Congratulations Francisco Liriano!

Talk about night and day.

It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was down right ugly. Either way, Francisco Liriano tossed the seventh no-hitter in Minnesota franchise history Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The 1-0 victory, thanks in part to a fourth-inning solo shot off the bat of Jason Kubel, marked the fifth no-hitter for the Twins and the first of the 2011 baseball season.

Don't beat yourself up too bad. The fact you decided against starting Liriano on your fantasy team Tuesday (if you haven't dropped him yet) may be a good thing after all...

Continue reading Sooze's article on The Star Tribune.

Francisco Liriano Gets One-Year Deal from Twins

The Minnesota Twins have agreed to terms with Francisco Liriano on a one-year, $4.3 million deal to avoid arbitration.

Two years off his recovery from Tommy John surgery, the 27-year-old lefty went 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA last season before starting Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees... who promptly swept the Twins.

Liriano was part of an incredible one-two punch with Johan Santana during the 2006 season before missing all of 2007 to go under the knife. He then struggled to regain his form and confidence throughout 2008 and 2009, which earned him the 2010 American League Comeback Player of the Year award.

There is just one more order of offseason business on the table for the Twins: giving arbitration-eligible Delmon Young the deal he deserves.

[Hardball Talk]

Don't Call it a Comeback

Francisco Liriano -- and his agent who wants to investigate and possibly sue the Minnesota Twins -- are all fired up about him being stuck down in the minors. Yes, he has been lights out over his last four starts with the Rochester Red Wings, going 4-0 with a 0.32 ERA, including an eight-inning effort on Thursday where he allowed just one earned run on seven hits with 8 strikeouts. His fastball is even flirting with 97 mph. So what's the holdup?

I want to see Franchise pitch in the majors just as much as the next girl, but there are things to consider. Like, how he pitched in the beginning of the season for the Twins: 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA over just 10.1 innings. 13 earned runs. 15 hits. 13 walks. Yeah, not so awesome. And how he's never really been all that honest when it comes to his health: see his return to the big leagues in September of '06.

Babes Love Lumberjacks

Justin Morneau went 3-for-4 with a walk, a run, a grand slam and five RBIs for the Minnesota Twins Friday night in their extra-inning loss to the Texas Rangers. This more or less is a good enough reason to post his picture, even though they lost. You did all you could, buddy.

In other Twins news, struggling lefty Francisco Liriano was sent packing for the AAA Rochester Red Wings Friday after sucking like you would not believe since returning to the rotation.

And by "sucking," I mean posting an 11.32 ERA over 10.1 innings -- 3 starts -- all of which he lost.

During his latest debacle, Liriano couldn't even make it out of the first inning alive. He surrendered six runs and failed to locate that pesky thing umpires like to refer to as the strike zone. Time to rehab, pal. Seriously, this time.

Right-handed closer Bobby Korecky (2-1, 0.68 ERA) was recalled from Rochester to take Liriano’s place on the roster. He's jut a little guy, but he pitches like a bean pole.

[MLB]

Francisco Liriano, Why Must You Hurt Me?

What a heartbreaker.

After barely recording two outs while allowing six runs on five hits and walking three, Minnesota Twins struggling lefy Francisco Liriano was pulled in the first inning of Thursday afternoon's game against the Oakland Athletics.

And actually, one of the outs was an assist by outfielder Jason Kubel, who nailed Chris Denorfia after a greedy attempt at taking third from first on a base hit.

It's not like this is the first start Liriano has struggled in. Since his comeback from Tommy John surgery this season, he can't seem to locate the strikezone at all, throwing just 15 of 35 pitches for strikes today.

There had been some speculation on skipping the 24-year-old's next scheduled start to go with a four-man rotation -- considering the abundance of off-days the Twins have coming up -- but I really dislike that idea. With a passion. He needs to pitch and get more innings under his belt, and clearly, he's not ready for the big leagues yet. I believe his 11.32 ERA over 3 starts (10.1 IP) speaks for itself.

With Michael Cuddyer returning from the DL Friday, Twins brass must make the decision on who to send down to make room for Cuddy. If I had to make the call, it would be Liriano without question. Or Denard Span. Cause, yeah.

However, after all of that, I still have to be pumped about speedy Carlos Gomez's first homer of the season. Way to go, buddy.

[Star Tribune]

The Long-Awaited Return of Franchise

It's been exactly 19 months since Francisco Liriano has pitched in a big league game. His last minor league start? Left a bit to be desired, what with the 88 pitches over four innings this past Tuesday, along with the 7.56 ERA over two minor league starts with the AAA Rochester Red Wings.

But this girl remains optimistic and absolutely pumped for the young Minnesota Twins lefty's 2008 debut, set for 1pm Sunday against the Kansas City Royals.

Liriano's last official game was Sept. 13, 2006, when he hobbled off the hill and broke my heart. He underwent Tommy John surgery 2 months later, so he's been rehabbing for the past 17 months. Plenty of time, right?

Right.

Speaking of Twins pitching, Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports has an excellent column on everyone's favorite autograph-signing, vegan sidewinder, Pat Neshek. Give it a look here.

