Liriano's first start ...

[Dahitman44]

After one inning Fransisco looks tough. He was located his FB well (but was only about 92 on the gun) and change-up also lokked good. He only threw one slider, not quite the bite as two years ago, but it is early ...

All in all 1 IP 0 runs 2 Ks

So far so good. He looked very comfortable on the mound which is better than he looked earlier this season.

[The J-Man!]

Liriano pitched a great game. No runs and 5Ks are nice. As long as he can cut down on the walks he'll be fine. Great to see him back!

[Scott M]

Uhhhhh! First place baby. Nice work kid! Could be the start of a nice regular season run!!!

[Hester]

I think Liriano go kind of lucky today.

He faced a weak line-up and had some control problems.

To many walks and he fell behind in the count to many times.

But, he did pitch very well after falling behind and he made the tough pitch when he had to.

The way I look at it is, would Livan have pitched 6 scoreless innings today? NO chance, therefor we are looking good.

In the past 9 games we have won 7, and guess who started the 2 games we lost?..................yup, LIvan.

So, I guess if we would have had Liriano in those two games we could of won 1 or 2 of them. And 1 of those gaves was against chicago.

So in theory, we could have a 3 1/2 game lead if Liriano was brought up after the allstar game. OF course thats in heinsight to the coaching staff anyway.

We all knew he should have been called up but I guess the coaches can't make a knee jerk reation(lol).

Because you never know, Livan could have turned it around and pitch good for the rest of the year. especialy since he has not pitched well for 3 or so years.

There, now i am done. My 5 steps of theropy are complete.

Hester

Go Twins!

[Dahitman44]

Actually -- that was the right team to get his feet wet with. It is a little better with Hafner and co.

[Quackaddict9]

what he said ^^^^^

[bassNspear]

it was great to see him on the hill again for the big boys. Hopefully he will be great for them and carry them to the playoffs.

[mike morris]

Liriano wasn't exactly dominant today, but he got the job done. He got himself into trouble, but he did get himself out of those jams so I'll give him that.

We weren't expecting a 9 inning shutout anyway. He hasn't seen ML hitters for quite a while!

[Mudcutter]

Good game for FL. Got the big outs when needed with RISP. However, lots of times (especially agst a team with hitting confidence in the clutch) that's not going to happen all the time. Much better than the April debacle,, and not as good as the 2006 FL,,, but I'll take him any day over Livian.

For months we have been charging the White Sox and always coming up short. FL might be the differece maker in the DIV,,, which is huge when you think about it,,, (if the WC comes out of the CEntral,,, the WC winner will likely get the Angels. I'd rather take my chances with TB or whoever the east puts out as the Angels look like the cream of the crop with their unreal road record and starting pitching. Sorry for the rant.

[Dahitman44]

Well, I do think the Twins have a shot but all of the things have to fall in place.

[KMR85]

I pray his arm stays healthy for the rest of his career. On a side note, I hope the management learned their lesson on signing old washed up players. Let's hope there are no more Everetts, Lambs, Monroes, Livans, Phil Nevins, Rondell Whites, etc. Also, Punto's avg has dropped over 40 points since he has been back. Do you think they will finally drop this worthless piece at seasons end? Yeah he had a triple the yesterday, but those are few and far between for him. I have said it before and I am saying it again, his defensive skills do not make up for his hitting. And he slid into first again, does this guy not understand that actually slows you down? It just stinks that the only other guy we have to fill his spot is Everett. Sorry to rant about other players in Liriano's thread. Go Twins!

[PierBridge]

Good post other then the Punto angle he'll be with us for a long time and is one of our most important players right now.

[UdeLakeTom]

Nick's not an everyday player and when one of the hurt guys comes back, he will be just find...280 off the bench, with good speed and versatility. What more can you ask for? Short, 2nd, 3rd and any OF. I am a Punto man, if he isn't in the line-up everyday.

[KMR85]

Quote:

I am a Punto man, if he isn't in the line-up everyday.

He is not a bad infield utility guy, so I guess he's not worthless. I will second that he is not an everyday player.