Francisco Liriano makes his long awaited return to the major leagues today against the Indians, with the Twins a half game back of the White Sox for the division lead. Instead of making a deadline deal, the Twins called up Liriano, who is a significant upgrade over the guy he's replacing, Livan Hernandez. Whereas the Chicago White Sox brought in a guy, Ken Griffey Jr., who doesn't provide an upgrade over what they have now and if they continue to play him at CF might end up costing them more runs than he creates. All of that assumes he can even stay on the field though, he had to leave yesterdays game with leg cramps, not a good sign for their hopes of playing him in CF.
The Twins now have a starting rotation without any liabilities and a solid bullpen with a great backend. They could use an infield bat and a return to productivity from Michael Cuddyer, but I think the team that wins the division will be the team who's starting pitching holds up down the stretch. That could be a challenge for both teams, the Twins pitching is young and the Sox rotation is peppered with injuries and question marks.
Liriano could be the difference for the Twins like he was in 2006. He has the potential to be the Ace that the staff lacks right now, a left-handed flamethrower who can dominate a game and anchor a rotation. Today will be his first step in that direction.
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