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Todd SchultzJeff, the Twins missed winning the division by one game, so certainly, one can pick any particular game all season where the starter got torched and argue that Liriano would have been the difference. You might also argue that the team should have benched Liriano for his final start, when a win could have put the Twins in the driver's seat, but where instead he got lit to the tune of 11 hits and 6 earned in 4 1/3 innings pitched to the Royals.
Livan Hernandez won 10 games for the team in half a season. He ate innings willingly, even when getting bashed, and was considered a great influence in the clubhouse for the young arms. As for the 4-6 stretch you look back upon, the offense scored two or fewer runs in three of those losses, and, during that part of the calendar, Liriano himself was getting torched twice in Rochester--see above.
I already showed the decision-making process the Twins organization used, and Twins fans have no regrets about Liriano was handled. If anything, the team might wish it had called up Denard Span earlier. They wrestled with that issue for some time, as Span was supposed to play for the Olympic team and would have if the Twins could have kept him in Rochester. Span, who very much wanted to play for team USA, kept his mouth shut, played hard, and turned into a dynamic player with a very bright future. He too will be rewarded by the Twins.
Ed, don't get me wrong. I certainly would like to keep Liriano. I'm just saying they have little in the way of trade bait, and they badly need pop on the left side. I believe everyone overvalues him now. The K numbers you cite were mostly in the minors, and his walks were up (Twins pitchers don't walk hitters, they were first in MLB by a lot). Frankly, his WHIP was fourth best in the rotation, well behind Baker and Slowey and even trailing Blackburn--all of whom are young and full of potential too. I'll leave it to the organization on this, as their track record in evaluating talent and doing well in trades is well established and envied by many. It's a good problem to have-keep an apparent stud starter or trade him for great value--that's for sure.