Livan and Clemens one more time
By Tom Grout
February 14, 2008
“And he shall be Levon.....and he should be a good man.”
These are the lyrics to a song by Elton John and lets hope this will hold true to the Livan that is now a Twin.
The Twins went out and signed the veteran pitcher they think they need to help anchor a young pitching staff. This Livan is Livan Hernandez the pitcher who has been a World Series MVP and a NLCS MVP and he is only 33 years old. That is,he is 33 years old if you believe his birth certificate that I think he got at the same place that little leaguer got his a few years ago which means the 33 could be on the low side. Livan is a Cuban escape so it is hard to tell just how old he is. Only Castro knows.
However old the Twins Livan is he should be a good man, at least for the price. Livan is being brought in to be an “innings eater” and looking at his record that just what they got. Since the year 2000 Livan has pitched more innings than any other major league pitcher and it hasn't helped his weight anymore than those cheeseburgers and fries have helped mine. He will make Boof Bonsor look slim.
Actually I am being a little harsh on Livan because I actually like this signing. I have always liked Livan and I wish we could have gotten him a few years earlier. I like the deal because he is an “innings eater” which is what the Twins do need. Not just for the young starting pitchers but for the bullpen. It takes pressure of the young guys and will take pressure off the bullpen who may be seeing a lot of action if the young guns have trouble going deep into the game. So Livan is kind of an insurance policy.
The other thing I like about the deal is that he came cheap. I know to most of us, maybe all of us, 5 million a year is a lot of money, but for what the price of these types of pitchers are going for lately, the 5 mill is a bargain. He will be like Carlos Silva and maybe better but Carlos is now making 12 mill per year and for the next 4 years. I thought he was the best free agent pitcher out there this year so you can't beat a blue light special falling into your hands.
The people who don't like the deal has to remember that Livan isn't coming in here to be the ace of the staff, but to pitch innings and mentor the young guys. Just keep Boof away from him after the game, stay away from those golden arches guys. Twins catcher Mike Redmond, a former teammate of Livan, says that he may look like he is coasting through games but is a great competitor, and if he is that he will be a great asset to the team. If he pitches 200 innings and can win 11-12 games he will earn his money.
Over all I like what Billy Smith has done so far. We may or may not compete for the division, but I think the Twins will be a lot of fun to watch.
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One last Clemens comment. It's just my opinion, and looking at the polls it just isn't mine, but Clemens is a liar. MacNamee is a sleaze like some of you have pointed out, but most hanger ons or guys in the entourage of a pro ball player are sleazes. I just think this sleaze is telling the truth.
The thing that hurt Clemens most is that he was blaming everyone but himself. This includes MacNamee, Pettitte, his lawyers, his agent, and of all things, his wife. The Rocket is nothing but a coward. Anyone who hangs his wife out to fry is nothing but a low life coward.
If I was a voting member of the Hall of Fame, Clemens will never get my vote and believe it or not it has nothing to do with what went on in the halls of congress. When he made a statement that he didn't care if he ever was in the Hall and when he basically said to screw the Hall, he lost my vote.
There are just too many former players that deserve to be in the Hall and being elected would mean more to them than just about anything. People like Tony Oliva for example. In fact that is how I would vote for players from the steroid era. I would not vote for them until there was nobody else to vote for.
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