Livan Hernandez has signed a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals and could compete for a spot in the rotation.
Hernandez could earn up to $1.25 million if he makes the team and notches all his performance bonus benchmarks.
Hmm…I wonder what El Duque is up to.
This one is a little more recent. According to the Tax Watchdog blog, Livan Hernandez owes quite a lot of money to many people.
From the Tax Watchdog blog…
What's owed:
- On Aug. 19, SunTrust Bank sued Hernandez in Miami, and is trying to foreclose on the mortgage for his 4,643-square-foot home (see below), according to this public record. The home, coincidentally, is for sale for $1.42 million, according to this listing.
- A day earlier, on Aug. 18, the neighborhood association that governs the pitcher's $981,000 Miami Beach condo filed a $3,587 lien for unpaid bills, which you can see here.
- He's also catching heat from a second neighborhood association. The Bay Point Property Owners Association filed a lien July 8, claiming the pitcher owed more than $2,700 for property maintenance, attorney fees and costs associated with the Miami home, according to this public record.
- Even the pool guy is pursuing Hernandez. David Cohen, president of All Florida Pools & Spa Center, filed this lien on Sept. 17, claiming Hernandez failed to pay $1,102 in pool repairs.
- The state of California filed a $29,791 lien against Hernandez on Jan. 25, 2008, in Sacramento County Court. It is the second lien filed against Hernandez in recent years.
- On Aug. 20, 2008, the IRS released a $307,268 income tax lien that had been filed three months earlier in Miami, according to this public record.
Pay your bills!
The Mets have released Livan Hernandez and activated Billy Wagner, according to Kevin Burkhardt.
Hernandez went 4-1 in his first nine starts with the Mets, going 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in May. Since then, he’s gone 3-7 14 starts, now sporting an ERA of 5.47 and a WHIP of 1.59.
ERA and WHIP, by month:
| Month | ERA | WHIP |
| April | 6.75 | 1.453 |
| May | 2.70 | 1.380 |
| June | 3.69 | 1.359 |
| July | 7.33 | 1.889 |
| August | 11.30 | 2.372 |
Safe to say the magic ran out.
Livan signed a minor-league deal with the Mets in February. He made $1 million when added to the 40-man roster and could have made another $1 million in performance bonuses.
Another hole in the Mets rotation. Who’s filling it this time?
Nelson Figueroa? Tim Redding? Pat Misch? Tag-team all three?
Updated – 5:02 p.m.: Bart Hubbuch just tweeted that Tim Redding will take Livan’s spot in the rotation on Saturday.
As if there was any better way to pay homage to the 1969 team, Tim Redding is pitching.
Last night may have been one of the more boring games of the 2009 campaign. Unless you were a Giants fan.
From Livan Hernandez hemorrhaging hits to a lineup that was beyond putrid, the game was an all-around disaster. My record at Citi Field fell from the perfect 3-0, to a less cool 3-1 because of last night’s mess of a game.
Do you want to know, in one very simple explanation, why last night was one of the worst games all year? Because when Andy Green, the 32-year-old who was called up to replace David Wright on the roster, came to the plate in the 9th inning down nine runs with the stadium almost completely empty, he garnered the loudest cheer of the night.
Of course, he was snuffed out on the very next play as Cory Sullivan grounded into an inning-ending double play, but it was fun while it lasted.
Again, a terrible game on a beautiful night. I now own a .750 winning percentage at Citi Field, which I will take over my sub-.500 winning percentage from Shea Stadium any day of the week.
Check out MetsGrrl.com for a much more awesome photo of the savior we call “Andy Green.”
Last night was terrible. Hopefully it’s only a 24-hour bug.
Anyway, here’s what I missed…
- Bobby Parnell will make a start on Saturday, filling in for Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey will be back with the Mets in Arizona, starting on Monday.
