Morning briefing
Posted on February 17th, 2009 – 8:37 AMBy La Velle
Francisco Liriano told reporters this morning that he’s thinking about skipping the WBC so he can prepare with the rest of the Twins’ rotation for the regular season. Liriano said no one has put pressure on him to pull out of the tournament, but he’s definitely thinking about it. He said he will speak with the Twins to get their thoughts.
The Twins, from Terry Ryan to Bill Smith to Ron Gardenhire, have told us they would never force a player to not represent his country. But I’m sure they would feel better if Liriano stayed in camp.
I wrote for today’s ink edition that former Twin Corey Koskie is working out on back field here and is hoping to hook up with the Canadian team for the WBC. Best of luck to Koskie. It could be a route for him to get a look from a team willing to give him a minor league invite.
Speaking of invites, the Twins decided they needed another catcher in camp with Joe Mauer easing his way back into action. So they went to the back field looking for help - and found Toby Gardenhire. The manager’s son is now an official invite and will work in the bullpen. Toby began last season at Class A Fort Myers but wound up at Class AA New Britain, where he batted .261 in 87 games.
Chatted with Pat Neshek, who is out for the season because of Tommy John surgery. He’ll start some light throwing next month, but that will just be the start of a nine-month process. “I’m going to have to get the baseball package,” he joked.


