Young Twins staff will have to show this is 'their time'

FORT MYERS, FLA. - The Minnesota Wild calls its sellout crowds "The Team of 18,000." The Twins might have to borrow that to describe their 2008 rotation.

The Twins' most talented pitcher, Francisco Liriano, will probably remain in Fort Myers when the team travels north.

The most promising pitcher who will make the rotation, Scott Baker, has been slowed by a sore back and illness.

Their Opening Day starter, Livan Hernandez, throws a fastball that would lose a race to Carlos Gomez and posted a bloated 4.93 ERA last year in the pitcher-friendly National League.

Their likely second starter, Boof Bonser, had an ERA of 5.10 last year, prompting him to drop almost 30 pounds.

With Liriano playing catch-up, the likely opening-week rotation could be Hernandez, Bonser, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn and Baker. Or, as casual fans refer to them, "Who?"

The bullpen appears set with Joe Nathan, Pat Neshek, Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon, Dennys Reyes, Matt Guerrier and Brian Bass.

So when the Twins present Hernandez on Opening Day, they might as well introduce Guerrier and Bass along with him. The Twins' long relievers could pitch more innings this year than many of the starters.

This might be the Twins' shakiest rotation since 2000, when they allowed Sean Bergman to start 14 games and ranked 11th in the league in ERA. That team finished 69-93.

This team will feature an excellent bullpen and a handful of dynamic position players, but the rotation should rank right up there with the Vikings' pass defense, the Wild's shootout record and any quotes uttered by the Timberwolves owner on the list of concerns facing Twin Cities sports fans.

"I was more comfortable before Baker had his setback," said pitching coach Rick Anderson. "He was throwing the ball outstanding. He would be at the top of the line in your rotation.

"Frankie [Liriano], missing the first 10 days of camp put him behind. If those things didn't happen, you'd feel better, but we've got some pretty good arms coming out of this. Blackburn had a hell of a spring, Bass had a hell of a spring, and Philip Humber has settled down and thrown the ball better.

"People say how inexperienced our rotation is, but it's their time."

Sunday was Liriano's time to encourage the Twins' staff after being a disappointment for much of the spring. And he did, throwing a fastball in the low 90s and cutting loose his best sliders of the spring, even if they were far from the scythes of 2006.

"That was exciting today, but we're very leery," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We want to do the right thing with this young man. There were glimpses today of good stuff. He was still winging it, misfiring it quite a bit, but it was better misfires this time than last time."

Saturday, Gardenhire detailed the many ways he and Anderson have felt deceived by Liriano in the past. Liriano downplayed the conflict.

Asked why he left instructional league last fall without telling Gardenhire and Anderson, Liriano said: "I wanted to stay, but at the same time I wanted to go home, because I spent the whole summer down here. I was here probably six months ... I don't know why. I just went home. I was feeling frustrated. My arm was kind of hurt by that time; it was bothering me a lot."

Gardenhire isn't the only one confused by Liriano, who's affable but seems to contradict himself or befuddle listeners whenever talking about his injury or decisions.

The Twins can't do without him, though. They have a worrisome rotation and no apparent aces in the farm system. Even if this group of young pitchers -- Bonser, Baker, Slowey, Blackburn, Humber, Brian Duensing, Kevin Mulvey -- exceeds expectations, none of them has the raw stuff or presence of a staff ace.

Liriano still doesn't look comfortable extending his surgically repaired elbow when throwing his slider. He said he could use another two or three starts in Fort Myers, which makes the Twins' decision to start without him that much simpler.

So the first version of the rotation will feature one guy who's over the hill and four who are still lacing up their hiking boots. Liriano has never been more of a mystery, or a necessity.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com