It's official: Liriano in the starting rotation

[Lynch]

Silva gets demoted, Liriano to take his place.

May 15, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins made a move with their struggling rotation Monday morning, sending shaken right-hander Carlos Silva to the bullpen temporarily and promoting lefty Francisco Liriano.



The 22-year-old Liriano is one of baseball's top prospects, and Twins fans have been eagerly waiting for his chance to start. A hard thrower whose slider has reached 90 mph, Liriano is 1-0 with a 3.22 ERA in 12 relief appearances and 32 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings.

With Brad Radke, Silva and Kyle Lohse all frequently getting hit hard through the season's first six weeks, a promotion of Liriano appeared inevitable. Silva was the one to go, for now, after giving up eight runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings while wasting an early 7-3 lead in a 9-7 loss Sunday to Chicago.

In eight starts, Silva is 2-6 with an 8.80 ERA and 74 hits and 15 homers allowed in 46 innings. After going 14-8 with a 4.21 ERA in 2004, his first year as a starter, Silva pitched through a torn meniscus in his right knee and was named Minnesota's most improved player in 2005. He went 9-8 with a 3.44 ERA in 188-plus innings, posting a majors-best ratio -- 0.4 -- of fewest walks per nine innings.

Manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson made the decision before the game Monday against the White Sox.

"He's one of our starters," Gardenhire said. "He's got to be one of our starters for us to be successful. The first thing you have to work with a pitcher is getting their confidence back up. Right now his confidence is shot. He's a little bit lost."

Silva, 27, was an effective middle reliever for Philadelphia in 2003 and 2004, but the Twins don't see him going back to that role. They just want to give him more chances to work on his mechanics and his sinker with Anderson, instead of only throwing once every five days. Silva has said he's been feeling good in the bullpen, but that hasn't translated to the mound on the field.

"He will go back in the rotation, as soon as he finds his confidence and starts getting his sinker going," Gardenhire said. "That shouldn't take very long, we're hoping."

Liriano will start on Friday night at Milwaukee, and he'll be on a strict pitch count. If Silva rediscovers his form and shows that he's ready to return to the rotation, the team will have a difficult decision to make. But Gardenhire wasn't worried about that right now.

"Believe me, right now we need more good problems with our starting staff," he said.

Silva declined comment. Liriano said he was happy with the experience he gained in the bullpen.

"I'm very excited," he said, "because that's what I want to do -- be a starter."

Source

[Lynch]

So, how long do you think it'll take before people are whining about him if he has a bad start or three?

Honestly, I like Silva, but he's not getting it done. Maybe some time in the bullpen will help clear his head. THen again, maybe we'll find out that he's better in the pen than starting on the mound. I hope the best for Silva. He's a guy who goes to work and then goes home, no lipping off in between.

[DiamondGirl]

I too like Silva but something is clearly wrong with his mechanics.

I'm looking forward to the Liriano era - I'll be at the game on Friday in Milwaukee!! I'm also going to the Saturday and Sunday games too - big baseball, beer and Brat weekend on tap!! Can't get any better than that.

I'll give my full report when I return.

Go Twins

[Lynch]

That sounds like a blast. All three games vs the Brew Crew!?

I remember back when I was in college and going to Brewers games at County Stadium. That was a blast. It didnt' matter if they were playing the Twins, Royals, Tigers, Sox, etc. I haven't been to a game since they moved into Miller Park, but it's supposed to be a beautiful complex. Would be a good time though, that's for sure.

Have fun!

[DiamondGirl]

I'm really looking forward to visiting Miller Park - heard a lot of great things about it.

I'm sure fun will be had by all.

Go Twins