Twins Livan Large...

The Minnesota Twins signed Livan Hernandez Tuesday to a $5 million contract. With that, they get the use of a veteran pitcher for a year.

I've been pushing and pushing for the Twins to sign or trade for a veteran starting pitcher. Now that they've done that, I guess it's not time to complain but...

• On the negative side, Hernandez had a WHIP of 1.595 in 2007 in the National League. That's a lot of walks and hits. He was second in the NL for giving up home runs. His ERA was 4.93, just over the NL average of 4.70. But in the AL, he'll be facing DHs instead of pitchers (although I don't give this a lot of stock - later in games they face PHs instead of pitchers).

• On the positive side, Hernandez eats innings - for breafast, lunch and dinner. He's pitched more than 199 innings every season since 1998. He's reliable; he's started 30 or more games each of the past 10 years. He has a winning record for his career (134-128) and was 11-11 last year. He's better than Silva, who was 13-14 last year.

• Oddity: Hernandez' ERA was 3.94 in April, 3.29 in May and 3.60 in August. In the other three months, it was over 6.00. Maybe he will do well in the climate-controlled Metrodome, instead of in the Arizona heat.

I seriously doubt Hernandez will reach 200 innings with the Twins. Minnesota has one of the best bullpens in the majors, and Manager Ron Gardenhire has a quick trigger on the shower button. But Hernandez - if healthy and productive - will get his starts.

I'm glad the Twins picked up a veteran starting pitcher. Certainly there were not too many to choose from. Hernandez fits that bill. And he's had some post-season success as well.

He may not be Santana, but he'll help the Twins win in 2008, especially with their better defense and offense.