How Far Koskie Has Come

Haven't seen a lineup yet for this afternoon's Cubs-Mariners game, but Lou Piniella's stated plan with Corey Koskie is to "probably play him every couple days and see how he does..."

Koskie started Tuesday's game against the Dodgers and ripped a double off the centerfield wall in his first at-bat. He also walked and grounded out.

In looking for some information on Koskie, I came across an mlb.com article from April of last year, when the longtime Twin, still suffering from the after-effects of a concussion he suffered as a Brewer, dropped by the Metrodome.

The former Twins third baseman was...visiting with some of his old teammates on Wednesday and talked about the constant struggles that he still has with post-concussion syndrome.

...Just being down on the field at the dome without having any problems was something that he considered to be a big step.

It's been nearly two years since Koskie was last on a baseball field. He suffered his concussion on July 5, 2006 when he chased down a shallow popup while playing for the Brewers. He did not hit his head on the play, but the effects of the concussion he suffered has been lingering ever since.

That means getting dizzy and nauseous at times, and Koskie said it's not necessarily during just physical activity. He can be watching hockey on TV or a fast-paced television show when the symptoms develop.

"I don't know if I'm going to wake up one day and it will all be gone," Koskie said. "Or if there is going to be some stuff that's lingering and I have to deal with it the rest of my life. I just don't know."

Koskie became a free agent this past fall when the Brewers declined their 2008 option on his contract. Whether any teams would be willing to take a chance on the 34-year-old, once he's fully recovered, is also uncertain.

And until Koskie knows what his future entails, being around baseball is tough. Just how much he misses the game was clear from the look on his face, and he even declined the chance to go lean on the batting cage and talk to some of the Twins as they took batting practice.

"I'm not going to lean on the cage until I'm retired or I've got a uniform on," Koskie said. "Right now, I'm in this kind of halfway thing. I would still like to play baseball, but physically, I'm not able to right now."

As a part-time Twins fan and full-time White Sox-hater, I have always liked Koskie, who delivered many Sox-killing hits in his Minnesota days. But just on a human level, the possibility that Koskie could stick with the Cubs will be, as Piniella says, "a nice story if it materializes."