Sid Hartman: Kelly: Starting pitching could be concern early on

I don't believe there is a better judge of baseball talent than Tom Kelly.

The former Twins manager, who led the team to its two World Series championships, continues to spend time working with players in spring training.

Asked how he sizes up this year's club, Kelly said: "Don't misunderstand me. At this time I think Ron [Gardenhire] is probably concerned about his starting pitching. But that has the chance to develop into a pretty good staff.

"Now, the reason I say this is because [Scott] Baker's missed time with being sick and having a little bit of a back thing. And [Francisco] Liriano's going to miss those first 10 days or so, that hurt, but he's starting to come along. Then [Kevin] Slowey had the flu, so hopefully that's only going to last a few days.

"I think at the beginning here, there may be a little bit of concern about the starting pitching. But once that gets going and Baker gets back, and Liriano gets back, I think it has an awful good chance of developing into a pretty good staff."

You can't expect the kind of pitching every game that Livan Hernandez provided in giving up two runs in seven innings Monday night in a 3-2 victory over the Angels. Other than running into some difficulty in the fifth inning, he looked strong in his Twins debut.

Kelly was asked if this staff has the potential to be a winner. "I don't like that word [potential], but they certainly are very capable of pitching well," he said. "Baker's proven that. Slowey's on the verge of doing that. Boof [Bonser] certainly is capable. Livan Hernandez. We don't know [with] Liriano. So, there's certainly that word, potential, would be very good. But I think it might take a little bit before we get to that spot."

Kelly said the fact that some pitchers didn't have a good spring doesn't mean a thing.

"Things can surprise you. A lot of players throw spring training out the window and turn around ... things start happening and go your way," he said. "So you never know. But just to say it again, I think that Ronnie might be a little bit concerned with the starting pitching at this time. That's why we have 12 pitchers on the staff. [Nick] Blackburn's very capable. He did a super job in spring training, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him out there pitching quite a bit because he looks like he's going to be just fine for the Twins staff.

"So, we'll see how it all shakes loose, but once we get Baker back and Liriano back at full strength, I think things will definitely pick up."

Kelly said he was very impressed in spring training with new shortstop Adam Everett. "He's very smooth, very confident in every move he makes on the field. He's a very talented guy out there at shortstop," Kelly said.

Everett and new third baseman Mike Lamb both played the past few years with the Astros. Everett was regarded as a great fielder and poor hitter; Lamb, who was a part-time player with Houston, playing first and third base, was thought of as a good hitter but not a good defensive player.

"Third base, Mike Lamb, I'm not quite sure what I think of Mike yet, but he certainly is capable of playing well," Kelly said. "He's made a few funny plays. I'm sure they've been well-documented here. ... We'll see if he can handle that everyday-type job; he hasn't really done that in his career.

"[Second baseman] Brendan Harris is a good player. He's got a few things that I think Gardy's been working on with him on his defense. He's a very capable hitter, so he certainly can put the ball in play and do some things with the bat. But up the middle, we need to be solid in our defense, and I know Ron has been really working with him to try and improve a few little things."

Harris and Delmon Young came to the Twins in the deal that sent Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett to Tampa Bay. Kelly was high on Young, the new left fielder.

"I really like him. He's a very talented kid," Kelly said. "He can swing the bat. He has power, looks like he runs the bases fine, and defensively he looks fine in the outfield. He has a very strong throwing arm. The Twins might have the strongest three arms in baseball collectively with [Michael] Cuddyer, [Carlos] Gomez and Delmon Young. ... Delmon's a very talented kid, I really like him."

Kelly is excited about Gomez, who on Monday went 2-for-3, stole two bases, scored two runs and made a nice running catch in center.

"He's a very, very exciting player. He's very, very quick," Kelly said. "It's amazing the way he can generate a run and score a run. If he gets on base, I believe he's going to score. He's very quick stealing bases, running the bases, he knows how to run the bases. ... It's really going to be a treat for the Twins fans to watch him play.

"The big question obviously is, you know you can't steal first. So, he's going to have to improve his skills, stay under control, put up good at-bats and work his way on."

Well, one keeps hearing rumors of former Twins GM Andy MacPhail, now president of the Orioles, trying to get Kelly to manage in Baltimore. But Kelly made it clear that he has managed his last game.

"I miss the camaraderie of the game; you miss the competition of the game. But there's a whole bunch of other stuff that goes on that I don't miss at all," Kelly said.

Will he manage again? "No sir," came his emphatic reply.

Justin Morneau has a big adjustment to make at first base with Lamb, Everett and Harris now making throws to him. He spent a lot of time this spring getting used to throws.

"There is some difference. Bartlett, his ball, he had a strong arm and his ball kind of sailed a little bit, and you kind of learned that pretty quick. Harris has got a good arm, he throws the ball hard, especially from second base. He's a guy that can play short, he's got that kind of arm strength. And then you kind of learn what Lamb does and you just get to figure it out, and playing with them for a month before the season starts helps a lot."

Joe Mauer likes what he has seen from Liriano, who missed all of last season following elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2006.

"Well, the first couple of times that I caught him, he's not quite there yet," Mauer said. "But, you know, it's coming good out of his hand, and you probably can't expect him to come out throwing 95 [miles per hour] right away, but he's doing the right things. He's getting in here and doing his exercises and he's on the right track."

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com.