wishes, too, but I've just got to keep going in the right direction."Mauer has missed 24 games with a condition the Twins have called bilateral leg weakness. It was brought on by a light workload during spring training while he recovered from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He was stricken with a flulike viral infection that exacerbated the leg problem, and he's been working his way back since the middle of April.
"I'm not really thinking about long-term right now," he said. "I'm thinking about getting back out on the field right now. But I signed here to catch for eight years, and that's what I'm planning on doing."Mauer reiterated the importance and necessity to him of being at full strength before he's back. MLB Jerseys From China He said he doesn't plan to ease back in by taking turns as the designated hitter."You play six or seven days a week, so you don't have extra days for recovery time," Mauer said. "So you want to make sure you're strong and you're ready to go and not just catch one night but catch six or seven in a row."He said he falsely assumed he could essentially catch his way back to full strength once the regular season started,MLB Atlanta Braves Jerseys, but instead of getting stronger he got weaker instead."I thought I was good enough to go, and I guess I wasn't," he said, adding: "I was trying to fight through it the first part of the year, and look where it got me. It's May. I'm going to do everything I can to get out on the field and to catch day after day, not just one or two."So, for now, he's relegated to light batting practice.