THERE is something about the idea of Orlando Hernandez coming to the Mets at this point in his career and at this point of this season that makes you think the Mets just did something that will help them reach October.
Perhaps that’s wishful thinking considering Hernandez is at least 36 years old and the health of his arm is seemingly day-to-day. But few have ever handled the New York stage better than El Duque, the Cuban defector who was an instant hit in the Bronx and helped the Yankees win three World Series. He has a charismatic style that rises to the occasion. The bigger the game, the better El Duque performed, conjuring magic with his high-leg kick and dancing off-speed pitches.
That he helped the White Sox win a World Series last year after the Yankees thought he was finished only adds to his lure, making this an acceptable solution for the Mets’ leaky starting rotation.
“To be able to add a guy like that, a proven guy that is respected not only by the players, but respected by the fan base across the board, we’re happy to do that,” Mets GM Omar Minaya said in announcing the deal that sent reliever Jorge Julio to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Hernandez.
The fan base in Flushing should be ecstatic. Last night another Cuban defector, Alay Soler, made his major league debut for the Mets, whose rotation has been less than mediocre once you get past Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine. Manager Willie Randolph hoped for a decent outing from Soler, but knew making a major-league debut in New York is not the easiest of assignments.
After walking the bases loaded to start the game and giving up three runs in the top of the first inning, Soler settled down and delivered a respectable outing, lasting six innings and leaving with a 4-3 lead in an eventual 5-4 Mets win. Maybe the Mets get lucky with Soler, but the manager and the GM understand an unstable starting rotation could ruin any hopes of winning the NL East or a wild-card.
Players making their major league debut in an important series like this one against the Phillies will ultimately reap more harm than good.
At least the Mets know what they’re getting in El Duque, a fiery competitor who pitches through pain and isn’t afraid of the spotlight. His 2-4 record with a 6.11 ERA at Arizona this year shouldn’t be alarming. With El Duque it’s all about being healthy, and apparently he’s healthy enough.
“I do believe that El Duque being 36 years old and the way El Duque is pitching right now, if he stays healthy, there’s a lot of baseball left in him,” Minaya said with fingers probably crossed.
The Mets’ offense has proven itself cable of providing enough heroics to support any decent pitching performance. They beat the Phillies on a Carlos Beltran homer in 16 innings Tuesday night, and rallied from a 3-0 first-inning deficit last night. What they need desperately is a decent back end to their starting rotation.
“We have the opportunity to win our division,” said Beltran, who homered last night along with David Wright. “That’s the way we feel. We have a better team than last year with (Carlos) Delgado in the lineup and Paul Lo Duca. David Wright is having a good year and I’m having a good year. We feel like this is the year that we can do it and we have no doubt in that.”
There’s no doubt, El Duque will help.