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The Strib says that Liriano's slider is back & his fastball is topping out at 96 mph. I know that our rotation is doing well but if he's close to his 2006 form, they've gotta make room for him.

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins ... tModules:1

Agree they need to bring him up but I would only replace Hernandez but that is an iffy move because he may be the mentor for all the young starters... So it may be best to wait until rosters expand to bring him up...

They couldn't put him on the playoff roster then. They have to bring him up before September.
The Twins could put Perkins in the bullpen but he's been pitching pretty well lately as a starter.

Worm Guts wrote:They couldn't put him on the playoff roster then. They have to bring him up before September.
The Twins could put Perkins in the bullpen but he's been pitching pretty well lately as a starter.

Perkins shut out the Rangers last night. You've gotta keep him. If anything, I'd be in favor of using Blackburn as a reliever.

If Liriano keeps pitching like he's going now, they'll force something. You don't leave a dominant All Star pitcher in the minors.

NewWulf wrote:
Perkins shut out the Rangers last night. You've gotta keep him. If anything, I'd be in favor of using Blackburn as a reliever.

If Liriano keeps pitching like he's going now, they'll force something. You don't leave a dominant All Star pitcher in the minors.

Blackburn has been slightly better as a starter than Perkins and Perkins' lefthandedness makes him a better asset out of the bullpen than Blackburn.

Worm Guts wrote:

NewWulf wrote:
Perkins shut out the Rangers last night. You've gotta keep him. If anything, I'd be in favor of using Blackburn as a reliever.

If Liriano keeps pitching like he's going now, they'll force something. You don't leave a dominant All Star pitcher in the minors.

Blackburn has been slightly better as a starter than Perkins and Perkins' lefthandedness makes him a better asset out of the bullpen than Blackburn.

WG, I don't disagree with you but the Twins made the assessment last spring that Perkins wasn't a reliever. That's why they sent him to the minors after his injury. they wanted to stretch him out for starting.

Ain't it great having 'problems' like this???

Time to make a deal with one of those pitchers guys Perkins or Blackburn or Slowey etc and bring up Liriano. I think you are right on about Hernandez being a mentor - he can mentor from the 5th spot and will not be needed in the postseason but to pull him out may upset the good work to date.

I'm still targeting 3b Atkins from the Rockies and they could be dealing soon - a package of one of the SPs, an OF, and one pitcher from the minors might get it going.

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to move Blackburn to the bullpen, just to limit his innings this year. He only pitched 160 innings last year and he's already on pace to throw 200 this year. I'd still try to cut Hernandez out of the rotation somehow, he's our weak point.

Well we released Hernandez and called up Liriano and pitched a real nice scoreless 6 innings today and got his first victory in 2 years.

Guess who's back...back again...Liriano's back..tell a friend.

Nice Em, reference.

Nice start by Liriano but he got some good breaks today. If he pitched the same way he did today against a better hitting team, he might've given up 2-4 runs or more.

I'm really looking forward to what he can do next year, especially wanting to see if he can get some velocity back.

Ya I will agree he did get some breaks but I was impressed especially for his first return start. His slider is looking good now all he needs to do is work on location and like you said franchise hopefully he can get his velocity back up a few mph. Man I remember 2 years back when he'd throw the slider almost 90mph. Everyone was saying it was basically unhittable especially coming in on right-handers. I doubt he'll ever be as good as he once was but I expect he'll get pretty close.

The rotation is stocked with potential - and particularly if Liriano gets back to ace level.

Just need the young pitching to get consistency, the M&Ms, DYoung and the newbies Harris/Gomez to get cranking and this could be another mini-run the Twins seems to develop.

Go.

I would rank our starters:

1. Baker
2. Slowey
3. Blackburn
4. Liriano
5. Perkins

Liriano pitched well today. He went 7 innings, striking out 7. He's getting stronger as the season wears on. I wish our other starters wouldn't be wearing down but that's what happens with a young staff. They'll improve next year, though.

I'll be at Wednesday night's game. I just wish it wouldn't be Blackburn. It isn't that I think he's a bad prospect. It's just that he's struggled down the stretch.

Anyone think he'll become that pitcher of Santana like qualities like he was before? He may have some growing pains due to the MLB knowing his game a little bit more. I think he will return to his highest form in this season or next.

I'm so happy that he is skipping the world baseball classic. He needs to be with the team so we can make sure his new mechanics have stuck and will not cause him any problems. This proves that he is a very mature guy and that he really wants to win. He has set the tone for the season along with the Twins signing Crede. We're gonna battle all season like the Celtics!

Souhan wrote about him in his column today. I think Liriano still has potential to be an ace but I find it hard to see him getting back to 2006 form.

Great thread idea. I think Liriano was the best pitcher in baseball with Johan being the 2nd best before his injury. It's a total shame his elbow snapped or twins may have been 06 champs.

I think Liriano is now dominant at times but more in the realm of crafty. Gone are the under 2 ERA days. I think he will be a CY Young competitor if he gets off to a good start.

I don't think he will ever get back to 06 form like you said TF21. That delivery was just crazy and had a lot to do with how well he was pitching. Too bad it wasn't very healthy for his arm and it was only a matter of time...he definitely can still be a top-end pitcher in the league though.

He looks terrible, he'll never be the same pitcher he once was.