I like the idea of seeing what the Mets might have in Parnell, but don’t you think they should stretch him out a little more? Though he was on the mound for three innings on Wednesday, he only threw 30 pitches. I guess the Mets are hoping to get just five innings out of him, as he will be held to a 60-75 pitch limit, reports Adam Rubin.
- Angel Berroa DFA’d to make room for Anderson Hernandez.
Oh, goody.
- Gary Sheffield and Luis Castillo may not be as injured as we all thought.
Sheffield was in one of the lineups for the Mets last night, but ended up sitting out. Castillo may return as early as Saturday, said Jerry Manuel.
- Mets lose to Padres by a score of 8-3.
Not much to see here. Livan Hernandez had a rough first inning, as usual, but couldn’t stitch together much after that.
Mike Pelfrey will miss his scheduled start on Saturday in San Diego for the birth of his first child. Pelfrey did not make the trip to California.
That, coupled with Jon Niese’s injury, leaves two holes in the Mets rotation over the next week. Here’s how the pitching matchups look for the next five games…
The way I see it, Pelfrey can work the first game of the Arizona series, slotting back in behind Santana. That means the Mets will need just one pitcher to fill in on Saturday.
Nelson Figueroa was more than serviceable yesterday, coming off a disaster of a start against the Diamondbacks. Bobby Parnell’s named has also been tossed around as a starter, so that could be an option.
And don’t bother looking down at the minor leagues. No pitcher is near the “major league ready” level of Jon Niese, so don’t expect a call-up to fare well.
Earlier today, I posted a the daily Manuel’s Musing. In it, Jerry Manuel said, “Angel has had some success against Arizona. That's what we are. That's what we have. He's somewhat of a veteran. So I didn't mind taking my shot with him at that point.”
Understandably, I was skeptical of this statement. Does Manuel really know the history of Angel Berroa? Does he even know who Angel Berroa is?
So I checked, and he’s actually somewhat right. Berroa has had some moderate “success” against the Diamondbacks, and almost all of it came in 2008.
Career against ARI: 66 PA, .214 AVG / .313 OBP / .268 SLG, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB
2008 against ARI: 35 PA, .308 AVG / .455 OBP / .346 SLG, 2B, RBI, 5 R, 5 BB
Oh, but wait. Angel Berroa pinch hit for Livan Hernandez, who had thrown only 81 pitches so far in the game. Hernandez’s career numbers have to be much worse than Berroa’s, right?
Well, take a look…
Livan’s career against ARI: 45 PA, .310 AVG / .310 OBP / .381 SLG, 3 2B, 3 R
A few hours ago I wrote about the choice the Mets would have to make between Nelson Figueroa and Jon Niese. Now, what if I told you I don’t think the Mets should make that choice.
I think they should call them both up.
Bring up both Niese and Figueroa. Replace Tim Redding and Livan Hernandez.
Redding, we know, has struggled the entire season. He’s 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.681. Just not good at all.
Hernandez, over his last six starts, has allowed 47 hits in 33 1-3 innings, to the tune of a 7.56 ERA and a WHIP of 1.963. (In his last two starts, where he pitched seven innings combined, his WHIP is 4.142. Woah.)
Yes, Niese and Figueroa have been collecting their stats at Triple-A Buffalo, but they’re also pitching for the worst team in the International League.
Send Redding on his way while eating the $2.5 million owed to his and move Livan somewhere else. He’s been eating innings but he’s not really helping the Mets.
Bring up both of the players from Triple-A Buffalo. It can’t get much worse.
The Livan magic has run out.
The Los Angeles Dodgers (55-31) beat the New York Mets (40-45) by a score of 11-2.
Livan Hernandez has given the Mets half a season. I think that’s a lot more than anyone could have expected. It’s run it’s course and the Mets should be thankful. But that looks like it’s about it for Livan and the team should bring up Jon Niese for the next start.
11 hits in four innings, with eight earned runs is pretty terrible. It was good while it lasted.
Other than Hernandez, not much of note happened. Pat Misch and Brian Stokes were good. Tim Redding, not so much.
