There was a slight air of defiance in Mike Pelfrey's tone this morning when discussing tomorrow's mano y mano duel for the No. 5 job in the rotation. Pitching coach Rick Peterson just said on the ESPN broadcast of today's game at Disney that it will be a "photo finish" between Pelfrey and Orlando Hernandez. The dueling duo will split tomorrow's Florida finale against the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale -- say that 10 times fast -- but is it truly going down to the wire?
The job belonged to Hernandez when camp opened. But bunion issues and post-op problems involving his right foot then forced him to drastically alter his delivery -- and, as a result, limited him to one Grapefruit League start to this point. As for Pelfrey, he made his full allotment of five starts, including a simulated game on March 18, and split a game with El Duque last Sunday. But the numbers have been underwhelming (8.31 ERA, 29 hits in 17 1/3 innings).
Now, faced with a do-or-die game tomorrow, Pelfrey is realistic about his chances.
"I've felt like I’ve been working on things, I’ve gotten better," Pelfrey said this morning. "The only thing that really kind of sucks about the way it came down is that you don’t know anything. You don’t know if you need to turn your keys in to your place or come back here. That’s the one thing that’s frustrating. But I can’t really say I’ve gone out there and distinguished myself from anybody else, you know? That’s the nature of it."
The safe approach for the Mets would be to take Pelfrey for the No. 5 spot and place Hernandez on the disabled list with the explanation that he's still adjusting to his foot problems. The downside to that is El Duque would no doubt be annoyed -- and just how long can they keep him in Florida on rehab? While the Mets may be leaning toward Pelfrey, he does have minor-league options, and a sharp outing by Hernandez against the Orioles would prove that he's healthy and sway the team's decision-makers in the other direction.
Comments (5)
I, for one, could not care less whether Duque is annoyed. However, if he insists he is ready and healthy, especially considering Pelfrey has not seized the job, I would take Duque at his word. Give him a start or two and see how he does. If he continues to get shelled, look for an alternative, whether it's Pelfrey or someone else (Claudio Vargas, perhaps?).
I also think this idea that Duque cannot get Major League hitters out with a fastball that tops out at 84 mph is laughable and has been much overplayed. After all, Pedro did not seem to have any problems yesterday with a fastball that topped out at 86.
If Duque can regain his control, and based on what I have seen his control has been poor, then I believe he can be successful. Admittedly that's a big if given his change in delivery and physical ailments, but it's not impossible. In fact, since he has pitched so little this spring I think it's likely Duque will pick up a few MPH on his fastball, which will put him right alongside Pedro. I have not seen any doubts expressed about Pedro's ability to retire ML hitters, so why focus solely on Duque's radar readings?
When healthy, El Duque was our best pitcher last year. That being said, he might not be healthy. All "annoyances" aside, we should go with the hottest #5 until El Duque gets healthy. That might not be Pelfrey...
Please, Pelfrey couldn't get through three innings against a high school squad. He's had all the chances he deserves to live up to his "potential". They should have dumped him and kept Humber (or Kazmir, Bannister, etc).
Omar continues to make questionable moves, and relying on 97 year-old El Dookie and overhyped Pelfrey for the five spot is near the top of the list. Others include bullpen (Register gone, Joe Smith & Showenweis still here?!?) & 2B (old ass, injury prone Castillo & Valentin here - Gotay gone?!?)
Omar's GM skills are as much hype as the Mets talent was last year - he just can outspend people now. In Montreal, he had bargaining power to get prospects, much like the Marlins do now...and the Mets farm system no longer has any prospects...funny how that happened
The solution to the Mets #5 Starter... Claudio Vargas
I have said it before & I will say it again... they need to go sign this guy, he would be a very nice #5 and a servicable depth pitcher if / when someone gets hurt.
Pelfrey needs to go to AAA and have a strong 2 months before anyone thinks about letting him face big league hitters. At this point I dont even see him being as effective as he was early last season. And that was a mess.
The way Omar spoke on SNY on Wed it didnt sound like he expected Duque to be ready for a start the first time through the rotation.
I could see them getting by with some combination of Figueroa, Sosa, and Stokes to get them through the early part of the season where two of them would work around Pedro's need for time off, the limited need for a 5th starter, and still get work as relievers to keep them active.