Posts tagged Francisco Liriano at FanHouse

With the Minnesota Twins needing to make room for Francisco Liriano in their starting rotation as they try to make a run at another division title, it meant that somebody would have to go. That somebody was Livan Hernandez who the Twins had signed in the off-season to be the leader of a young pitching staff.

Well, all Livan Hernandez led the Twins pitching staff in was hits allowed, runs against, and most fans cursing his name. Still, as I said when the move was first announced, the odds were that Livan would only be out of a job for a few days and it turns out I was right (the odds of which were 3000/1). Livan is the newest member of the Colorado Rockies.

Livan Hernandez was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies from the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

"We've been struggling with our rotation this year," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "He's a great addition."

Dan O'Dowd has an odd definition of great, seeing as how Hernandez is 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA on the season, and has allowed five or more runs in nine of his twenty-three starts. Of course with the way the Rockies starting pitching has performed at times this year, I suppose Livan can be an improvement. Maybe a return to the National League where he spent his entire career before joining the Twins this season will be what Hernandez needs.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

While they have had many chances to take over the AL Central lead from the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins had been faltering all summer to capitalize on Chicago's mistakes. They would get to within a half-game of the White Sox only to lose every time Chicago opened the door.

That is, until yesterday. After taking three of four from the Sox and two of three from the Indians over the weekend, the Twins are finally on top of the division (again) where nobody expected them to be (again). Now today the Twins will begin to find out that sometimes the only thing tougher than catching the team in front of you is staying ahead of them once you get there.

Is it a coincidence that on the day the Twins finally woke up and brought Francisco Liriano back from minor league purgatory that they gained control of the division? Probably, but his presence in the rotation will go a lot further in helping them hold onto it than Livan Hernandez would have.

Will they hold onto their lead, or let it slip through their grasp? It's still too early to tell but they will begin their quest to put some distance between themselves and the competition after the jump.

There are a lot of people who felt the Twins should have made a move before yesterday's deadline, myself being one of them, but instead the Twins decided to stand pat with what they have. It's a move that may hurt them now that they've lost second baseman and team spark plug Alexi Casilla could miss the rest of the season.

Still, sometimes it's not the trades that you make as much as it is the players you get back from the disabled list. Of course, Francisco Liriano has been off the disabled list for a while and blowing hitters away in Triple-A, but the team has just now decided to call him up. Though that does mean they have to make room for him, and that's why the team designated both Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe for assignment.

Hernandez is 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA in 23 starts and has allowed 199 hits in 139 2/3 innings. He pitched poorly in his last start against Chicago on Wednesday and gave up five runs in the first two innings of his previous start against Cleveland.

Left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano, a sensation in 2006 before an arm injury knocked him out of action for more than a year, will take his spot in the rotation. Randy Ruiz, a 30-year-old career minor-leaguer, can play first base and right field. But he will likely be used as a right-handed designated and pinch hitter.

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- The Red Sox, Marlins and Pirates are indeed working on a three-way deal that would send Manny Ramirez to South Florida, Jeremy Hermida and prospects to Pittsburgh and Jason Bay (and possibly reliever John Grabow) to Boston. The trade is still a long way from being completed, however, with the teams expected to haggle right up to the deadline on the prospects heading to the Pirates. The deal is fragile because it involves three teams and prospects from both Florida and Boston, so it could go right down to the wire, and there's always a chance the deal collapses.

But there is also a different feeling in Boston this time around with Ramirez, much like the feeling in 2004 when GM Theo Epstein swallowed hard and got rid of the beloved Nomar Garciaparra. If the three-way deal with the Pirates collapses, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Red Sox would then deal directly with the Marlins. And remember this: while the Red Sox would love to have Manny Ramirez in their lineup in October, it won't be as difficult as you'd think to replace his production over the final two months of the season because he is so poor defensively.

- GM Kenny Williams has already added future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox's roster, but he might not be done. With Scott Linebrink on the DL and closer Bobby Jenks just off of it, Chicago is looking for bullpen depth. Williams and the White Sox have been connected with Oakland closer Huston Street for a few weeks now, and there are indications from the Windy City that he'll make a final push to acquire him before the 4PM ET deadline. Eamonn Brennan has already covered the Nick Swisher-Street swap speculation already at FanHouse and correctly assumes that a deal is unlikely.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.

Boston Red Sox (57-41) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (58-38) - 3:55 PM ET

Josh Beckett (9-5, 3.94) vs. Joe Saunders (12-5, 3.07) in a battle of division leaders is usually enough of a good reason to flip towards your local FOX affiliate to catch this game. But admit it. Embrace it. You want to see Manny Ramirez do something silly. You want to see another fan high five. You want to see Manny take a cell phone call during the middle of a pitching change (And by the way, how Verizon hasn't jumped all over that cell phone call in the Green Monster thing yet is beyond me. I mean: Can you hear me now? Hey, you can even get reception in a big giant wall." It's gold, I tell you.) And now that Manny basically turned a Macier Izturis bloop single into a triple with a stumble job for the ages, you want to see how he's going to butcher the next fly ball to come his way.

Well I'm here to tell you that's not nice. Shame on you reveling in the misfortune of others. (Giggles under his breath.)

