Twins trade Liriano to division-foe Chicago

The White Sox are hoping Francisco Liriano will sure up their rotation but he has not been very good this year and has been far from dominant since undergoing Tommy John surgery after the 2006 season.

Maybe the Twins are thinking that it does not matter if he goes there because his contract is up in the offseason and he will probably just go somewhere else or maybe they are just thinking that he really isn’t very good anyway so unloading him for the best group of prospects they can get was a no-brainer decision.

After failing to get Zack Greinke and seemingly on the outside looking in on any possible moves involving Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, or Josh Johnson, the White Sox needed to get somebody to strengthen their rotation. Jake Peavy is a definite ace and Chris Sale may very well be the league’s top rookie pitcher. After those two though there are a few questions. Gavin Floyd can throw as hard as anybody in the league and is definitely worthy of a spot in a rotation but he is far from being the strikeout machine he once was while Philip Humber’s season has been nothing special outside of his remarkable perfect game. Jose Quintana is pitching well his rookie year but is nothing particularly special.

Adding Liriano gives them another solid option if they make it to the playoffs if they go in with a three-man rotation with Floyd likely coming out of the pen or serving as a spot-starter in a pinch. It also gives them insurance is either Humber or Floyd re-aggravate their injuries that put them on the disabled list already this season.

At least that is what the White Sox are hoping the addition will do. In 2006, his first full season in the majors, Liriano was spectacular; winning 12 games in 16 starts with a 2.16 ERA and 10.7 K/9. Then he got injured and on November 6, 2006 he underwent Tommy John surgery, which kept him out all of the 2007 season, and he was never the same again. Since his injury Liriano’s ERA has more than double to 4.69 and his K/9 have dipped to 8.6. This season Liriano has a miserable 3-10 record and while run support is an issue his 5.31 ERA is not helping his cause either.

Many teams seemed to be interested in Liriano but at the trade deadline team’s end to go into panic mode and want whoever they can get. Liriano may have been a one of those guys whose value shot up because teams are desperate to make one of the two wildcard sports. Then again, it is not like the White Sox gave up too much, sending reserve short stop Eduardo Escobar and southpaw Pedro Herandez, who was shelled in his only major league start.

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Corey Johns

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You could say Corey was born to become a sports journalist. His father won a national championship coaching college soccer. His mother is a baseball fanatic who hasn't missed seeing an Orioles game since 1983 (literally, sometimes it's annoying). His great uncle was a big-time boxing promoter and his maternal grandfather was once a department head at the Baltimore Sun. Basically, sports and journalism run through his blood. He played just about every little league sports there was when he was a kid and was a multi-sport athlete in high school; even playing in the first-ever high school sanction Rugby game in the country. Eventually he retired from sports as an undefeated Maryland state Rugby champion as a high school senior. Perhaps lack of athletic talent has more to do with the retirement, but he will tell you that it more had to do with a great desire to jump right into media. Upon his graduation from University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a triple communications major, Corey started the So Much Sports network and has continued to grow his websites and continues to work to make them premier sports media outlets.

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