Race for the 5th Ace

Now that Pitchers and Catchers have reported there is really only one question on the minds of many, who will be the fifth starter. With the first spring training game just one week away, the favorite appears to be Francisco Liriano.



Frankie has had a good offseason in Winter Ball and the hope is that he can return to the form which he had in 2006. Sadly, the fact of the matter is that this will NOT happen. To give Liriano a grade on how he has done in the Dominican League would be like giving a college student a grade on a high school assignment. The fact of the matter is, Liriano would struggle more with the Pittsburg Pirates lineup than the lineups he has been facing in the Dominican league. Liriano has been anything but clutch in his tenure with the Twins. Duensing has shown to be nothing but a clutch performer in his tenure with the Twins on the other hand. He pitched three gems in September which ultimately helped lead the Twins to the pennant.



Both Liriano and Duensing were available when the Twins were in need of wins but who answered the call? Duensing has been the better pitcher as of late and should be rewarded as such. It should be his job to lose. Yet Bill Smith and Gardy are going to give Liriano one (hopefully) more chance to perform. As Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Think about this quote for a second and ask yourself, does this quote apply to the way Gardy is running the pitching situation?