As I sat glued to ESPN last week waiting for the latest Brett Favre update. I also was keeping an eye on the trade wire waiting for the Twins to make a move.
A half game out of first place at the time, I expected, like many fans and sports writers, that the Twins would make some sort of deal at the deadline. Maybe adding a bat or an arm for the impending playoff race.
The deadline came and went. No Twins deal.
Twins brass stayed out of the market and have argued that the team did not need to make a deal. Management feels that the return of Fransisco Liriano and Michael Cuddyer to the team will be just like making a deal. I would argue that a pitcher and a defensive specialist will not help a team with an anemic offense win a pennant race.
Addition by subtraction rarely works in professional sports.
I am a fan of both Liriano and Cuddyer, but I wonder why a team would clear roster space by putting a 10-game winner in Livan Hernandez on waivers. I have to agree with moving out another in a long line of veteran busts in Craig Monroe. But why would they do so a day after the trade deadline without trying to at least get a prospect or a draft pick for them?
I am convinced that there is a team out there that would have picked up Hernandez and used him in the bullpen to eat up innings. Hernandez has pitched over 135 innings in 23 starts, winning 10 and losing eight including two complete games.
I would agree that an earned run average over five is not the best for a starter, but he still has a winning record and the Twins have won 14 of his starts. The Twins could have even held on to the veteran and moved him to the bullpen for use as a long reliever. I am not convinced that the present cast of relievers is enough to get the job done as they have proven with two straight bull pen losses to the Mariners this week.
Instead, the Twins unloaded Hernandez and put him up for grabs. Any team can now pick him up without giving up anything other than money for his services.
I have said all year that I do not see the Twins as a legitimate post-season contender, but I would agree that they will give Chicago a good run for the American League Central title. With Chicago adding a bat in Ken Griffey Jr., they now have the edge in the division.
The best a Twins fan can hope for is that Cuddyer comes back and knocks the laces off of the ball and Liriano is as dominant as he was in 2006 before Tommy John surgery.
This Twins team has talent and if the young guys can step up and the veterans can provide leadership, maybe they will prove me wrong and not only win the division, but make a decent playoff run.