Bad news for New Yor Mets: El Duque has arthritis
Ever since Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez defected from Cuba, there have been whisperings that he is a few years older than what has been presented to the baseball public.
Those rumors probably aren’t going to ebb after Thursday’s news.
Hernandez was diagnosed with arthritis in his neck. Arthritis? What, is this guy 85 years old? OK, to be fair, it should be pointed out that arthritis isn’t necessarily an old man’s disease.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot and will be out of camp for three or four days.
“Everything looks well,” Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. “It was just good news. It was preventive, and we feel really good - especially after reviewing the MRI.”
What’s alarming about this from a Mets standpoint is that their shaky starting rotation is already under the microscope, and they haven’t even started spring games.
Right now, the most likely Opening Day rotation is Tom Glavine, El Duque, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey.
Glavine and El Duque are old, the latter injury prone, Maine and Pelfrey are unproven, and Perez has been down more than up during his young, star-crossed career.
The Mets were able to skirt by last season thanks to a masterful job by pitching coach Rick Peterson, an outstanding lineup and terrific team defense. Duplicating that feat won’t be easy. Hernandez’s condition gets things off to a rocky start.
The Mets’ over/under for regular season wins on Bodog.com is 89.5.
MLB Baseball Futures Betting, 2006 World Series Odds at Bodog Sportsbook
2007 World Series Odds: Again, this isn’t to say that any of this holds any kind of predictive value (it certainly does not), but considering how horrible the Cubs were last season, it’s shocking to see the Cubs at 8/1 odds this high up on the list.
