I have a feeling that Liriano was told that if wants to be traded, he had better show the rest of the league what he is capable of. It sure seems that just having a spot in the Twins starting rotation isn't motivational enough. I think the Twins have had enough of his up and down career.

As far as prospects, I think the Twins are way too slow about getting them up here. The last couple of years anyway, it's not like they're trying to bust their way into a championship-winning lineup!

I'm all for trading guys like LIRIANO and MORNEAU and CAPPS if the right deal was to present itself because I think we can still win at the same pace that we are currently winning without them. Maybe not Liriano, but Morneau and Capps for sure.

Willingham would be DUMB to shop. Hang onto Span too.

I just don't want this team to become sellers because ESPN thinks they should be. I love how they just act as if any ole team could come along and pick our best players for nothing. The whole "Pirates need to get Willingham" thing is a perfect example. What exactly are the Pirates going to give us for Josh Willingham? ESPN thinks that just because we're the Twins, we need to give away players. Duh.

Liriano, Morneau, and Capps are the only guys with any kind of "value" or "ceiling" that would be worth shopping. In my opinion. I wouldn't be upset if they were traded for the right deals. I wouldn't be upset if they stayed put, just because teams expected us to "give" them away either.

liriano is the only one with any value.Is morneau and his salary an upgrade for anyone at 1b,no.
Who would give up any decent prospect for capps,a setup guy at best for a contender,and he has been hurt 2 years in a row.

WOW, you're slamming Matt and talking about value for Frankie??

A GM would see you coming a mile away..

why is there so much trade talk about liriano then,cuz he would be a great 5th starter on a winning team.low risk high reward for a contender.

"why is there so much trade talk about liriano"

gee, I would guess that it would be that he is a FA at the end on this season and we want to get something for him other than a bag of used baseballs. He is going to be a huge gamble for any team, but if he does well I give him his congrats. I would really like for us to get something real for him!

I think the longer we wait the more likely liriano reverts back to bad liriano,thats why i trade him now when some team might be desperate enough to give a decent prospect.

That's my point though . . . why are we so dire to "get something" for Liriano. Chances are, we are not going to get much at this point in time. So why dump him, even for a "bag of baseballs"? If that's the case, I'd almost rather keep him and see if he can keep us competitive within the division this year, because besides him, our rotation has Diamond and that's it. What happens when you take Liriano out of it?

Now, if Ryan was able to swindle a decent, near-ready, prospect out of the deal, then I'd say "maybe". But I'm not sure I'm all for just "dumping" him for fear that we're missing out on a "bag of baseballs". Forget the bag of baseballs and let him pitch this year.

I agree with your train of thought on Frankie. You and I both know that the club will not re-sign Frankie purely because of the money that Frankie thinks he is worth..

I am a little confused as to your wanting to trade off Matt. Who are you thinking of for our closer role? Now if you are throwing Glen in there, I would not rush into that to quick. Glen has filled the role in Matt's absence, but he is shining as the set-up man!

My feeling is we relax and let him stay put for a while until he is truly ready to "take" the job as closer.

What exactly do you think we could get in return for Liriano?

I admit, I've totally done a 180 on this, and probably could easily be convince to take my original stance, which was to trade Frankie for anything . . . but now I'm just not seeing what that's going to get us.

Right now, at the mid-point way of the season, I just don't see the point of trading Frankie, just to trade him. Do you know what kind of a message it sends to other GMs when everyone and their cousins think the Twins will be trading Liriano? Do you know what kind of leverage Ryan holds in ANY discussion involving Liriano? Zilch.

Which is why I would really be okay just staying the course and letting him help our rotation this season. Chances are he'll pitch good, because he wants to be signed in the offseason. If you trade him now, you're going to get fleeced by some other GM because they know we're just dumping him and we're going to get some garbage prospect that will never even sniff AA ball.

So what's the point then? Hang on to him this season. See if he can help you win some games, then say goodbye in the offseason when he demands a lot of money.

"Do you know what kind of leverage Ryan holds in ANY discussion involving Liriano? Zilch"

Not necessarily..There was a period that no GM would go after Zambrano from the cubs. Then the fish got him and the cubs got rid of a problem. It has been said on here, "that Frankie will go somewhere and do well". That is how Ryan has to sell him. Frankie has gotten as far as he is going to get with us. That is not saying that he could not take further steps with a change of scenery. I made a joke with the Dodger fan about us giving Frankie and Danny for Harang. It may seem like a lot, but the LA club needs a 3rd baseman and Frankie vs Harang is not that bad. Aaron is a good pitcher and they would get Frankie with a new venue to throw in. It would not be a bad trade for either club.

So there are options, if the approach is done correctly.

Zambrano had a problem with the coaching staff, did not see eye to eye just like Lohse was. Its a different scenario for Liriano. He is different head case. Its like teaching an old a dog a new trick. Your comparison with Liriano doe snot apply in this subject. I don't know how much a change of venue is going to help him. And scouts already knows it. So it it will be hard for Ryan to sell on that.

You are also missing another point. Who ever going to be trading to get him, has to think he is gonna be a half a year rental unless they are going to be able to sign him to an extension and thats taking a big risk. So there will be few teams willing to take a chance like that unless they are in contention because other teams can just wait out the year and sign him with out giving anything up now when he becomes a free agent. But whatever we can get is a plus since I don't see him signing back unless its for a reasonable amount for us.

Big Z had a problem with more than just the coaching. Don't know if you caught the outbreaks with his fellow players(D Lee for example). He was a headcase and had to undergo anger management just to stay on the roster. He is a little more extreme than Frankie in my estimation. My point was that anybody can be packaged and dealt if it is done correctly. Ryan is being paid to do just that and I would hope he is in fact working towards that goal. Like you stated, "whatever we can get is a plus".

We certainly don't trade Liriano now. He could end the season with the most wins on the staff. And I'm not sure he'll be wanting extreme money to resign. If so, the off season is the time to deal with it, not now.

My guess is the coaching staff and front office have already decided what they want to do. IF they've had enough of his inconsistency... then he will be gone, and this is the best time to do it, as he is showing... once again... that he CAN be a dominant pitcher. If they want to stick with him, and if they have a decent feeling that they can resign him... then they wait for the off-season. Of course, if something happens to him in the second half, injury or another round of ineptness... then ?????????????????

Imo, now would be best... with the starting pitching the way it is, we're not in any position to threaten for the division. We need some young talent. I think he'll be gone this month, and with his stock up again right now, we could get some real help for the future.

Yeah just looked it up. I see Morneau been called up in 2003 and after this year will be his 10th full year completed but also did time in the minors in 2004 for 72 some games. But does that affect his 10-5 right ? Because after this year if he wants to be traded, he has the right to reject any proposed trade. If that so the case, Morneau will be better off moving this year.

The ten and five rights isn't with seasons played, it has to be ten years of major league SERVICE time. In Morneau's case, with the time he spent going up and down to AAA his first couple seasons, he only has 7.186 years (According to baseball reference going into this season so now its a little higher) of service time. So Morneau has a couple more seasons before he will have his 10 and five rights.

Thanks I kept wondering about that. Good to know that few of us here can rely on you too about the technicality side of the game.