Here’s the last of this week’s 10 questions. Thanks to your help, I think we’re off to a good start with this. Let’s do it again every now and then throughout the season. 

8. Matty asks: With Garza, Perkins, and Slowey looking like the strongest options should Ponson and/or Ortiz falter early, is there any sentiment in camp to consider Scott Baker and/or JD Durbin as bullpen options? It looks like a long shot for either to crack into the rotation and they have too much potential to just let their options run out.

In Part I, I offered my thoughts on Baker, and as for Durbin, he’s a total X-factor for me. Watched him throw in the bullpen Thursday, and he has some eye-opening stuff. It’s a shame he got injured last season (nerve damage in his right biceps) because he had a 2.33 ERA at Rochester before getting shut down for the season in late June.

I bet you this: The Twins won’t just cut him and lose him to waivers. They’ll either put him on the roster or trade him. He could be part of a package deal, with one of their relievers and another minor-league pitching prospect for something pretty good, maybe a veteran starter to plug into the rotation if others are stumbling.

9. Tony asks: What are the chances that LeCroy actually gets a spot on the Twins roster and possibly being the DH? A few years ago he had so much potential everyone talked about and if he gets the chance to play everyday could have some serious power.

I think LeCroy will go to Rochester, where he’d be available as a right-handed bat if the Twins needed him. What a luxury for this organization to have him working with their prospects, a la Crash Davis, mentoring the likes of Perkins, Garza, Kevin Slowey, Denard Span and Alexi Casilla. Someday soon, LeCroy will be a minor-league manager, working his way back to the bigs.

10. Justin asks: Tyner or Ford? I believe one or both need to go. Sweet Lew seems to have taken several steps backward and I believe Tyner is cheaper.

I see the point you’re making, especially if Jason Kubel’s knees prove healthy enough this spring for him to start playing outfield again. For now, it looks like both Tyner and Ford will make the roster, which would give the Twins six outfielders, including Rondell White, Torii Hunter and Michael Cuddyer. With Tyner’s emergence, I was surprised the Twins kept Ford, who was arbitration eligible and wound up getting a raise from $425,000 to $975,000. The Twins are convinced they can get Ford turned around, closer to his 2004 form. I’m not as convinced, but if they’re right, he’d be another potential trade chip.

5. M.C. from Alaska asks: Joltin’ Joe, about Liriano, I keep wondering — what is the range of performance after an injury like this? How close to previous performance are pitchers after an injury and surgery? I mean there must be some chance Liriano is never coming back.

The Twins have history on their side with this one. Off the top of my hand, I can think of a few guys who had Tommy John surgery and continued to have arm problems: Darren Dreifort and Eric Gagne come to mind. But here’s a list of Tommy John survivors and thrivers: Chris Carpenter, John Smoltz, Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner. Since this is Liriano we’re talking about, you want a lefthander who had the surgery, came back and continued to rely on a sharp breaking ball over a long career? How about David Wells?

6. TwinsTerritory asks: Will you be around the minor league camp?

I should make it there a couple times this spring. After all, it’s right across the parking lot from where I’m sitting at Hammond Stadium. I know there are a lot of good stories over there. I want to check in on Loek Van Mil, the 7-foot-1 pitcher from the Netherlands we wrote about last spring.

7. Trevor Born asks: To the nearest tenth of a pound, how much does Sidney Ponson weigh? … OK, really, when is Jeff Cirillo going to show up? What’s your opinion on his acquisition along with Ken Harvey’s?

It’s fine to take a flier on Harvey, but I don’t think he’ll make the team, barring someone else’s injury. As for Cirillo, who arrived mid-week, I thought it was a nice move for the Twins. A versatile veteran defender, who hit .413 against lefties last year.

OK, I promised some answers to your questions today and since my editors keep urging me to keep my posts short, I decided to send these out in waves. Please, check back later for some more, but here goes:

Hello Joe,

I am looking forward to another year of Twins baseball. However, I would have liked to see them go out and get a little bit more pitching help. What are your thoughts on Glen Perkins making the club this year? What is your take on the stadium fiasco? (Only in Minnesota) Finally, Where is a good place to eat down in Fort Myers? Thanks!

– Brian

1. Watching Glen Perkins pitch at Fenway Park last year was about all I needed to know this kid can handle big-time pressure. That said, he pretty much skipped Triple-A, other than his impressive performance in the International League playoffs. I feel the same way about Perkins as I do about Matt Garza. I think he’s going to be a terrific major league pitcher. But another stint at Rochester (1-3 months) will help guarantee that he gets that last bit of polish pitchers need before reaching the big time.

People are blasting the Twins for inviting Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson into camp. But if you want to see real mistakes, watch teams that rush promising but unpolished pitchers by placing them on an opening day roster. The pressure is extraordinary because the expectations immediately are set so high. Most young pitchers are going to be up-and-down as rookies, and those downs can do major damage to their psyches.

2. As for the stadium fiasco, that’s a good word. I wish I had a crystal ball to tell how this thing’s going to end. We have other reporters covering the stadium issue. All I can tell you is this impasse over the land isn’t sitting well with Twins officials.

3. A good place to eat in Fort Myers? The waits are so long just to get seated, I shouldn’t give any secrets here. But there’s a nice little Italian place called Nino’s in a strip mall near Hammond Stadium. I highly recommend it to you on any night I’m not waiting for a table.

“I stand for everything I do in my life,” he said. “If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, I’ll admit it. But to put my mom and family through the hurt that I caused them, with the one [arrest] in Aruba, and the one [for drunk driving] in Baltimore. To tell you the truth, if those people were telling me the things they tell my mom, I don’t care. I would laugh. But telling my mom, my sister, my friends and hurting other people close to me — enough’s enough. And you know what? I said that’s over with. I checked myself into rehab.”

Ponson is one of the most complex people I’ve ever met in baseball. I watched him throw another bullpen session today, and he looked good. Pitching coach Rick Anderson thought so, too. Time will tell. Ponson had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow in October after being released from his third team in two years. He said his elbow now feels the best it’s felt since he was 19. And that’s saying something because he used to throw about 98 mph at that age.

The Twins are hoping new teammates such as Johan Santana and Carlos Silva have a better influence than Ponson’s former teammate with the Orioles, Scott Erickson. Indeed, Ponson seems to be embracing his time with Santana and Silva. But he still defends his good friend, Erickson.