[Twinkie Town]

Practice Makes Perfect

Francisco Liriano, after polishing off a strong Spring performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates with seven strikeouts, was sent down to the minors, where he will begin his 2008 season.

Manager Ron Gardenhire wants the young lefty to have at least two starts before joining the Minnesota Twins rotation -- one with the Class A Fort Myers Miracle and another with the AAA Rochester Red Wings -- to work on his conditioning and fastball.

"I’ll do whatever they want me to do," Liriano said. "My arm feels great."

So what does all this mean? It means that Nick Blackburn has found himself a temporary spot in the Twins starting rotation to kick off the season. This begs the obvious question among the ladies in Twins Territory of whether he is single or not. He is, after all, a big leaguer now. Way to go, buddy!

In other Minnesota pitching news, righty Scott Baker will have one more minor league start on Sunday before a decision is made on whether he'll be healthy enough for the fifth spot in the order.

[Pioneer Press]

The Imminent Return of Franchise

The biggest question mark for the Minnesota Twins heading into the 2008 season does not involve the Johan Santana trade business, but whether Francisco Liriano will be healthy enough to rejoin the rotation.

Just over a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow, the 24-year-old lefty told fans at TwinsFest this weekend that he will be ready to rock this Spring. We're talking bullpen sessions and live batting practice complete with fastballs, changeups and that nasty slider.

In 2006, Liriano earned the nickname "The Franchise"... actually bestowed by former Twins teammate Carlos Silva... due to his remarkable presence on the hill as a 22-year-old youngster throwing flames and vying for the AL Rookie of the Year award. However, after an amazing 12-3 start accompanied by a 2.16 ERA and All-Star bid, Liriano was sidelined with elbow soreness. He attempted a comeback on Sept 13, 2006 and lasted just three innings before his arm nearly fell off. And that was the end of that.

Whether the future Cy Young winner (yeah, I said it) starts the season in a Twins uni or in the minors is also yet to be determined. One thing is for sure, Liriano is ready.

"I'm ready to go the first day," he said. "I don't know if they want me to take it slow or not. But I'm ready to go whenever they say so."

[MLB]

The Long-Awaited Return of Franchise

Good news out of Twins Territory this weekend, as once-rookie phenom Francisco Liriano is throwing at full-speed during bullpen sessions -- even using that nasty slider -- and is on track to return in time for the start of spring training.

Liriano is doing better than expected at this point in his recovery from 2006 Tommy John Surgery. Depending on his spot in the rotation, the 1-2 punch of Liriano and Johan Santana may finally be reunited in 2008.

[Rotowire] | [Twins Insider] | [Josh's Thoughts]

The Angry Lohse and Other Twins News

Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter was nailed in the head by a first-inning pitch from former teammate Kyle Lohse on Friday night and left for the remainder of the game against the Cincinnati Reds. He was hit on the left side of his batting helmet and did not appear to lose consciousness or have any signs of a concussion.

Lohse, who was traded to the Reds last July after five-plus seasons with Minnesota, had runners at second and third and was trailing 1-0 when he hit Hunter. After lying in the dirt around home plate for close to four minutes, Hunter walked back to the dugout with a trainer on each side of him.

When Lohse walked over to check on Torii, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire - whose office door was bashed in by Lohse last season - patted him on the shoulder as to say, "It's alright, buddy. I won't punch you in the face."

Lohse lasted two-thirds of an inning and left with a mild strain of his right hamstring before being replaced by Brian Meadows.

In other Twins news, injured left-handed phenom Francisco Liriano and righty Boof Bonser were each inked to 2007 contracts, along with 21 other players on Friday. Liriano wowed the American League in 2006, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 28 games - 16 starts.

The 6'2", 200-pound Dominican was named to the All-Star team before a season-ending elbow injury forced him into Tommy John surgery. Bonser was 7-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 18 starts and is vying for a permanent spot in the Twins rotation.

[Minnesota Twins]

Babes Love Liriano

Despite missing most of August and September due to a surgery-inducing arm injury, Francisco Liriano made a lasting impression on baseball fans. After four months of dominance with a 12-3 record and an impressive 2.16 ERA, Liriano was voted by fans TYIB's Rookie of the Year.

Liriano began the 2006 season in the Twins' bullpen, surrounded by fan anticipation. He entered the rotation in mid-May and for the first half of the year, wowed baseball with his ability to punish the strike zone (144 Ks), winning 9 of his first 10 starts and putting up a 1.92 ERA in all sixteen.

Suddenly, the Twins found themselves above .500 after being 8 games in the cellar, when Liriano picked up the starting role. He earned a rookie trip to the All-Star game in Pittsburgh, becoming a last-minute replacement for Jose Contreras and it seemed as if the Rookie of the Year candidate was all but decided.

His second half? Not so much. Francisco missed most of the last two months of the season due to unexplainable elbow pain. He attempted a comeback late in the year, and was pitching lights-out in his one and only game back before he threw out his elbow in the third inning, silencing the Metrodome.

Liriano tried to rehabilitate the injury this off season, but became impatient and frustrated in early November with how the rehab was progressing and underwent ligament-replacement surgery. He will be out until at least 2008, requiring intensive rehabilitation before he can return.

Saddest. Story. Ever.