Randomization: 08/08/06

Liriano out? I mentioned last week that Twins rookie pitching phenom Francisco Liriano was going to miss a start because of inflammation in his forearm. When I brought that up, I made it clear that it wasn't a big deal if Liriano missed only one start.

Well, the verdict is in...and it's a big deal. Liriano could be headed to the disabled list because his elbow didn't behave itself last night in the Twins' 9-3 loss to Detroit. Liriano's elbow could be the downfall of the Twins' season, unless they can petition to get another 15 games against Kansas City.

Sounds like Liriano's pretty scared, as the Star Tribune article said he was fighting tears in the clubhouse when he was talking about the situation. The concern being shown by Liriano and other members of the organization shouldn't be taken lightly. They know that he's in trouble, as an elbow injury in your rookie season in the bigs is really not a good sign.

This might mean an early callup for Matt Garza, probably best-known at this point as the guy Washington wanted to get in exchange for Alfonso Soriano. Garza has been described as "not ready" by people in the Twins' brass, but he has to be more ready than Scott Baker, Mike Smith, or Boofie.

"Yes, that Roeth...Roethlis...#7 in white flipped me off. He's a jerk." It's a good idea with plenty of potential for misuse. The Cincinnati Bengals recognize a few things:

1. There are a lot of unruly, rude, obnoxious, drunk, or all-of-the-above people at a professional football game.

2. There are a lot of people who are too lazy to walk to Fan Services to report #1 when they encounter #1 at a professional football game.

3. Just because people are too lazy to report #1 doesn't mean that the organization shouldn't try to do something about the issue.

The Bengals have started up a hotline that people can call during games to report unruly fans in Paul Brown Stadium. The number should be pretty easy to remember.

Of course, this opens up the possibility that a fan could turn in a perfectly well-behaved fan of the visiting team, or that a fan could find someone in the stands that they don't like or are in a non-Bengals-related dispute with. Or that fans could call in to turn in Ben Roethlisberger, or however you say it.

Bob Bedinghaus, the Bengals' director of stadium development, apparently saw that possibility and decided to scare away potential offenders with a blatant lie ensure that fans prank-calling the hotline could be dealt with:

"If you get 6,000 people calling this line _ 'Hey, (Steelers quarterback) Ben Roethlisberger is a jerk' _ then it becomes less effective," he said. "The thing to remember is we have caller ID on this line."

What's so bad about a confession? I don't mean to come across as wanting to burn Floyd Landis at the stake, but this is getting ridiculous. Why not just admit that you cheated and got burned for it? Is it so terrible to admit to doing it? After all, anyone with common sense realizes that you did.

Instead, we get more excuses.

When appearing on ESPN in an interview with Colleen Dominguez, Landis said that the issue with the ratio of testosterone in his body could have been caused by his body not producing enough epitestosterone. That's funny, because when reports of his failed drug test surfaced, Landis said that his body naturally produced high levels of testosterone.

There was the whiskey drink. There was the high level of competition. There was the WADA agenda. And the possibility of a tainted sample.

No admissions. Just excuses. And they're getting old.

Just own it, Floyd. No one will respect you either way, but at least you might have a chance to salvage a small amount of dignity.