Thread: Article: Liriano Rediscovers the Slider

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Another nice job Parker. It's hard to weigh the worth to the team in keeping Frankie vs flipping him. I'm at about 51% on my mental scale that he should be kept.
For 2 reasons:

1. Pitchers, even stupid pitchers, get wiser about their job as they get older. And pitchers can stay in the game until their stuff erodes and no one wants to pay them anymore. Frankie's stuff is great.

2. There's SO much potential.

I agree with Paul. The Twins desperately need good starters, and if Liriano can be good, then he is worth keeping.

It would be nice to keep him, but at what price?? Blackburn money? Hes a border line head case but with his potential I think the Twins will get outbid for him.

Liriano has been better. Color me skeptical that he can keep it going. But, I think Terry Ryan will make a decision based on all the factors (as we all know there are many). We need competent starting pitching. Can he give it to us? At what price? It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

I would guess if Gardy and Anderson have a say (and at this point they actually may not) they would cut him loose. I've never heard either of them as exhasperated as when a reporter asks them about a Liriano performance. I'm for keeping him around at a reasonable price but the coaching staff tends to prefer stability even at the expense of a useful player.

Keeping him for what? August and Sept taking up a spot on a very bad pitching staff that could be taken by somebody that might help next year? Is there a 5% chance he resigns next year? I doubt it.
Why after all these years of hope and failure would they even consider giving him a new contract? With all the teams looking for pitching there will be a least a couple that will offer him a stupid amout when he hits the market. The choice isn't the Twins anyway he's a free agent after the season.
Get what you can for him, which likely won't be much, and move on.

I do believe he's worn out his welcome in Minnesota but if he continues this trend, he'll definitely be a buy-low type of pitcher either at the trade deadline or in free agency at the end of the season.

For as many question marks there are surrounding Liriano, there is no way the Twins give him the kind of money he'll demand as a free agent. I don't care how much potential he has. If he goes on to another team and finds a little of his old self again I'd be very happy and not incredibly surprised. It just doesn't seem like it's going to happen in MN. Ultimately though it comes down to the cost.

Everything I read says Gardy and Anderson like him a lot and i think he has not worn out his welcome. He is rumored to be a stand up guy and very liked by the team. Its just he is not very good right now.
I fear he goes to a team like the white sox and gets put on track by some other team.

Everything I read says Gardy and Anderson like him a lot and i think he has not worn out his welcome. He is rumored to be a stand up guy and very liked by the team.

It's not personality, it's performance related.

I was hopeful the Twins would have reached a reasonable extension with Liriano over the past winter, and remain hopeful they'll find a way to keep him around in the future. There is little chance the Twins will find a pitcher with a better chance of being well above average next winter, at similar cost. I bet he'd take a 3 yr deal right now if offered. Maybe it backfires on the Twins, but who wants to go into next year with Blackburn or some other free agent off the scrap heap at the top of the rotation?

I know he started the year terribly, but the guy has more talent than any starter on the Twins, and more talent than anything they're likely to sign over the winter.

And then he goes and throws like is tonight... through 5 he only threw 56 pitches or something like that. All the dude needs to do is throw the ball over the plate.

Originally Posted by tcarlic

And then he goes and throws like is tonight... through 5 he only threw 56 pitches or something like that. All the dude needs to do is throw the ball over the plate.

Facing the Pirates helps a bit. Still, he's throwing a gem through 5+ so far.

Liriano on the comeback....5 starts 1W 3L
30.1IP 16h 8er (2.37ERA) 35K 12bb
is still mentally soft
Someone please make us an offer before he regresses

The Twins need to sign Liriano. Simply put, what we have for next year is no good and has no potential (Blackburn, Walters, Diamond, Hendriks,?). That group is not even watchable. In addition to being awful, there's not enough players under contract. Someone has to be that question mark. There is no way I'd give a contract to Greinke or Sanchez. Not Sanchez because he could be risky as a pitcher who has played in the NL his entire career and not Greinke because he is terrible at Target Field. We have a lot of money coming off the books and no free agents to sign. I don't see any harm in offering 6 million to Liriano through arbitration.

Seriously? You guys are now advocating Liriano after a few good starts? This is who he is, a totally inconsistent pitcher with talent. Hoping he stays hot and trading him for a middle grade prospect is our best case scenario. Liriano is never going to be a pitcher a club can rely on and we will be lucky to get something for him.

Originally Posted by YourHouseIsMyHouse

...not Greinke because he is terrible at Target Field.

A 5.63 ERA in only 5 starts at Target Field is a terrible reason to not sign him. No, the Twins won't sign him because he'll be too expensive.

Liriano's slider looked nasty against some hitters tonight. It gave me flashbacks to when he first came into the league. Even with a decent start, the 7th inning was frustrating. It is hard to imagine him ever being able to put it all back together for a full season. That's probably why he will be on a different team by the start of next year.

Originally Posted by YourHouseIsMyHouse

The Twins need to sign Liriano. Simply put, what we have for next year is no good and has no potential (Blackburn, Walters, Diamond, Hendriks,?). That group is not even watchable. In addition to being awful, there's not enough players under contract. Someone has to be that question mark. There is no way I'd give a contract to Greinke or Sanchez. Not Sanchez because he could be risky as a pitcher who has played in the NL his entire career and not Greinke because he is terrible at Target Field. We have a lot of money coming off the books and no free agents to sign. I don't see any harm in offering 6 million to Liriano through arbitration.

cannot offer $6m to him in arbitration......has to be $12m under new rules.
Does this change your attitude on this bum?