(Updated at 4 p.m.) Does this look like the pitching line of a young left-hander who’s planning to start Thursday at the Metrodome?

5 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.

Maybe. But the Twins have decided to bring him along slowly, which means that Liriano will get a couple of more starts in Florida (at Class A) Fort Myers and Nick Blackburn will start the season in the rotation.

LaVelle reports on his blog: “The Twins are very pleased with Francisco Liriano’s progress over his past two outings but feel he still needs a couple more starts. So they optioned him to Class A Fort Myers on Friday, which allows righthander Nick Blackburn to make the Opening Day rotation.”

He also writes: “Liriano then will join Class AAA Rochester for a start. Liriano should be able to sharpen his pitches over these outings and have the stamina to throw 100 in a game.”

Without seeing the game today, I’d been hoping this was the “Welcome Back, Francisco” outing that many were hoping for and fewer were probably expecting. For now, I’m hoping he settles into a protected role near the end of the rotation and that anyone who calls him “Franchise” contributes to the Section 220 pizza and beer fund.

Can’t wait to hear what Franch, er, Francisco tells Gardy tomorrow when the manager asks, “How you feeling, lefty?”

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.