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WSCR 670AM, MLB.com: "El Duque" agrees to deal


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If he stays healthy, Orlando Hernandez is better than our current 3 & 4 guys (Garland & Contreras), so I suppose that's a good thing. But, who knows how old this guy really is, and is he healthy now? These are question marks that scare me. But like I said, if he's healthy, getting him for $4M a year sounds good to me.

 

Just wish we'd get someone like Wade Miller or Odalis Perez. Miller's been hurt, but at least he's young, and Odalis Perez is young and has good stuff. *sigh*

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Hernandez, coming off shoulder surgery in May 2003, won his first eight decisions after rejoining the Yankees at mid-season, but he lost his final two and has been bothered by what he calls a "dead arm."

 

Manager Joe Torre had considered starting Hernandez for Game 4, but went with struggling right-hander Javier Vazquez instead.

 

Asked if he could be ready to start if the Yankees advanced to the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, Hernandez said he didn't know.

 

"I don't have any pain, I just have to continue getting treatment and have faith," he said.

 

---

If he's still got a case of the dead arm, then that may be a bad sign. :unsure:

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Hernandez, coming off shoulder surgery in May 2003, won his first eight decisions after rejoining the Yankees at mid-season, but he lost his final two and has been bothered by what he calls a "dead arm."

 

Manager Joe Torre had considered starting Hernandez for Game 4, but went with struggling right-hander Javier Vazquez instead.

 

Asked if he could be ready to start if the Yankees advanced to the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, Hernandez said he didn't know.

 

"I don't have any pain, I just have to continue getting treatment and have faith," he said.

 

---

If he's still got a case of the dead arm, then that may be a bad sign.  :unsure:

Hopefully the off-season will have cured him of that problem and he's ready to go.

 

/crosses fingers.

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If the sox do sign him I will be satisfied. I won't be happy because we should have been signed Perez which in reality would have moved everyone up one spot in the rotation but I am satisfied we got a set 1-5.

 

I am scared for the whole team though, most of it is a bunch of question marks that can end up a 3rd or 4th place team. However, if "the ball bounces the right way for us" we can be serious contenders. We only really know what to expect from two guys out of our 5 man rotation (pending the signing of Duque.) We know MB will be a horse and we know JG is going to put up solid #5 starter numbers(an ERA around the 4's.) We don't know what FG, JC, or OH can do in a full season with the sox. Can anyone get the stats for FG and JC once they were White Sox? I know they weren't great but it's better than what we had. So for that reason I am scared for our team.

 

If we do sign El Duque I hope management knows how injury prone he is and what precautions we should have with him. His start should usually be skipped if theres a day off I think to keep him fresh for the post :pray . In all, I am excited for this team, it has taken a HUGE turnaround since the end of the 03 season. I am excited to see what the new face of this team can do but also sad because my favorite players are gone. It's time for a change though, I can't wait until the season starts.

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If Duque wears down and has a dead arm period or whatever, maybe this what KW had envisioned for Hermanson. A spot start here and there to go along with that bullpen role.

I wouldn't have a problem with that.

I just hope he doesn't end up like Cotts last year if thats the case. Cotts was doing fine until he was forced to be the fifth starter. As a matter of fact, Cotts was on his way to becoming a very dominant left hander. I know his runners inherited was sick as well as his holds. He was doing a very fine job until that start. I hope this time around nothing like that will affect him.

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from da trib

 

 

 

 

By Dave van Dyck

Special to the Tribune

 

December 22, 2004

 

 

Stymied in their attempts to land Randy Johnson, Matt Clement and Javier Vazquez, the White Sox are close to signing Yankees free agent Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez to complete their starting rotation.

 

Sources said the Sox had offered a guaranteed two-year contract heavily laden with incentives, believed to be worth as much as $4 million, although the deal had not been finalized.

 

 

 

 

Sox general manager Ken Williams did not return calls seeking confirmation Tuesday night.

 

Hernandez, who would join another former Yankee and Cuban exile Jose Contreras on the Sox's staff, does not come without problems. While he returned from shoulder surgery to save New York's injury-depleted staff in midseason by going 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 15 starts, he was shelved in September when his shoulder became tired.

 

He recovered enough to make an emergency start in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against Boston and would have won if Mariano Rivera had not blown the save.

 

After signing with the Yankees in 1998, Hernandez became a big winner and part of Yankees lore by posting a 9-3 record with a 2.65 ERA in six postseasons.

 

But Hernandez has run into physical problems the last few seasons while pitching for the Yankees and Expos. He was traded to Montreal after the 2002 season but hurt his shoulder in spring training and never pitched there. The Yankees then re-signed him last winter as an insurance policy, calling him up in July after rehab from shoulder surgery. He immediately won his first eight decisions.

 

In the last three seasons, he has won 20 games and lost 14, so Hernandez no longer is a dominating nine-inning pitcher.

 

The Yankees offered Hernandez arbitration, but it was obvious he would not fit into their rotation after they signed free agents Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano and made a strong effort to land Johnson.

 

While Hernandez's age is listed as 35, many have claimed he is older. He earned a base salary of $500,000 last season but raised that to $1.43 million by reaching incentives.

 

"I feel I overachieved my goals and expectations," he said after the season.

 

With the expected acquisition, the Sox apparently have filled their rotation for next season, though they still have money for a big-name pitcher if they so desire. Among those mentioned is another Yankee, Vazquez, who had been part of the three-team trade with Arizona and Los Angeles that fell through Tuesday night. Most likely, Hernandez will become the Sox's fifth starter behind Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Contreras and Jon Garland.