The offense sputtered again against Randy Wolf and couldn’t overcome the four-spot the Dodgers put up in the first inning.
Livan Hernandez busted and the bats couldn’t do much of anything against Rodrigo Lopez.
Figures.
Tonight belonged to Joel Pineiro.
The St. Louis Cardinals (40-32) beat the New York Mets (35-34) by a score of 3-0.
Livan Hernandez was good, Pineiro was just better. Hernandez held the Cardinals to three runs (two earned) over seven innings of work. He walked three and struck out three.
He was very good. It could be argued that outside of his start against the Yankees, he’s been the best pitcher since the end of May.
Elmer Dessens turned in two solid innings in relief, setting the side down in order both times.
Pineiro held the Mets to only two hits, singles by Luis Castillo and Jeremy Reed, over his nine innings. He needed only 100 pitches thanks to inducing 22 ground balls for outs. The meager Mets lineup didn’t hurt either.
Just have to tip your cap to him and move on. He’s just great against the Mets, especially when Fernando Tatis is their cleanup hitter.
If you follow the blog or my tweets, you know that Francisco Rodriguez has thrown the most pitches out of the bullpen and Johan Santana has thrown the most pitches overall.
Here’s a chart of the Mets pitchers and their pitches per plate appearance. Look who is “leading” the way…
He was due to falter.
The Baltimore Orioles (29-37) beat the New York Mets (33-31) by a score of 5-4.
Livan Hernandez did it again. Another strong start, keeping the Mets in the game. Seven innings, Hernandez scattered eight hits and allowed only two earned runs. Hernandez walked one and struck out four.
How good has Hernandez been this year? I had no hopes of him doing anything for the Mets this year. Boy, was I wrong.
Pedro Feliciano and Sean Green split the 8th inning, allowing one run to score on two hits. Francisco Rodriguez entered for the 9th inning with a one run lead. A ledoff double, walk and fielders choice that didn’t get anyone out left the bases loaded and no outs with Adam Jones at the plate. K-Rod walked him in to tie the game, then struck out Nick Markakis to bring Aubrey Huff to the plate.
Huff promptly singled to right field, ending the game with a win for the O’s.
The overuse of Feliciano and K-Rod is starting to show. I can’t rail on K-Rod. Everyone has a off day.
The Mets bats were held off the board until the 6th inning by rookie Jason Berken. They finally broke through with a sacrifice fly off the bat of David Wright. Later in the inning, Ryan Church singled off the wall in right field, plating another run.
The next inning, Daniel Murphy and Carlos Beltran picked up RBI hits.
The Mets could have plated a few more, but nothing came to fruition. Thankfully the Toronto Blue Jays swept the Philadelphia Phillies.
According to T.R. Sullivan, the Texas Rangers have signed Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez to a minor league deal.
El Duque last pitched in the major leagues with the Mets in 2007, going 9-5 with a 3.72 ERA.
I’ll save my comments and refer to a Photoshop I put together when he was still with the Mets…
Meanwhile, his brother Livan Hernandez is 5-1 with a 3.88 ERA with the Mets the season.
and
“Obviously, we need good pitching, and that's outstanding pitching,”
-Jerry Manuel on Livan Hernandez’s outing on Sunday
Livan Hernandez and a big first inning were all the Mets needed on Sunday afternoon.
The New York Mets (30-25) beat the Washington Nationals (15-40) by a score of 7-0.
Hernandez is a master of the Washington Nationals. In two starts against them, he’s thrown 16 innings, allowing only one run. Today he pitched seven shutout, allowing four hits, walking four and striking out four. Hernandez needed 116 pitches.
Pedro Feliciano and Bobby Parnell combined to work the 8th inning without allowing a run. Francisco Rodriguez got an inning of work, walking one and striking out one. His ERA on the season is now 0.68.
The Mets put up five runs in the first inning. Fernando Martinez, Daniel Murphy and Brian Schneider each picked up one RBI on a double, single and sac-fly respectively. Martinez and Ryan Church also scored on two separate wild pitches.
