Liriano is back, but not totally

The Francisco Liriano that dazzled everybody back in 2006 – he's back on the mound for the Minnesota Twins. But don't expect the same kind of pitches coming from the mound.

Liriano is still the guy who went 13-5 in his first 20 big-league starts with a 2.74 ERA and 177 strikeouts in 144 2/3 innings. But those 20 games came at a big cost.

After Tommy John surgery on that seemingly magical left arm, the velocity hasn't returned yet (he's in the high-80s instead of the mid-90s on the radar gun this spring) and a slider that was the best in baseball doesn't snap like it used to.

Sounds like bad news for the rebuilding Twins, but it could have been so much worse. Go back a year ago.

"At first when I started playing catch, it hurt so bad I said, 'I'm done playing baseball,' " Liriano told MLB.com.

But the pain went away, and he won't throw as many of those devastating sliders, which put violent stress on the elbow.

"It's the best slider I've ever seen," said Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson. "But it puts a lot of strain on your arm. He's got a changeup that's wonderful; it's close to a [Johan] Santana changeup."

With Santana gone to the Mets, Minnesota would love to see Liriano step into the No. 1 role. But that's still wishful thinking at this point.

Other storylines in Twins camp:

• One of the players the Twins received in the Santana trade was Carlos Gomez, who will likely be the starting center fielder. And while he's very raw, Gomez believes he's the fastest player in baseball.
• Just a few years ago, outfielder Michael Cuddyer was one of the kids on a perennial playoff contender, looking for advice from teammates like Torii Hunter and Doug Mientkiewicz. Now he's the leader, a role that seems to fit him well.
• The Twins need to decide what to do about the future of closer Joe Nathan, whose contract expires after the season.

Photo: Pitcher Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins makes a pitch against the Boston Red Sox during a Grapefruit League game on March 7 in Fort Myers, Fla. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

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