The Minnesota Twins are really loaded with talent, but does it really make sense to release Livan Hernandez, their opening day starter? Now Hernandez gets to pitch for the Rock boys in their pursuit of the division crown (well, it looks like the Dodgers will win that, anyway).
In recent years, funny things have happened to opening day starters around the league, and this is one of them. Brett Myers of the Phillies was the opening day starter in 2007, and ended up being their closer for most of the year—doesn't make a whole lot of sense, folks! In the process, the Phillies realized Myers is better at being a reliever, and yet now Myers is somehow in their rotation after a Double-A stint...what is going on here?
It's easy to say there is a shortage of good available starting pitchers throughout the league. When the most coveted pitchers at the trade deadline are Jarrod Washburn, Joe Blanton, Eric Bedard, Zach Grienke, Jeff Francis and Jose Mesa (well, he's not in the league anymore, actually), then something is wrong with the pitching market.
- B/R Ticket Guide
What's the problem, you ask? Not enough arms out there. So the Rockies needed a guy and they got him; his name is Livan. The Twins are loaded with young starting pitchers, and it was either make Hernandez a relief pitcher or release him—what's the right call here? Hernandez has had a decent year, even though he's giving up a lot of walks and hits. Maybe if he were pitching a little better, the Twins would have kept the old guy, but Hernandez is getting old and his good years are over with.
It's easy for me, and many people out there, to root for the Twins because they are one of the best organizations in terms of scouting and developing a farm system, so sticking with Hernandez over young flamethrower Francisco Liriano was not really going to make much sense, either, roster-wise. There's just not enough space on the roster.
The Twins now have an awesome, youth-filled rotation—Nick Blackburn, Glen Perkins, Liriano, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey. If you don't know any of those guys yet, get to know them—come playoff time, you will probably see them hanging around.
So have fun in Colorado, Livan, and win one for the gipper, or win one for your cousin El Duque...how old is that guy, anyway, like 83?
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3 months ago
I don't think releasing a 33-year-old starter that's given up five and a half runs per nine qualifies as crazy, especially when you're replacing him with Francisco Liriano. Have you peeped his numbers in the minors? What does qualify as crazy is the marriage of Livan Hernandez and Coors Field. You math majors out there may be familiar with the law of baseballs traveling really far, which goes as follows: Livan Hernandez + Coors Field = disaster.
3 months ago
I agree with lan, letting Livan leave Minnesota was a good choice. I think Minnesota had this all planned out. Stay close up until the trade deadline, and then bring up Liriano for a good playoff push to pass the Socks. If Liriano can stay healthy the rest of the season, Minnesota can and will make the playoffs by beating the Socks for the division title or Boston for the wildcard
3 months ago
The Twins may well regret this move. Yes, Hernandez has been frequently touched up out there, but he was the only Minnesota pitcher with double figure wins... Do you realize he has more wins than ex-Twin Johan Santana at this point? With all the young players on the team, this is a guy who has been where the Twins want to be ... He was a World Series MVP about a decade ago - remember that? If you think that is too far in the rear view mirror, then recall just last fall, he pitched a brilliant game vs. the Cubs in the playoffs when he was playing for Arizona. He eats innings, wins in double figures year after year & I have never heard that he is a problem in the clubhouse... The part that seems a little sad is that he appears to be getting cut loose because he is about to reach the number of innings, etc. that will get him some extra money - The Twins probably never figured he would reach those incentives when they signed him last year... All I see is a guy that was brought in to pitch and he has done everything he was expected to do & probably a lot more...
from 3 months ago
Well, Livan may have more wins that Johan, but that isn't really fair to Santana, as the Mets just blew a sixth, yes, sixth win for him this season. You never know, Livan has had his moments in the past, to be sure. But, it's all about doing what seems best now. The Twins offense was definitely picking Livan up, scoring 5.88 runs for him while he was allowing 5.48. That was the highest number for a Twins starter. Not to say that the Twins weren't scoring runs for anyone else, but on those days where the offense isn't firing, Hernandez was the guy least likely to put them in a position to win. The combination of what Liriano did in 2006 and in the minors this season suggests that he deserves the opportunity to be a part of this stretch run, and unfortunately for him, Livan just happens to be the odd man out. These are the type of tough decisions that you have to make when you're in a divisional dogfight, especially with a team like the White Sox.
3 months ago
the thing is we don't know if Liriano will avoid injury, so if they kept Livan, he could of served as a backup in case someone gets injured- the good teams in the league have a lot of depth, so Livan staying wouldn't have been an awful idea. This year hasn't been really good for Livan but he is a playoff pitcher
3 months ago
I have heard that Hernandez likes to drink on the road and trys to bring the other players with him. Might be a reason for his road record. Road Record 2-6, 7.22 era, 57 ip, 96h, 48r, 46er with a .250 win percentage. This factors in because we have alot of games on the road till the end of the season 27 of 48. He would be pitching at least 9-10 more games the rest of the season 6 on the road and 4 at home. With his road record he would win 1.5 of those games so lets say 2 out of 6 games. His home win % is .800 he would have 3.2 wins at home so lets say he wins 3 at home that means he is at a .500 for the rest of the year. Plus he had started to decline. I think that the twins were right to let him go, let Liriano come in and bond with the other 4 young guys, he was ready, even if we fail this year with them they are young and growing together through this year with tons of potential. This could be a great thing for the Twins in the following seasons. I do wish if he went to Colorado that Bill Smith would have gotten something for him before the trade deadline.
3 months ago
Hernandez was a veteran pitcher with plenty of key playoff experience on a team with a young staff - pitchers with no clue what it is like to pitch in important games. Like I said, this guy was a World Series MVP. He went out & beat the Cubs in the playoffs last year & was just untouchable... Back to the Santana thing - no way am I suggesting that he is better than Santana just because he has more wins - & yes, well aware that Santana has had lead after lead blown for him. I think Matt Cain of San Francisco is about the only pitcher with more hard luck than Santana... Hernandez is not an easy guy to figure out. He appears out of shape, he often does not get it up there with any velocity - but the guy is a workhorse... few guys can eat innings like he can. He always goes deep into a game - and he is a lot more athletic than you might think... Hitting was not much of a factor in the American League, but he CAN swing the bat also! I know nothing about the drinking on the road thing, but I wouldn't overthink the home vs. road and all that too much... I have heard plenty of guys say that they feel great warming up & then they go out & get lit up... and other times they feel horrible and they go out & pitch the game of their life - and sometimes they pitch just how they feel... the point is, if it was that easy to predict the future, we could all stop watching right now - but you can't - I think Minnesota could use a veteran presence out there - and LH was getting close to his incentive deal on his contract, so they cut him loose rather than pay him...
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