Nightmare Come True

Francisco Liriano made his triumphant return to the Twins rotation Wednesday, and as he mowed the Oakland hitters down with ease through the first two innings I allowed myself to fantasize about a World Series title.
And then everyone's worst fears were realized, when Liriano hopped off the mound, wincing in pain.
Worst of all, the pain is in his elbow. His season is almost certainly over.
And as bad as that is, it's not even really the worst of it. What's worse is the gaining-steam fear that Liriano is a left-handed Kerry Wood.
Wood, like Liriano, is virtually unhittable when healthy, with a high-90's fastball and a breaking ball that breaks so sharply it doesn't seem real. But because of the violent snap of the elbow that Wood uses to deliver his back-breaking curveball, he is never, ever, ever healthy. I just laugh when Cubs fans brag about Wood, because I know he's never going to last more than 10 starts. Canaries manager Mike Pinto once told me Kerry Wood has 'the worst mechanics of any pitcher in pro baseball anywhere'.
I don't know that Liriano's mechanics are that bad, but he obviously snaps his slider with a tremendous amount of torque. Everyone laughed at the San Francisco Giants for including Liriano in the AJ trade, but this is why they did. He battled arm problems in San Fran, and it's apparent that he's going to continually do so in Minny.
If there's any good news, its that I believe Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson are a hell of a lot smarter than the bumbling idiots in Chicago that have been working with Wood. I'm hopeful that Anderson will be able to work with Liriano and possibly find a way to alter his mechanics that would lessen the strain on his elbow without drastically reducing his effectiveness.
Either that, or the Twins may have to turn him into a reliever.
I still think the Twins have a good shot to make the playoffs, but without Liriano, I'm not optimistic about their chances of advancing to the World Series.