David Wright drove in a run in the seventh with a single to left. The Mets tacked one on in the 9th inning, when Carlos Beltran doubled in Martinez for the seventh and final run.
Handed away on a silver platter.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (23-28) beat the New York Mets (28-22) by a score of 8-5.
Livan Hernandez was good, not great. He surrendered three runs in 5 2-3 innings, walking two and striking out five. Hernandez gave up a two-run triple and an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth inning.
With the Mets clinging to a 5-3 lead (they were up 5-0 at one point) the 8th inning came along and everything came crashing down. Pedro Feliciano started the inning, his second of work, and allowed a leadoff double. J.J. Putz came in with one out and allowed four straight hits, allowing three runs to score.
Something is obviously very wrong with Putz. He tried to tinker with his arm in a bullpen session earlier in the day. We all know the old adage about Rome, but his struggles have been grand and well chronicled. Don’t be surprised if he’s on the DL tomorrow.
With the bases loaded, Brian Stokes came on after Putz failed to get an out after facing five batters and induced a ground ball to shortstop Wilson Valdez. Instead of getting out of the inning with a double play, Valdez bobbled and dropped the ball, allowing a run to score and the bases to remain loaded. A sacrifice fly to center field scored the Pirated 8th and final run.
Valdez picked up three RBIs on a run-scoring triple and two-run double.
The offense didn’t get a hit from the 4th inning until the 9th inning. They had an early 5-0 lead and watched it shrink, then slip away. But the problem, more so, was the bullpen and the sieve that Putz has become.
Swept out of LA.
The Los Angeles Dodgers (29-13) beat the New York Mets (21-19) by a score of 2-1.
Livan Hernandez, making the start for the New York Mets, pitched a gem. Seven innings, scattering seven hits, six of them singles, walking only one and striking out two. Hernandez threw 93 pitches through his seven innings on the bump. He let up his one run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning.
J.J. Putz came on to pitch the 8th and let up one run, the eventual game winner, on a Russell Martin single to left field. Putz allowed the run on two walks and two hits. He also struck out one.
The Mets managed seven hits but only one run. Carlos Beltran doubled in Luis Castillo from first base in the top of the third inning for the Mets lone run. The Mets got two on with none out in the 8th inning, but failed to push any runs across.
Jose Reyes left the game in the third inning after re-aggravating his right calf. Expect a DL stint soon.
The Mets must be saying goodbye and good riddance to Los Angeles.
Just call them The Comeback Kids.
The New York Mets (20-15) beat the San Francisco Giants (18-17) by a score of 8-6.
Livan Hernandez, making the start for the Mets, got roughed up early. Hernandez allowed four runs in the first inning and another in the fifth inning before settling down. He pitched five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits.
Sean Green allowed a run on two hits in the sixth inning. Pedro Feliciano and Brian Stokes each turned in scoreless innings. Francisco Rodriguez turned in a 1-2-3 9th inning to notch his 11th save of the season.
Facing Tim Lincecum, the Mets had a stiff task ahead of them. David Wright drove in one in the first inning with an RBI single. Down 5-1, the Mets got two more in the sixth inning on an Omir Santos sac-fly and another Wright RBI single.
The Mets got two on to start the seventh inning, chasing Lincecum. With the bases loaded and none out, Wright hit a bases-clearing double to left field to tie the game.
In the 9th, Ryan Church attempted to bunt over two runners. Brian Wilson fielded and threw to third, trying to get the lead runner, but his toss went wide and Gary Sheffield scored, giving the Mets the lead. Santos added another run on an RBI sac-fly.
Wright went 3-5 with 4 RBI and a stolen base tonight. He has absolutely dominated over the last two games.
What a win. Hanging in against the 2008 Cy Young winner and then exploiting the Giants bullpen and their mistakes. I tweeted that this win might be season defining. What do you think?
