Which Orlando Hernandez will show up for the playoffs? The one mirroring Bob Gibson, or the one resembling Roberto Duran?
Slated to make his final start of the regular season in Tampa tonight, El Duque must prove to his manager, his teammates and -maybe most important -himself that he is up to snuff for the postseason. Hampered by a bad left foot through most of the year, the Cuban defector now is suffering the effects of a dead arm.
“I think it’s very important,” Joe Torre said of El Duque’s start. “Physically, you don’t want him to warm up for a game and be unsure of himself.”
Hernandez said “no mas” during his last start, leaving in the second inning Saturday after complaining of the tired arm. He was not able or willing to throw his fastball. According to reports, he broke down in tears in the Yankees clubhouse afterward.
“He’s a warrior,” teammate Bernie Williams said. “He epitomizes the character of the team. He’s one of the guys who takes it more personal to do good.”
Said Scott Brosius: “Only El Duque really knows how he feels.”
Mystery seems to surround El Duque like Agatha Christie. His start was originally scheduled for Thursday, pushed back until Sunday for a few hours and then restored. This scheduling quirk was the result of his bullpen session Tuesday afternoon, in which he threw to pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre.
Before El Duque threw, Torre felt the pitcher would want one more side session in order to feel completely comfortable. But Stottlemyre and Torre felt the righty’s stuff was good enough to face the Devil Rays in a tune-up start.
“If I can pitch [today] and I don’t have any aches or tiredness, then that’s fine,” El Duque said of making his upcoming start today.
If there are lingering health questions tonight, Torre said, “Then we’ve run out of time. The sand has run out of the hourglass. With the way [Sterling] Hitchcock pitched the other day, we sort of have a safety net.”
Last season, the Yankees went with three starters during the Division Series with Oakland. Both Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte pitched poorly on three days’ rest, but the Yanks escaped because Oakland wasn’t able to line up its pitching.
That won’t happen this year as the A’s have run roughshod over the AL in the second half. Their trio of Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito is as good as any. The Bombers need a Game 4 starter, if necessary, to pitch opposite Cory Lidle, a solid but unspectacular right-hander.
Although Hitchcock is throwing more junk than heat, his gutsy willingness to throw his stuff 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery proves he’s up to the test. Although El Duque is a career 8-1 in the postseason, he’s 15-20 with an ERA hovering around 5.00 in the past two seasons.
“He always seems to rise to the occasion in the postseason,” Yankee first baseman Tino Martinez said with confidence. “No matter what happens in the regular season or games like that the other day, when the postseason comes and the game is on the line, you know you’re going to get seven or eight solid innings out of him.
“No matter how he feels.”