 

Also Tuesday, the Sox signed catcher Ben Davis to a one-year, $1 million contract a day after declining to offer him arbitration.

 

Davis, who hit .231 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in 54 games with the Sox, made $1.4 million last season. He was acquired June 27 with Garcia in a trade with Seattle.

 

Davis, 27, will go into spring training as the starting catcher, with Jamie Burke as the backup. The second overall pick in the 1995 draft, Davis is just a .237 lifetime hitter with 38 homers. But Williams likes Davis' defensive ability and his handling of the pitching staff.

 

But of the four catchers the Sox used last season—Davis, Burke, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Miguel Olivo—the staff ERA was highest with Davis behind the plate.

 

Davis caught a team-high 397 innings, and the Sox had a staff ERA of 5.15.

 

The catcher with the best ERA was Olivo, who was sent to Seattle in that trade amid rumblings that he didn't call a good game. The Sox's ERA was 4.69 in 366 innings with Olivo catching.

 

Burke had the second-best ERA among Sox catchers at 4.78 in 292 innings.

 

The Sox also declined to offer arbitration to pitcher Scott Schoeneweis, who is not expected to be back next season, and pitchers Ryan Meaux and Eduardo Villacis.

 

Meaux and Villacis were signed to minor-league contracts Tuesday.

 

Tribune staff reporter Bob Foltman contributed.

 

 

Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune

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yeah cora doesnt really impress me much.. i mean sure he had that 18 ab against clement and hit a HR and his brother is our 3B coach... but he isnt that great and not a real upgrade to willie harris... eikstein on the other hand would be our starter and can hit 2nd in the lineup allowing rowand to move down in the order. i rather sign one of pierznski or eikstein then cora.

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yeah cora doesnt really impress me much.. i mean sure he had that 18 ab against clement and hit a HR and his brother is our 3B coach... but he isnt that great and not a real upgrade to willie harris... eikstein on the other hand would be our starter and can hit 2nd in the lineup allowing rowand to move down in the order. i rather sign one of pierznski or eikstein then cora.

I'd rather have AJ and Wille than Davis and Cora

 

No comparison if you ask me.

 

and im stoked about the pitcher if it happens.

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im all about signing el duque and having extra money to go after another hole in our roster... i think this is the best thing KW could have done... i like this even more then him siging Clement.... because now we have some room for more moves and a pitcher that could possibily out preform clement... and that isnt a biased statment

 

 

we might just gave the best starting rotation in the majors ladies and gents.. i know its hard pressed... but just think about it.... what would happen if....

 

burly has 20 wins

garci has 20 wins

garland has 15 wins

contrares has 15 wins

duque has 15 wins

 

wow... if that happens, look out! thats at least 85 wins garented! with our bullpen being solid id give them another fifteen wins... thats 100 wins... looks like we have a huge upside, and if it works out, we are ALCS contenders

 

thats all im asking for, is a chance.

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im all about signing el duque and having extra money to go after another hole in our roster... i think this is the best thing KW could have done...  i like this even more then him siging Clement.... because now we have some room for more moves and a pitcher that could possibily out preform clement... and  that isnt a biased statment

 

 

we might just gave the best starting rotation in the majors ladies and gents.. i know its hard pressed... but just think about it.... what would happen if....

 

burly has 20 wins

garci has 20 wins

garland has 15 wins

contrares has 15 wins

duque has 15 wins

 

wow... if that happens, look out! thats at least 85 wins garented! with our bullpen being solid id give them another fifteen wins... thats 100 wins... looks like we have a huge upside, and if it works out, we are ALCS contenders

 

thats all im asking for, is a chance.

a little bit of wishfull thinking but its not out of reach for any of those pitchers, also i think our Catcher is our biggest whole right now by far, but i gotta agree all i can ask for is a chance with us being a mid ranged market team.

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im all about signing el duque and having extra money to go after another hole in our roster... i think this is the best thing KW could have done...  i like this even more then him siging Clement.... because now we have some room for more moves and a pitcher that could possibily out preform clement... and  that isnt a biased statment

 

 

we might just gave the best starting rotation in the majors ladies and gents.. i know its hard pressed... but just think about it.... what would happen if....

 

burly has 20 wins

garci has 20 wins

garland has 15 wins

contrares has 15 wins

duque has 15 wins

 

wow... if that happens, look out! thats at least 85 wins garented! with our bullpen being solid id give them another fifteen wins... thats 100 wins... looks like we have a huge upside, and if it works out, we are ALCS contenders

 

thats all im asking for, is a chance.

All 5 pitchers having career yrs all in the same yr, yep no bias there.

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its a lot too ask for.. but honestly, its not out of reach

 

burly can win 20 games, we all know he has the abilty

garcia has the abiliy to be a 20 game winner

contreras has the ability to be a 20 game winner but hasnt shown it, so 15 games isnt too much to ask

garland should win at least 12 games with the ability to win 18

duque could win 20 but will probably win at least 12.... so at worst we have about... 77 wins.... at best we have... 89

 

those numbers are really lose but if we can get about 80 wins out of our startes GREAT... and if we can get 90 wins out of our starters, we are playoff bound

 

i like our chances and ill take them over any pitching staff we have had in the last decade

 

 

good job KW..... a good base stealing theart from hell that can lead off with good defence, a great bullpen arm, and a starter for one player... rock on..... BRING IT

im ready, lets start the season tomarrow

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