Twins Liriano To Start Season In Minors

In a somewhat puzzling move, the Minnesota Twins have assigned left-hander Francisco Liriano to Triple-A Rochester. I understand that they want him to get back to his form from two years ago, and it's better to get a slow start and build up to the bigs. But the fact that they are now sitting with only 4 starting pitchers is what confused me. Playing it safe is one thing, but with no clear cut number one guy anymore, he better not be down very long. Because if Scott Baker doesn't make it back before the season gets going, the word is (from this article and chatter around Minnesota) is that Brian Bass will get the call in case they need an emergency start. Side Note: They mention Brian Bass in the article but people outside of Minnesota have no idea who he is. Here is a little run down of his career. Bass has never appeared in a Major League game. He signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins for the 2007 season. Bass played the entire season for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings after bouncing around the minors since 2000. In his first season mainly as a reliever, Bass made 10 starts and 27 relief appearances, going 7-3 with a 3.48 ERA. Included in his 10 starts was a complete game shutout, the second in his career and the first since 2001. Bass became a minor league free agent after the season. The Twins resigned him in November. During Spring Training, Bass won a long relief role. In conclusion, PLEASE GOD LET FRANCISCO GET 100% REALLY FAST!