Liriano's numbers don't tell the whole story

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Francisco Liriano has a 3-10 record. That doesn't look good. It also doesn't matter.

Five of those losses came during Liriano's first six starts, after which he was demoted to the Twins' bullpen with a 9.45 ERA and 19 walks in 26 23 innings. Since his return to the rotation May 30, Liriano is 3-5. He's allowed either one or two runs in five of those 11 starts, and is 2-2 in those outings.

In his previous two starts before the White Sox scored seven off him July 23, Liriano struck out 25 in 14 innings while allowing six runs. He lost both starts.

Liriano's win-loss record really isn't relevant, especially in a discussion of how he'll fare going forward. He's coming from the Twins, who enter Sunday with the second-worst record in the American League, to the White Sox, who have the third-best record in the league.

We can't completely sweep Liriano's first six starts under the rug, but it's worth noting that Liriano allowed more runs from April 7 through May 7 (30) than he did his his 11 starts after returning to Minnesota's starting rotation (29).

Here's a comparison of two unnamed pitchers over their last 11 starts:

Pitcher A: 66 IP, 3.68 ERA, 79 K, 29 BB, 6 HR, .595 opponent OPS
Pitcher B: 76 IP, 3.79 ERA, 71 K, 18 BB, 10 HR, .704 opponent OPS

Both are now White Sox starters. Pitcher A is Liriano, Pitcher B is Jake Peavy.

Of course, over the entire 2012 season, Peavy has been much better than Liriano. Nobody's doubting that. But since his move back to the rotation, Liriano has been comparable to Peavy, who earned a bid to the All-Star Game and has been mentioned in early Cy Young chatter this season.

On the surface, the White Sox are getting a starter who's 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA. But those numbers are hardly fair. If Liriano can continue this success over his next 11 starts, he'll provide an incredible boost to the playoff chances of the White Sox.

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