December 23, 200421 yr White Sox agree to $8 million, two-year deal with El Duque By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer December 22, 2004 CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox found their fifth starter. Right-hander Orlando Hernandez agreed to an $8 million, two-year deal with the White Sox on Wednesday, bolstering what had already been one of the American League's stronger rotations. ``For us, it was going to begin and end with the pitching. That was how we wanted to reallocate the resources available to us,'' general manager Ken Williams said in a conference call. ``We feel really good about where we are right now, from No. 1 all the way down to No. 11 or 12.'' El Duque has a 61-40 career record with a 3.96 ERA, 704 strikeouts and one save in six seasons, all with the New York Yankees. His postseason record is even more impressive: 9-3 with a 2.65 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 17 games. But Hernandez has been slowed by a shoulder injury the last two years. He missed the 2003 season after having surgery that May to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. He won his first eight decisions after rejoining the Yankees at midseason last year, but lost his final two and then missed the AL division series due to a tired shoulder. Still, Yankees manager Joe Torre gave Hernandez the start in Game 4 of the ALCS. He was in line to clinch the pennant for the Yankees after giving up three runs and three walks in five innings, but Boston rallied and went on to win the World Series. Hernandez finished the year 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 15 starts. He limited opponents to a .230 average, including .194 by right-handed hitters. ``He came back a little early from his injury because he wanted to pitch, and he pitched well,'' Williams said. ``He got a little tired at the end, but Joe Torre had enough confidence to make him one of his playoff pitchers. That will tell you something right there.'' Hernandez also passed his physical without any problems, Williams said. ``I just got probably the best report on a physical that I've gotten since I've been sitting in this chair,'' Williams said. ``The wear and tear is not indicative of a major-league pitcher. ... That gives us even more of a reason for optimism.'' Hernandez is optimistic, too. Williams said the pitcher insisted upon incentive bonuses tied to comeback player of the year and the All-Star game. Hernandez will earn $3.5 million next season with the chance to make $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on innings and have a base salary of $4.5 million in 2006 plus one-third of any 2005 bonuses earned. He also can made $2 million in performance bonuses in 2006. ``He was particularly focused on the All-Star game because he feels good,'' Williams said. While Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jose Contreras and Jon Garland give the White Sox four solid pitchers, they've been on a seemingly endless search for someone to fill that last hole. They've tried promising young pitchers, took people from the bullpen and brought guys up from the minors -- all with equally dismal results. Last year, the ``plug-ins'' were 5-15 with a 9.08 ERA in 25 starts. Williams was determined to find a permanent solution this offseason, especially with the White Sox getting away from its power base of past seasons. Chicago traded Carlos Lee and let free agent Magglio Ordonez go, focusing instead on pitching, run-production, speed and defense. The White Sox pursued Matt Clement, but he finalized a $25.5 million, three-year deal with Boston on Wednesday. El Duque was a close second, and will likely be Chicago's No. 3 pitcher, behind Buehrle and Garcia. ``If this is a year ago, we don't make this overture,'' Williams said. ``Because he's so far removed from that, he should be full go now and should be better than ever.'' This will actually be Hernandez's second stint with the White Sox. He was traded to Chicago on Jan. 15, 2003, then shipped to Montreal as part of a seven-player deal that brought Bartolo Colon to the White Sox.
December 23, 200421 yr Author http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...ndpost&p=640660 641361[/snapback] Yea, yea, yea....sorry I didn't leaf through the 200 pages of that thread to find it.
December 23, 200421 yr Garcia, Contrases, El Duque, Buerhle, Chicago may finally win their division. 641369[/snapback] And Garland is a good 4 or 5.
December 23, 200421 yr Good luck with Duque. I wish the guy well, but he's not a top tier pitcher and I'm glad he didn't come back to NY...
December 23, 200421 yr Good luck with Duque. I wish the guy well, but he's not a top tier pitcher and I'm glad he didn't come back to NY... 641461[/snapback] 8-2 3.3 ERA Career: 61-40 record with a 3.96 ERA
December 23, 200421 yr 8-2 3.3 ERA 84.7 innings pitched. He's averaged 81.5 innings per season over the last 4 years... Career: 61-40 record with a 3.96 ERA 4.30 era over his last 2 FULL seasons - and on a team with better than average defense. 29-22 record on a team that averaged 93 wins per season over those two years. Trust me, I've been rooting for Duque ever since he came up. Bottom line - don't count on him until the leaves turn colors - kinda like Jim Leyritz.
December 23, 200421 yr Bad sign...too much money for a guy who is very injury prone 641596[/snapback] His deal is incentive based and can be voided.
October 11, 200521 yr Looks like Chewie picked a winner! Duque ends up 9-9 with a 5.12 era in 128 innings pitched. Looks like they got more innings than I expected out of him. Good thing their offense bailed him out of a couple of really bad starts. BTW - his last start against the Angels resulted in a Loss. He lasted 2 innings and gave up 4 runs and 3 home runs! Then again, the leaves have turned...
October 11, 200521 yr Author He may have allready earned his salary with that relief appearance against BoSox to clinch last week
October 11, 200521 yr He may have allready earned his salary with that relief appearance against BoSox to clinch last week I agree... that was amazing.
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