Rosenthal: Choiceless Padres likely to start Gerut in left

And some sharp Around the Horn potentiometer from Robothol…

--One scout says that Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano looked afraid to throw his slider in his most recent Grapefruit League outing. But Smith, the Twins’ G.M., says he is pleased with the progress shown by Liriano, who is just 15 months removed from elbow-ligament transplant surgery. “He’s got to shake some rust off,” Smith says. “Anyone who thought he’d come in throwing 95 mph with the nasty stuff he had two years ago is not being realistic.” Liriano’s velocity is up to 88 to 92 mph ...

--A rival executive says of Tigers left-hander Dontrelle Willis, “He looks like a different pitcher. I’ve always thought of him as a guy who just goes out there slinging it. But when I saw him, he was pitching. It looked like he had calmed down his delivery in an effort to make better pitches.” Too bad Willis can’t help the Tigers out of the bullpen, too ...

--Center fielder Shane Victorino is one of the Phillies who appears too complacent to manager Charlie Manuel. “He thinks he’s Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, but he’s not,” one scout says of Victorino. “He talks more trash than Muhammad Ali.” Victorino, 27, is a good-natured sort who figures to straighten out, and the Phillies’ other position players should, too. The team’s pitching remains a far greater concern ...