Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano was sent to the hospital last night to have swelling in his left forearm examined and might not be able to start tonight against the White Sox.

Liriano, who had an MRI exam while at the hospital, will be checked out when he arrives at the Dome later this afternoon.

“It will be a (team trainer) Rick McWane and (pitching coach) Rick Anderson decision,” Twins general manager Bill Smith said moments ago.

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and lefthander Brian Duensing are candidates to take the ball if Liriano can’t start.

Liriano, 4-10 with a 5.56 ERA, has been a major disappointment this season. He’s winless in his last four starts.

The last thing the Twins need is another injury to a starting pitcher. There’s little depth beyond righthander  Anthony Swarzak, who is filling in for Kevin Slowey (wrist surgery) for the rest of the season.

I’m at the park. but not covering the game today. I have a shadow.

Mark Hodge won the chance to spend a day with me at the ballpark after winning the silent auction at the Diamond Awards banquet in January. Hodge gets access to the clubhouse before and after games, gets to listen in on Gardy’s pressers and sit next to me in the pressbox. I’ll try to keep him away from Sid…

Anyway, Hodge gets to experience what we deal with on a daily basis while supporting medical research at the U of M. This could be you next year….

A few quickie notes:

Sean Henn has been placed on the DL at Class AAA Rochester with shoulder tendinitis.

Ben Revere’s left knee isn’t reponding well after being drained last week. He’s having an MRI today.

Heard the Twins might be sniffing around Seattle reliever Sean White.

The White Sox have signed second round pick Trayce Thompson, a California prep outfielder - and son of former Gophers hooper Mychal Thompson.

Joe C. is on the mic tonight at the Dome, but we’ll fill you in with trade scuttlebutt when we hear it!

BTW:

Orlando Cabrera’s OPS is .679

Brendan Harris’ OPS is…. .679

Flying back from the left coast this afternoon. Joe C. will be at the park today for the Twins-White Sox throwdown.

Speaking of throwing down, I wanted to throw down a few observations:

The Twins spent the weekend talking with Oakland about shortstop Orlando Cabrera. In fact, according to Susan Slusser of the Chronicle, some recruiting might have been going on during the series last week at Oakland. There seemed to be a lot of chatter going on between the teams, and coaches, during that series.

But if the Twins can’t land reliever Michael Wuertz in the deal, I don’t think it’s the best move for the Twins because Cabrera is not a No. 2 hitter.

And there’s this line under his contract terms in Cot’s Baseball Contracts:

——- club will not offer arbitration after 2009 season if Cabrera ranks as a Type A free agent ——-

Pittsburgh’s Freddy Sanchez is a better fit. And word is that not only is he willing to play for the Twins, he’s willing to stick around for awhile. And while he’ll make at least $8 million next year, it probably won’t cost that much to extend him a year or two. 

Perhaps the Twins can pry a reliever from Pittsburgh. I’ve liked Matt Capps in the past but his SO/BB ratio has gone haywire this year. But I wonder if he’s more suited as a set up man than closer. There was a Matt Capps-for-Boof Bonser rumor during spring training. That, of course, won’t work now.

Sanchez is a much better fit. And second base is one spot where you can sacrifice some defense for a bat. And Sanchez is a bat with a decent glove.

By now, you’ve read my story about the Twins All-Stars pleading for GM Bill Smith to make a deal.

When three of the Twins’ key players step up like that, there’s little doubt that there’s some grumbling in the clubhouse about the Twins’ inactivity at the trade deadline. Here are a couple quotes I didn’t have room for in today’s ink edition:

Joe Nathan: “I think a lot of us think this is a special team we have here and have a chance to go out and do some good things. Getting to the postseason is what you wish for. After that, anything can happen. A lot of us feel like this is a time to go out and do some special things.”

Justin Morneau: “I don’t know if we are worried about this new stadium or having a good team in the new stadium. If that’s the case, tell us that. Don’t say, `We want to win,’ then don’t show it. Do we want to win the World Series or be the team that has a chance to be in the playoffs?”

O.K. the heat is really on the Twins’ rectangle of authority - Smith, assistant GM Rob Antony, player personnel chief Mike Radcliff and senior adviser Terry Ryan. But the trap is making a trade just to get the heat off that’s not really good for the team.  Is Cabrera better than what the Twins have now? Many of you would argue that he’s an upgrade. I just don’t think he’s the right fit. Sanchez is better.

Let’s see how this week plays out…

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was worried about Justin Morneau before the game. Morneau hit the ground several times over the past two days to field grounders and his legs were sore. But Morneau is able to DH today. Michael Cuddyer will start at first.

Joe Crede said his shoulder felt much better Sunday - and that was after throwing and hitting in the cage. He’ll go through a whole pre-game routine on Monday and, if he feels fine, will start Tuesday against the Pale Hose.

Gardenhire said on his weekly radio show that Mike Redmond, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer were among the players to speak up during the post-game meeting on Saturday.

Today, a bunch of players gathered in the clubhouse to watch a Jim Carrey movie (Liar, Liar I think).

Lineups

Twins (48-50)

1. Denard Span, RF
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Justin Morneau, DH
4. Jason Kubel, LF
5. Michael Cuddyer, 1B
6. Brian Buscher, 3B
7. Carlos Gomez, CF
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Alexi Casilla, 2B

Pitching: Anthony Swarzak

The Twins will try to see if they can escape Southern California with at least one win when rookie Anthony Swarzak - the last Twins pitcher to last seven innings - takes the ball today against the Angels.

But I want to look ahead right quick to the upcoming series against the White Sox.

The notes yesterday had TBA starting on Monday and Wednesday - save the, `TBA is -180 vs Twins,’ jokes, O.K.  I just thought that was odd.

But, the Sox have been worried about a circulatory problem John Danks had that originated at the Dome on July 10. Read about that here.

And Chicago is leaning toward starting Bartolo Colon on Wednesday and push Gavin Floyd back a day. Apparently, the Sox feel Colon can hold runners better. Doesn’t Chicago know that the Twins are a home run-or-bust team now?

Some trade updates: I reported in today’s paper about the Twins’ interest in Toronto’s Marco Scutaro but since Scutaro is tied to Roy Halladay being dealt, I think the Twins are working with Oakland right now.

The sense I’m getting is that the Twins know Pittsburgh’s Freddy Sanchez is the best fit for the lineup. He could slip right in as the No. 2 hitter. But it sounds like the Twins are trying to land Orlando Cabrera and reliever Michael Wuertz, which would give them bullpen help as well as a decent starting shortstop.

The problem is that, while Cabrera is on fire at the plate right now, he’s really not a No. 2 hitter because he doesn’t draw a lot of walks. OBP should drive the decision when Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel are due up.

(By the way, is it time to nickname those three guys? Minnesotans seem to like catchy names. Miami Vikes, MVP3, M&M boys, Baby Jesus, All Day, etc).

I think if the Twins were dealing just for Cabrera the could have the thing wrapped up by now. I think they are trying to get Wuertz added to the deal. Wuertz is good, and he’s a local product. But he still has arbitration life, which makes him more valuable. I’ve been unable to find out what Oakland is looking for in return for these players.

Getting back to Sanchez. not only should they not be afraid to add his salary (if they can’t deal with Oakland) they should also add two years to his contract. Not at $8 million per. But, based on last year’s free agent signings, he will cost less.

Spend a little of the million they are making. Trade some prospects. It’s time to win NOW with the M&M boys at the height of their powers and Joe Nathan peaking. Let’s go, front office!

We’ve been here before with the Twins talking trades at deadlines. Will they follow through this year? We’ll see.