PORT ST. LUCIE – Orlando Hernandez has used his signature high leg kick to deceive hitters and bring a unique flair to his delivery.
Now, though, “El Duque” admits he either has to alter the knee-to-chin portion of his windup or eliminate it completely if he wants to continue to pitch in the major leagues.
Hernandez has multiple problems with his right foot, notably a bunion issue that causes significant pain on his instep near his big toe. When he brings his right knee toward his face in his standard delivery, Hernandez is forced to take his heel off the ground, which places greater strain on the instep and toe areas. So Hernandez needs to modify his delivery to allow him to keep his heel flat as a way to alleviate pain.
In demonstrating the current problem to a reporter yesterday, Hernandez showed that his right knee is buckling slightly and causing him to lose balance when he tries to throw in his signature fashion as he tries to compensate for the pain. When asked if he can make the necessary alterations, Hernandez smiled and said: “Of course. I’ll be OK. I’ll figure it out.”
To that end, Hernandez worked in the bullpen yesterday with pitching coach Rick Peterson. He worked off flat ground throwing a knotted towel. It was just an exercise to see if he could find a comfortable fashion in which to preserve some elevation with his left leg from the windup. Peterson said that the session was productive and that Hernandez manufactured a motion that is comfortable to him.
Peterson said the end result will be a delivery that is “conventional.” When asked if losing the unconventional style would sap Hernandez of deception because he no longer would be able to hide the ball as long in his delivery, Peterson said that he believes El Duque confuses hitters more with his variety of arm angles and speed variances than with the leg kick.
Hernandez is expected to long-toss today, throw a 45-60 pitch bullpen session tomorrow and possibly pitch in a game early next week. Peterson insisted there was still time for Hernandez to be part of the rotation when the season begins. Due to days off, the Mets do not need to use a fifth starter until April 12, their 11th game of the year.