MLB: Minnesota Twins are nothing more than mediocre

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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Fransisco Liriano is an ace.

That explains his 2 wins from May 3rd to July 15th. And the Twins being 14-10 in his starts. He OWNS the White Sox, and they're .500 in the rest of his starts. That's not an ace when your team is 18 games over .500.

Cliff Lee would've been the PERFECT pitcher for the Twins. Awesome pitcher that eats a TON of innings and gives the bullpen a night off, which the Twins can use when they're missing one of the best closers in the game.
 
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CrossCyed

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Mar 30, 2006
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Maybe we can just pitch Edwin Jackson every other game. 0.96 ERA in the AL looks decent enough.

Maybe the Sox can move to the NL where they can truly dominate. The Twins own the Sox, even when, in the past, the Sox have had the better team. Twins are the better team this year, though I'm still not sold that they'll win the division/
 

RoseClone

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Oct 18, 2006
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All they are missing is: A guy that has hit 18 Hrs and batting .345 (in 81 games)

Wait for it - he's coming back
 

FDWxMan

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Jan 31, 2009
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That explains his 2 wins from May 3rd to July 15th. And the Twins being 14-10 in his starts. He OWNS the White Sox, and they're .500 in the rest of his starts. That's not an ace when your team is 18 games over .500.

Cliff Lee would've been the PERFECT pitcher for the Twins. Awesome pitcher that eats a TON of innings and gives the bullpen a night off, which the Twins can use when they're missing one of the best closers in the game.

F Liriano: 12-7, 158.1 IP, 171K, 3.41 ERA, .248 BAA (6-0 last 8 start btw)
Cliff Lee: 10-8, 179.2 IP, 156K, 3.26 ERA, .254 BAA

So, Liriano DOES NOT equal ace, but Cliff Lee is perfect? What am I missing here?

Lee throws a lot of complete games I guess. But, is he out of gas now because of that? Only 18.1 IP in last 3 starts, and 19 earned runs!
 
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hawkeyeh8r

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Jun 10, 2010
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I'm sorry, but this has gotten ridiculous. I think there's more to what is going on here.
Football players get concussions and come back way quicker, get their *** rocked every play, and come back for more. Justin hit his head on a guy's knee with his helmet.
It's sad when Troy Aikman makes you look bad.
I think he's waiting for the minor league season to be over so he doesn't have to do a rehab stint.

they may get rocked more but football helmets protect your head a hell of a lot better than batting helmets and the helmets used in hockey...neither of those even have a face mask
 

ISU_phoria

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Apr 10, 2006
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I always say this about the Twins. (And I really HATE the Twins since I am a Sox fan.) They usually have a nice season...but when it comes to the post season, they get worked. Especially playing the Yankees. Making it all feel like a big waste of time. Hopefully the White Sox will get back into the lead soon. It is still a tight race as we speak. Let the White Sox in for the Central to mix it up and show you how it's done Twinkies.

It's still within reach Sox, go get it! Go White Sox!!!

Really? How'd the White Sox do last time they made the playoffs? :confused:
 

GeronimusClone

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Oct 23, 2008
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I seem to recall this being discussed before. And No, Liriano is not an ace! He has ace potential and hopefully he'll be at that level soon, but he's not there yet.
There's no specific "Ace" criteria. It's subjective. Unless you're Orel Hershiser, you don't know anymore than the rest of us.
 

hawkeyeh8r

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Jun 10, 2010
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liriano matched his career high in wins at 12 last night so hopefully he can get at least 3 more wins this year so he has something to build of this year. as long as he stays healthy and doesnt have to get surgery again, he can become an "ace" in another 2-3 years
 

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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F Liriano: 12-7, 158.1 IP, 171K, 3.41 ERA, .248 BAA (6-0 last 8 start btw)
Cliff Lee: 10-8, 179.2 IP, 156K, 3.26 ERA, .254 BAA

So, Liriano DOES NOT equal ace, but Cliff Lee is perfect? What am I missing here?

Lee throws a lot of complete games I guess. But, is he out of gas now because of that? Only 18.1 IP in last 3 starts, and 19 earned runs!
An ace doesn't have one year that makes them an ace unless they're just out of this world (looking at you Ubaldo). Just the fact that Liriano is 6-0 over his last 8 TELLS you he's not an ace. An ace on a division leading team should never be 6-7. An ace doesn't go over two months and average a win per month.
 

Steve

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Apr 11, 2006
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An ace doesn't have one year that makes them an ace unless they're just out of this world (looking at you Ubaldo). Just the fact that Liriano is 6-0 over his last 8 TELLS you he's not an ace. An ace on a division leading team should never be 6-7. An ace doesn't go over two months and average a win per month.

He's had one bad month this year (even happens to established aces) and one tough luck month. The other 3 have been on the ace level so he is on the path to earning the title.
 

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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Liriano at best comes in as the 5th or 6th left hander period I can think of in the AL, and he isn't near any of them:
Sabathia, Price, Lester, Lee, etc.
 

bawbie

Moderator
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Mar 17, 2006
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An ace doesn't have one year that makes them an ace unless they're just out of this world (looking at you Ubaldo). Just the fact that Liriano is 6-0 over his last 8 TELLS you he's not an ace. An ace on a division leading team should never be 6-7. An ace doesn't go over two months and average a win per month.


Could you contradict yourself a little more?

You stated in your first post on this that Cliff Lee is the perfect ace. Yet in the 2 months since he joined division leading Texas he is 2-5. Yep, 2 wins in 2 months.

Oh, and since the all-star break (closing in on two months) Ubaldo is 2-3. A couple more starts without a win and he'll go two months with only 2 wins.

By your definition NO ONE is an ace for more than a couple months at a time.

In reality, "ace" is defined as the best pitcher on a team. And Liriano is the Twins' ace. And a darn good one at that.
 

mj4cy

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Mar 28, 2006
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I feel so dirty but I have to root for the Yankees now. They play the sox this weekend.