Once upon a time, sending Francisco Liriano to the minors to start the year seemed like a smart move. He was returning from Tommy John surgery, and it made no sense to risk a setback by asking him to push himself too early.

But now? Seriously, what's the guy got to do to get back in The Show? He's regained his All-Star form the last couple of months, and yet the Twins have left him in the dark. Understandably, he's not happy. From Ken Rosenthal:

[Liriano's agent Greg] Genske contacted the players' association about pursuing a grievance, and the union agreed to investigate whether the Twins are violating the collective-bargaining agreement by keeping him at Class AAA Rochester, the agent said.

Liriano, demonstrating that he is fully recovered from elbow-ligament transplant surgery, is 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last nine starts at Rochester, averaging 9.6 strikeouts and 1.8 walks per nine innings. His fastball is consistently in the mid-90s and touching 97 mph, scouts say.

By keeping him in the minors, the Twins have effectively stopped Liriano's clock when it comes to accruing major league service time, keeping him that much further away from arbitration, and eventually free agency. The Twins do have a somewhat reasonable excuse -- the team is winning and they don't want to disrupt a good thing -- but given this team's notoriously stingy ownership (and the fact that Livan Hernandez has been just plain awful of late), it wouldn't be a surprise in the least if finances factored into their decision as much as the standings.

It seems that no matter how many times we see it, baseball fans just never learn. Every spring baseball fans and experts alike say that this is the year that the Minnesota Twins are going to finish below .500 and at the bottom of the AL Central. Then summer comes along a few months later, and there they are. Sitting on top, or near the top of the division while the rest of us scratch their heads.

Though it happens every season, it still catches us all by surprise, but this season has been the most baffling of all. There is just no way that the Twins should be sitting at 40-36, only a game and a half behind the first place White Sox. The obvious reasons for this are that the team said goodbye to both Johan Santana and Torii Hunter during the offseason, and that Francisco Liriano has spent his time on the disabled list.

Still, it's not exactly a new phenomenon that teams carry on and continue playing well after saying goodbye to their stars. The Athletics have been doing it for years along with the Twins, so we know it can be done. The difference between these Twins, though, and the Twins and Athletics teams of the past is how they're doing it.

The guys who were supposed to replace what was lost have been horrible so far, yet they're still winning.

Jimmy Traina is on fi-ya with the awkward music videos from Major League Baseball teams this week, and today's group of ballers on the mic are the Minnesota Twins. While this video doesn't touch yesterday's Oriole Magic! number, it is worth noting that anytime you get to see Boof Bonser sing "I paint cor-ners of the dish", you've already done a good day's work.



I wonder how many times it took to actually take this vid. Because too many cymbal smashings can't be considered good for your elbow.

It's pretty much become a fact of life when it comes to baseball. Every spring as the country prepares for the new baseball season to start, there's word that this will finally be the year that the Minnesota Twins crash back to earth, and finish towards the bottom of the AL Central. I know I've been guilty of it a few times, as I think I've predicted the Twins downfall the last three or four seasons.

Then they usually end up finishing on top of the AL Central, or near it, and are generally always in contention for a playoff spot come September. After finishing last season with a 79-83 record, their first sub-.500 mark in eight years, they lost their ace pitcher and their gold glove centerfielder. Surely 2008 would see the Twins plummet even further below .500, and have them competing with the Royals for fourth place, right?

Nope. After finishing a sweep of the Tigers on Sunday, the Twins completed a five-game homestand against division rivals Detroit and the White Sox with a 5-0 record. As a result, they now find themselves alone on top of the Central, 1.5 games ahead of the White Sox, and are currently the only team in the division who have won more games than they've lost. All this despite the fact they've allowed more runs than they've scored.

BAM! will take a look at who's getting added and who's getting dropped in fantasy leagues. And whether you should follow suit. It's like a 'Three Up, Three Down' with a way cooler name.

Carlos Quentin, OF, CHW (14,815 Adds) -- A seven game hit streak, even as modest as it is, will get you noticed in fantasy baseball, as will having five home runs on the season and being relatively unowned in most leagues. Quentin is locked into starting in Chicago, he's always had a lot of upside and he plays in a decent hitter's park. Not to mention his BB/K rate is all the way up to 1.08 (from 0.33 last season). A nice add.

Aaron Cook, SP, CHW (13,783 Adds) -- Cook's ownership percentage is skyrocketing because he's racked up three straight wins for the Rockies. He's allowed only six runs over the last 21 innings, while striking out a pretty healthy 13 batters (for a contact -- groundball guy anyway). Cook's a decent add right now while he's hot, but remember that he's getting a little lucky; he's seen a small uptick in FB% (countered by a dip in his line drive rate, not his ground ball rate, which is a little disconcerting) and his BABIP is lower than it should be, even with a nice defense.

Jonathan Sanchez, SP, SF (5,632 Adds) -- We've talked Sanchez before, but he didn't actually start going off until after his two start week. He K'd 10 batters in his last outing and is being touted in some circles as "the next great strikeout artist" (if I may paraphrase). Sanchez is a definite add for his strikeout potential. In fact, most of his periphs check out alright, so go ahead and pounce.