Yanks win big on El Duque gamble

Even eight months later, several scouts recall the day with disgust. The El Duque who threw 35 uninspired pitches in a staged workout at the University of Miami did not look ready to return to the majors. It would have been farcical to suggest that he would be the Yankees' No. 1 starter by late summer.

"A charade," recalls one scout who was in attendance. "A waste of time," says a second. "A total joke" adds a third. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, allegedly 34, didn't even warm up on that January day. He went through a drill in which he executed his throwing motion with a balled-up towel, then took the mound. Coming off shoulder surgery that sidelined him for all of last season, he topped out at 78 mph, mixing in big, loopy curveballs. After he was through, one scout cracked, "OK, is he done getting loose?"

The session appeared to be nothing more than a Duque-and-pony show, designed for the benefit of others. Donovan Osborne and Randy Keisler, two lesser pitchers represented by Hernandez's then-agent, Jeff Moorad, preceded El Duque. A number of other bit players, presumably friends of Hernandez, also participated. One scout speculates that Hernandez threw poorly to scare off other prospective suitors because he had a deal in place with the Yankees.

Not so, according to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Truth be told, the Yankees weren't enamored with Hernandez, either. The idea of him joining the team in mid-July and going 8-0 wasn't as improbable as, say, his celebrated defection from Cuba in 1998. But as comebacks go, this one is pretty far-fetched, a sequel nearly as good as the original.

Hernandez is up to 92 mph, pitching with his familiar creativity and guile. Yet, he is not the same righthanded magician he was during his initial tenure with the Yankees from '98 through 2002. "He's better," righthander Mike Mussina says. "He has more to go to. He originally struggled with lefthanded hitters. He has weapons for lefties now."

Lefthanded hitters are batting .256 off Hernandez, down from .266 in the first phase of his career; righthanders are batting .162. Asked his secret, Hernandez responds through a translator, "You're asking the person who least thinks about that." Don't believe it. Hernandez will sit on the bench, notice some quirk in an opposing hitter's swing or stance and remark, "You see what he's doing?" Often, his teammates are dumbfounded by the sharpness of his observations.

Mussina attributes Hernandez's success against lefthanders to his ability to better change speeds and work both sides of the plate, as well as his development of a backdoor breaking ball. It's true that only three of Hernandez's first 13 starts were against teams with winning records. But the Yankees, with Mussina injured, rushed Hernandez's promotion from Class AAA before his rehabilitation was complete.

Lest anyone forget, Hernandez is 9-3 in the postseason with a 2.51 ERA; his history is what compelled the Yankees to revisit him last winter. The team's interest, however, grew serious only after Hernandez worked out a second time.

El Duque still wasn't himself. But the Red Sox--whose bullpen coach, Euclides Rojas, is the former closer for the Cuban national team--also were interested. And Billy Connors, the Yankees' pitching guru, had a hunch that Hernandez would regain his arm strength.

The Yankees lost a similar gamble on Sterling Hitchcock in 2001. They also were wrong about Osborne, whom they signed after his initial workout with Hernandez, then released in May. But they hit on Hernandez, whom they signed for a $500,000 guarantee and bonuses that include $45,000 per start. Red Sox G.M. Theo Epstein says that Moorad told the Sox the only way they could get Hernandez would be if their offer "far exceeded" the Yankees'.

"I wish we could have gotten him and gotten an option (for a second year)" Epstein says, smiling. "I bet they wish they would have gotten an option, too."

The Yankees can worry about re-signing Hernandez this offseason. He won't need to stage another workout, that's for sure.

SPEED READS

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* The lack of excitement over Barry Bonds' 700th home run reflects three things: Bonds' grating personality; suspicions that he has used performance-enhancing drugs, and the frequency with which home run records now occur. The mixed feelings will be even more pronounced if Bonds passes Babe Ruth at 714 and Hank Aaron at 755.

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