The Franchise

Francisco Liriano is going to make his first major league start since August 2006 today. The hope obviously is that he can eventually get to where he was in mid-summer 2006 when he was, arguably, the best pitcher in the major leagues. Any thoughts of him being super-dominant right away are far fetched, and I wouldn't be shocked if it took until late summer or even next season for him to get it all back. Twins fans have been spoiled the last couple of years when it comes to superstar pitching, and while the Bonsers, Bakers, and whatnot are perfectly enjoyable, the underlying hope is that Liriano can keep up the recent trend of having an overwhelming ace anchoring the staff. Here's hoping that today is at the very least a small step in a positive direction.