Twins sign Orlando Hudson

[Lally1]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... p&c_id=mlb

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Thanks Omar

 

[Halonut]

great signing...it amazes me how much he has been passed around in recent years. :?

 

[Beckhamcollector15]

Good signing for the Twins. As a Sox fan I hate it though. :mrgreen:

 

[ballerskrip]

VERY good signing by the Twins. Might be the move that gets them over the hump to win the division title.

skrip

 

[kdailey4315]

Is there another player in the league that is as underrated as him? I was upset last offseason when the Giants didn't sign him. The Twins are quietly assembling an above average team this offeseason.

 

[1995BBRefractorGuy]

nice

 

[Greg Cleveland]

If Harris can really take ahold of third base as his own (let Punto sub now and then, Tolbert is the utility man) that makes for a fairly solid infield. Outfield is good already and behind the plate is without question. Twins could be the top defensive team in the league.

 

[TNP777]

Great signing for the Twins. I'm going to miss him in LA.

 

[tpeichel]

The Twins best lineup in a while.

Denard Span
Orlando Hudson
Joe Mauer
Justin Morneau
Jason Kubel
Michael Cuddyer
Thome/D. Young
J.J. Hardy
Harris/Punto

 

[wolfmanalfredo]

Glad we signed him. Punto is an amazing defensive 2nd baseman, but is a .200 offensivly. Casilla has yet to prove he is better then a .220 hitter, and it seems he like he is a show off 2nd basebman. Glad we added another classy player to the ranks. Hopefully Harris can prove he deserves a full time role, and the Twins have as great or better decade then the last 10 years (5 division titles, almost 6.) We just have to learn how to win against the bought lineup in NY. I wish we had that kind of money to throw around.

 

[pujolsjunkie]

They're just going to lose in the first round if they even make the playoffs. I know that won't be a popular sentiment, but it is what it is. Hudson is kind of overrated to me. He lost his job to Ron Belliard last year.

 

[cartersprings]

Wow, I didn't see this signing coming, but I like it. Hudson is something we haven't seen for quite some time; a consistent second baseman.

 

[cwells46]

I guess I am now a Twins fan :mrgreen:

 

[jay1065]

Great signing for the Twins. I like Hudson a lot. When the Red Sox were contemplating shifting Pedroia to SS, I was hoping they had Hudson on their radar.

 

[RandomH]

The AL Central playoff race will be nuts this year

 

[Rickzcards]

They're just going to lose in the first round if they even make the playoffs. I know that won't be a popular sentiment, but it is what it is. Hudson is kind of overrated to me. He lost his job to Ron Belliard last year.

He only lost his starting job to Belliard because Belliard was killing the ball. I hate to see him go but glad he went to the Twins, my third favorite team.

 

[tpeichel]

Solid signing. The Twins should have no problem scoring runs. This report from the Dominican Republic makes me hopeful the Twins pitching could be better this year too.

Earlier this month Ron Gardenhire passed along a report he received from the Dominican Republic saying that Francisco Liriano was "throwing the living fire out of the ball" with his fastball around 92-94 miles per hour and a "filthy" slider. Two winters ago Gardenhire passed along similar reports of Liriano "letting it fly" at 93-96 miles per hour "free and easy" while coming back from Tommy John surgery, yet he arrived at spring training throwing in the high-80s and was basically a mess.

So there were good reasons to be skeptical about third-hand reports of Liriano's velocity in winter ball this time around, particularly after he went 5-13 with a 5.80 ERA in 136.2 innings last season. However, my skepticism has faded because his numbers in the Dominican Republic are insanely good and last night he dominated while starting the final game of the league's World Series. And as an added bonus the game was broadcast online by ESPN, so those third-hand reports are no longer really needed.

First let's talk about the stats, which prior to last night included a 0.82 ERA and 54-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43.2 innings. Whether his fastball was 85 or 95 those numbers are impossible to ignore. And it turns out last night showed that reports about his velocity were pretty accurate (assuming the radar gun used was based somewhat in reality). He tossed five innings of one-hit, shutout ball while racking up 10 strikeouts, was regularly clocked at 93-95 mph, and unleashed some wicked high-80s sliders.

To say that Liriano looked like the pre-surgery phenom who was baseball's best pitcher in 2006 would be hyperbole, but for one night at least he certainly looked closer to that guy than the one who averaged under 91 mph with his fastball for the past two seasons and constantly struggled just to throw strikes. Ultimately the real test will come when he faces MLB lineups, but he faced plenty of major leaguers in the DWL and his video game-like stats match the glowing reports. Skepticism is turning into optimism.

 

[imac220]

Excellent signing for the Twins!

 

[bongo870]

my only card of his I have,,, And it was a rare pull too!