Boy does Lariano look tough

[Mitty]

Boy does this guy have one of the nastiest sliders you have ever seen,man does this guys future look bright and watch Boof tonight I think he has increible mechanics loks like we could be set with these two guys and Sanatana.

[porterhouse]

I agree!!!!!!!!!! We also have a Pitcher stud in the miners. I think he started in single A this spring. Got promoted to AA and won his first to starts. Sounds like he will be in AAA in a month or so. I can't remember his name but I was listening to T.K on the radio and he said this guy is real good.

Brian

[Mitty]

Porter I cant recall his name either the last I heard he had like 42 s.o. in 21 innings.But boy does Rick Andersons job look easy for the next few years.

[fishyguy]

Liriano is just plain filthy. The beautiful thing about these guys and Mauer is about the time they all start getting the huge money we will have a new ballpark and a couple of more bucks to spend.

The guy in the minors you are talking about is Garza.

[NAPAFISH]

Hopefully he can continue. ROY!!! Does he qualify though???

[knoppers]

another great trade by ryan, perzinski for joe nathen and liriano.

the twins need him tomorrow since the last two heartbreakers against the angels.

[Willy]

Quote:

---

We also have a Pitcher stud in the miners. I think he started in single A this spring. Got promoted to AA and won his first to starts. Sounds like he will be in AAA in a month or so. I can't remember his name but I was listening to T.K on the radio and he said this guy is real good.

---

You are thinking about Matt Garza. Should be a real stud and will probably challenge for a spot on the big club next year although he did get roughed up a little in his last start I guess.

Actually J.D. Durbin has been very tough this year too in AAA. ERA right around the low 2 range.

Remember these names too, Pat Neshek, and Kevin Slowey. We are going to see Neshek I believe when Baker is sent to AAA, which will be shortly and Silva moved back into the rotation. Neshek is a Minnesota kid and has been dominating closing games for Rochester AAA. Slowey is a young guy in high A ball that has been very impressive so far.

There are plenty of others too. Our pitching is pretty deep in the minors, problems is, our position players (hitters) are not.

[Willy]

6 shutout innings last night. A one hitter. Actually should have been a no-hit performance, but the ump blew the call.

He is now working on 13 scoreless innings. An overall ERA of 2.11 and since he has been a starter it is 0.56. If he keeps up like this, he will be rookie of the year hands down and yes he would qualify as he has been with the club the whole year so far. Actually if he stays in the rotation and keeps up this pace, he will be right up there for the CY young award. Of course he would be battling Johan for it.

[Jarrod32]

Coming into this season, Lirinao had 23.6 innings pitched in the majors (all in 2005), so he does qualify for rookie status (50 IP is the threshold, I think).

If he keeps this up, he should make a strong run at ROY.

[buzzsaw]

Now if we could only get three more good starters...

[nofishfisherman]

I think the twins are in a very enviable position when it comes to their pitching options.

Most teams do not have 2 dominating pitchers like Santana and Liriano. Most are lukcy to have one. Bonser is looking very strong so is shaping up as a solid #3. Baker and Radke are having some problems now but Baker is really young yet so he deserves sometime to figure stuff out before we brand him as a bum. Radke I think is just getting to the end of his career. If you look at his overall career numbers he was a good not great pitcher on some really lousy teams. This will greatly effect his win total. I think last year he lost multiple games by a 2-1 score. That will kill a pitchers record. Even Santana gives up 2 runs a game average.

The minors are also loaded with pitching talent for the twins. Not many other teams that can say that.

Just think about the future for the twins.

Santana

Liriano

Bonser

Rincon

Nathan

Mauer (2nd in MLB in batting)

Morneau (starting to figure things out)

Hunter (wants to stay here)

We have alot of pieces, we are close believe it or not.

[buzzsaw]

I'll say this much NOFISH, IF the Twins could figure out how to get into the playoffs, the starting twosome could put a hurtin' on opposing teams... now the other pitchers just need to pick it up.

[nofishfisherman]

The twins are built to win in the playoffs for sure. 2 nasty starters. Great setup man and great closer.

Also they tend to play the small ball style, and that wins in the playoffs.

Trick is you need to get there first. Wouldn't mind seeing them trade a pitching prospect for a big bat. Maybe a real third baseman or DH.

[Willy]

Quote:

---

Wouldn't mind seeing them trade a pitching prospect for a big bat. Maybe a real third baseman or DH.

---

What do you mean? We have Batista and White.

Seriously though, I don't think you'll see the Twins make a trade selling their prospects this year. If anything, get ready to kiss goodbye to R. White, L. Castillo, S. Stewart, and possibly Hunter for some prospects or good, young players. We will most likely be sellers, not buyers unless they REALLY turn it around soon.

[nofishfisherman]

Castillo will stay around hopefully. He has been great this year.

Hunter will probably be around as well. I can see Stewart leaving. White would just be released, no one will trade for a .190 hitter.

Trading a prospect might be alright since we have Santana, Liriano, Bonser, Garza, and a few others. Not to mention Baker.

We could expend one of the younger prospects. We are very good at finding pitchers so I don't worry about our ability to get another somewhere. I do however think we can't develop a good young hitter if we had to. For some reason we just can't. Trading for one is probably the best option.

And by younger I mean a AA or AAA player. I would obvioulsy keep Liriano, Bonser, and Garza, but we have others doing well.

Loshe is always an option to trade as well. We might be able to get a few new balls, and an old catchers mit for him.

[Willy]

I agree Castillo has been great this year. I guess if we are trying to contend next year again already he will stay. I was figuring on re-tooling and trying to make a run right around the time the new stadium comes around.

Now if Polad wants to open up his wallet a little, there is a good core I think right now. Of course a few are still question marks, but 2 or 3 pieces and we are right there again.

Mauer, Morneau, Castillo, Cuddy, Hunter, Santana, Liriano, Rincon, Nathan, Bonser?, Baker?, Kubel?

Add a 3B, DH, and SS and we are in business immediately. Problem is 3 positions is quite a few to fill and the starting pitching staff other than Santana and Liriano are all question marks still.

[buzzsaw]

Well after seeing the Twins honor the new stadium the other night, the real question after seeing poor Carl Pohlad, is he going to be around? He looked to be in tough shape.