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Twins pick up free-agent hurler Hernandez

I liked him best in that Elton John song.

This entry was posted by SBG on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 9:17 am and is filed under WGOM Headlines. It is one of 3095 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.

15 comments to Twins pick up free-agent hurler Hernandez

  • SBG
    February 12th, 2008 at 9:30 am

    PECOTA is projecting him at 5.57 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 134 innings in the NL. His collapse rate is 43% and his attrition rate is 27%.

    • AMR
      February 12th, 2008 at 9:52 am

      So, Ramon Ortiz? I'm sure the club could use another Macri.

      Hope we can keep him through interleague... he can hit alright for a Twins DH Pitcher.

      • Andrew
        February 12th, 2008 at 10:06 am

        he can hit alright for a Twins DH Pitcher.

        This made me think - how well is Johan going to bat playing in the NL this year? He looked like a pretty solid hitter during interleague. Do you think he can maintain being a better-than-average hitting pitcher?

  • Andrew
    February 12th, 2008 at 9:41 am

    I've always thought Livan Hernandez was a solid pitcher. I don't want to sound like an old fogey, but that's purely based on gut-reactions. I have never really looked at his stats.

  • SBG
    February 12th, 2008 at 9:58 am

    Hernandez has been incredibly durable and has carried a workload unlike anyone else over the last decade. Baseball Prospectus tracks "Pitcher Abuse Points" and Livan has racked up the most PAPs over the last decade, by far. Will he break down finally?

    • Rhubarb_Runner
      February 12th, 2008 at 10:14 am

      That last line...is it a question, or a wish?

    • Beau
      February 12th, 2008 at 11:07 am

      Or perhaps he's an outlier like Randy Johnson or Bert Blyleven and can just pitch and pitch and pitch and pitch...

      • frightwig
        February 12th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

        Neither were stopped cold by injuries in mid-career, but even Randy Johnson and Bert had their health problems. Bert doesn't talk about it, but in fact he missed nearly all of the '81 season, and a good share of the seasons before and after, with an arm injury--when he was in his early 30's.

        Johnson might have been fortunate that he didn't throw over 200 innings in a season until he was 26 years old, so his arm has been in pretty good shape, but he's still had back problems since his early 30's which haven't derailed a HOF career but occasionally crop up to bite him.

        Glancing at Livan's numbers in the past couple seasons, relative to what he'd done before, I'd say he looks like someone who's wearing down, a good candidate for a major breakdown even if he isn't already hiding some minor injuries. I certainly wouldn't like to bet several million dollars on him, at age 33, adjusting to a new league, pitching 200+ innings, and finishing with an above-average ERA this year.

  • Algonad
    February 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am

    I was afraid something like this would happen. This is the worst way to spend $5-$7 million on a 4th place roster.

    • frightwig
      February 12th, 2008 at 11:53 am

      I suppose the Twins could say that they need someone to eat innings and mentor the youngsters, and maybe that's valid, but, yeah, seeing the club spend its discretionary funds on players like Monroe and Hernandez, who probably will be worse than average, bothers me a lot more than, say, the Justin Morneau deal.

      • ubelmann
        February 12th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

        ...but, yeah, seeing the club spend its discretionary funds on players like Monroe and Hernandez, who probably will be worse than average, bothers me a lot more than, say, the Justin Morneau deal.

        Me too, for the record. Though none of it really bothers me much. Mainly, it all seems like something your standard-issue GM does that doesn't really hurt the team much or help the team much.

        • brianS
          February 12th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

          On the bright side, he helps restore some Latin flavor to the rotation. I'm sure he'll be a big draw for the huge Cuban population in the Twin Cities.

          When Orlando dies, does Livan inherit the family title and lands?

          • SBG
            February 12th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

            Tony O. will love him. It's kind of back to the future for the Twins in that regard.

            Tony Oliva
            Camilo Pascual
            Sandy Valdespino
            Zoilo Versalles
            Leo Cardenas

            All former Twins of Cuban heritage.

  • AMR
    February 12th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    I was kindof hopping that if the Twins picked up a Hernandez "brother" it would be Run, Elvis Hernandez.

    His last two starts against the Twins:
    4/26/06 7IP, 2H, 1R, HR (Morneau)
    8/05/06 4.2IP, 4H, 9R (8ER), 9BB+1HBP, HR (Morneau)
    (Three weeks later? CG SO of Toronto)

    Always seemed he could pitch well when he tried. Also: might still have options.