Saturday, June
12, 2010
FranKKKKKKKKKKKie!!
Do you remember the discussions surrounding Francisco Liriano during the offseason? Let’s see if I can
remember some of the varying opinions:
·
When the Twins signed Carl Pavano,
I said that Brian Duensing had done enough
down the stretch to earn the first shot at the Twins fifth starter spot, with Liriano going to the bullpen.
·
Then we heard about how well he was pitching in the
Dominican Summer League. We were typically skeptical, but encouraged.
·
Then came the Dominican Winter League playoffs and
he continued to dominate hitters while walking so few. Video of his outing
became available and those that saw it said that he looked different, and his
confidence was back. I was then cautiously optimistic, saying that it was
encouraging and as long as he maintained control in and out of the strike zone,
he would be fine. We all acknowledged that the team need
a true #1 starter and he was the one pitcher that could be that.
·
Of course, Fanatic Jack was saying that
he would be pumping gas at Super America within two months.
·
When spring training started, the fifth starter job
was basically handed to Liriano, and he pitched well
in the spring.
·
Of course, when Joe Nathan was injured and needed
Tommy John surgery, many wanted Liriano to assume
that role. Of course, that made absolutely no sense. First, the biggest
concerns with Liriano were with his head, his
confidence, his ability to deal with adversity. That’s
not exactly the makeup required of a closer. Second, if he was as good as we
thought he could be, he would be fine as a closer, but
if he could do that for 180-200 innings this year, rather than 60 innings, that’s
even better.
·
And now, after last night’s eight inning, one run
outing, one could argue that he is officially back. He notched 11 strikeouts,
including seven in a row at one time, a team record. He threw strikes. He hit
spots with the fastball. His changeup was very good, and his slider was nearly
2006 form. Twins fans should be very excited.
Tim Hudson was incredible too though. Another Tommy John success story,
Hudson was throwing hard and getting so much movement in both
directions, slider, two-seem fastball. He was
incredible. The combination of Hudson and Liriano
helped the game finish in just over two hours. Fortunately, the Twins were able
to eek out two runs in the bottom of the 7th
to grad a 2-1 lead. Liriano got through the 8th
frame, and then Jon Rauch came in and struck out Jason Heyward, Chipper
Jones and Troy Glaus to end an incredible
baseball game.
With Nick Blackburn and Derek Lowe on the mound tonight, I would expect
three runs to be scored within the first couple of innings because both are
very hittable.
Here is a quick glance at what
happened on Friday in the Twins minor league system:
SethSpeaks Friday Minor League
Hitter of the Day – Aaron Hicks – Beloit
Snappers
SethSpeaks Friday Minor League
Pitcher of the Day – Brad Hennessey
– Rochester Red Wings
Red Wings Report
Friday – Rochester 7, Colombus
6 – Yancarlos Ortiz
made his AAA debut in this game. He had hit just one home run in his minor
league career, and that was in 2005, in Elizabethton. So, when he came to bat
for the first time, I don’t think anyone would have predicted that he would hit
a home run on the first pitch he saw in AAA. He went 2-5 in the game. Brock Peterson continues to mash. HE
went 2-4 with his 11th double and tenth home run. Matt Macri
went 2-4 with his 12th double. Brian
Dinkelman and Jose Morales each went 2-5. Jason
Repko hit his sixth home run. Tim Lahey made
just his second career start. He gave up four run on seven hits and a walk in
3.2 innings. Pat Neshek
got out of the fourth and struck out two in a scoreless fifth frame. He gave up
two runs in the sixth and was replaced by Brad
Hennessey who threw 2.1 shutout innings. Anthony Slama recorded his 14th
save with a scoreless ninth. The starter for the Clippers was former Twins
farmhand, Yohan Pino. He
gave up seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. He is now 6-3 with a 4.74 ERA.
New Britain Notes
Friday – New Britain 2, Altoona 10 – Kyle Gibson had his second straight rough start. He gave up five
runs on eight hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four.
Uncharacteristically, he got just three groundouts to go with eight flyball outs. Chris
Province came in and gave up three runs on seven hits in two innings. Michael Allen gave up two runs on two
hits and a walk in his inning. The Rockcats managed
just five hits. Yangervis Solarte, Erik Lis and Chris Parmelee
each hit a double.
Miracle Matters
Friday – Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled.
Snappers Snippets
Friday – Beloit 14, Bowling Green
6 – BJ Hermsen gave
up three runs in the top of the first, but settled down after that. He gave up
four runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings. Chris Armstrong, 2006 14th round pick of the Angels who
spent 2009 in Cedar Rapids, made his Twins debut. The lefty gave up two runs on
three hits in an inning. Dakota Watts
and Peter Kennelly each pitched a
scoreless inning. Aaron Hicks had a
big game. He went 3-4 with a walk, two doubles (13) and four RBI. James Beresford went 3-4 with a walk. Angel Morales went 3-5 with three RBI
and his 18th stolen base. Reggie
Williams was 2-5 with two doubles (6). Danny
Rams was 2-5 with his 15th double and fifth home run. Wang-Wei Lin was 2-4 and was hit by a
pitch.
Any thoughts of the Twins, Francisco Liriano or the minor league
system? Feel free to leave
your questions and comments here.