Mets "pursuing" Livan Hernandez?

by wallybackman on Aug 5, 2008 11:03 AM EDT

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/04/rockies-recall-register-triple-a/

"With Livan Hernandez clearing waivers today, any team that picks him up will have to pay only a prorated portion of the minimum $390,000. The Twins have to pick up the remainder of the $5 million contract.

The Rockies will make a push. Several teams also will be pursuing Hernandez, including the Mets, who lost John Maine to an injury, and Arizona, which has Yusmeiro Petit in the rotation.

Hernandez had the two best Coors Field games of his career last year with Arizona, but he is 4-5 with a 6.50 ERA lifetime. The question is whether time has taken its toll or if he just didn't fit in the AL (4-7, 6.64ERA in last 14 starts)."

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Hernandez has been washed up for awhile. Even in the NL last year with Arizona he had an awful 4.93 ERA. And while he did post a 3.76 ERA down the stretch for the Diamondbacks in 2006, that ERA hid a lousy 39:26 strikeout to walk ratio. Bottom line – his “resurgence” at the end of 2006 was just luck. The guy is done.

by ams258 on Aug 5, 2008 11:55 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed, but...

With the total lack of pitching depth at the triple A level this wouldn’t be the worst thing. Would Figueroa or Vargas be any better?

I’d like to see Niese get some starts, but that’s probably not going to happen just yet.

by Reg Dunlop on Aug 5, 2008 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm not sure Armas or Vargas would be any better

but I don’t think they’d be worse either. No need to add someone to the forty man roster and make a move just for the sake of making one.

by ams258 on Aug 5, 2008 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I think they would be.

Livan’s got a 1.63 WHIP. That’s 199 hits and 23 walks in 139 2/3 innings. His ERA+ is 74. He hasn’t been a league-average pitcher since 2005, and then only barely (102 ERA+), and his WHIP that year was 1.43. Sure, maybe you can argue that pitching in the AL inflates his numbers slightly. But it’s far more likely that he’s just washed up.

Figueroa hasn’t been much better than Livan, especially since his smoke cloud dissipated and the mirrors cracked. But Claudio Vargas? He’s got an WHIP of only 1.18. In 37 innings, he’s walked on 11 batters. Granted, he has just 20 strikeouts, and an ERA+ of 89, but that’s still a far sight better than Livan. Going into this season, Vargas had averaged 6.4 K/9, which means he’s been underperforming, at least in that regard. Both of these guys would provide pitching at least equal to what Hernandez would, and probably quite a bit better. And neither would cost us more than the cost of a flight from New Orleans. That’s a helluva lot cheaper than $390. And it’d be money better spent, too.

Bottom line: We’ve got enough washed up pitchers named “Hernandez”, thank you very much. This is a baseball team, not a goddamned retirement home.

by BobbyV_Incognito on Aug 5, 2008 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions

huh?

10-8 w/a 5.48 ERA? Has given up 5 or more runs in 3 out of the past 5 games. So, let me get this straight, if we give the guy about 7 runs of support we can win with him. Oh, I forgot, the bullpen will blow it even if he is given solid run support.

Livan Hernandez? NOPE!

NEXT!

"OVER A BILLION SERVED" ;-)

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Aug 5, 2008 6:21 PM EDT reply actions

Who is NEXT, as you say.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Aug 5, 2008 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Freddy Garcia, Livan Hernandez, Jon Niese, try and sign one of those 2, if not, then let Niese be the missing piece for a while, or bring up Vargas, Figueroa, etc…

by Johan4CY on Aug 6, 2008 8:50 PM EDT reply actions