You may remember that even though he won the AL Cy Young award in 2006, Johan Santana might've only been the second best starter on his team, as Francisco Liriano went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 Ks in 123 innings.
After beginning the year in the bullpen, he went on a tear through mid-summer in which he was un-hittable, landing him on the AL All-Star team and, with Santana, Brad Radke and Boof Bonser all pitching well, many favored the Twins to win the World Series if they could just get to the playoffs.
They got to the playoffs, of course, but Liriano blew out his elbow, Radke his shoulder, and the whole thing fizzled.
And, with Radke retired, Liriano out with Tommy John surgery, and the offense sucking ass, the '07 Twins stunk.
So now, as the Twins try to start over, one of the major questions for them is whether or not Liriano will ever regain his form.
Some guys (Erik Bedard, Matt Morris, Justin Verlander, John Smoltz) have come back strong from Tommy John surgery. Others (Jason Isringhausen, Steve Karsay) have become relievers afterward, and still others (Joe Mays) had their career essentially ended by it.
Liriano is young, 24, which certainly improves his chances of coming back strong, if not better than before.
Indications are that the Twins will take it slow with Liriano this year, and since they're not likely to compete this year, that would obviously be prudent.
When Joe Mays had TJ surgery, he told everyone he would come back stronger, probably because he had heard that elsewhere. But at his age that was unlikely. Guys who did come back stronger from TJ surgery, like Verlander, Eric Gagne and Mariano Rivera, had the surgery when they were young.
The Twins did the right thing by shutting down Liriano when he first had arm problems, even though it may have cost them a shot at the World Series, and if you believe what the team has been telling the media, every step of the rehab process has gone swimmingly.
The Strib is now reporting that Liriano hit 97-mph on the gun twice in a recent bullpen session, and has consistently been in the 92-95 mph range.
That's great news, but the real test will be when he starts snapping that 90-mph slider, the one that turns his elbow into a pretzel.
Plenty of sources have speculated that Liriano will throw somewhere between 120 and 160 innings this year. Does that mean they skip him in the rotation a few times? Limit him to 75 pitches per start? Start him in the minors or in the bullpen? It's anyone's guess.
The bottom line is that there's no reason to push him, unless the Twins somehow manage to compete in the AL race.
I think there's reason to believe Liriano will be a valuable, perhaps even elite pitcher again. Maybe as soon as this year. He may have to become a reliever one day, but that should be a last resort. The Twins, while not ready to compete now, still have plenty of young talent, and Liriano obviously is a key to getting back to the playoffs consistently.
I'm looking forward to his first outing this spring.
5 comments:
I'm not certain TJ surgery ruined Mays. Outside of 2001, Mays just wasn't that good.
As far as Liriano goes, what was his ratio of Sliders to Fastballs thrown in 2006? 1 to 2?
You're may be right about Mays, but I do remember him and the Twins staff making a big deal about how much better he'd be when he came back from surgery,and how untrue that obviously was.
He always had pretty good stuff before the surgery but was just inconsistent. After the surgery he had nothing.
Was a lookin' at the ol' rulebook this mornin' and stumbled upon this little nugget:
Rule 76S3: The rallying cry of the damned, though damned it will be, often begins with an ill-dressed female basketball referee.
What kind of lady ref would Denard Span have been, if he was a lady and a ref? A first-rounder?
It's not worthy of a lot of discussion, but Span's yelping last week pissed off the female referee how-to-dress rulebook.
As a first-round choice, Span's every move has been watched since he entered the organization. For him to say or imply to any degree that the Twins have dealt him a bad hand is lunacy. And if this dunce can construe his present situation as somehow being unjust, what would it be like if he'd actually played a few major league games, then got benched? How many 15th-rounders who hit better than Span in the minors have been shoved aside so that he has the optimal opportunity to progress?
Go ahead, act like the guy who is getting screwed if that's what it takes for you to play well enough to make a major-league team, but don't expect the Twins' management to take it seriously.
Because Denard Span can't hit the long ball, he's not really much of a prospect to begin with. The Twins have well enough skinny-assed hustle guys who may as well go to the plate carrying a plastic bat much of the time. Denard Span projects to be another one of these little quick guys, just like the rest, even on his best day.
That is why it has been preposterous, from Day 1 of his professional career, to think he has true star potential. He does not hit for average, he does not hit for power. As such, his top end is low to begin with. When the Twins say they are happy with his progress, they are essentially telling the truth. They are not happy that a first-rounder has so little to offer. When Smith says Span has made satisfactory progress, he's saying that a player with Span's limited tools - now that the Twins know accurately what they are -- is doing about as well as can be expected.
After reading the write up on the Twins 6-1 loss to the Reds yesterday, I'm already sick of Gardy's post game comments, aka, putting good swings on the ball, hitting balls hard, keeping pitches up, etc. could be a long season, but hopefully not. I will say though, Gardy's drinkers face has drastically improved (gotten redder)
Post a Comment