Nats ace undergoing remarkable rebound
Less than nine months ago, the unique career of Livan Hernandez appeared close to the end.
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Released by his second team in as many seasons when the New York Mets waived him on Aug. 20, there wasn’t much of a market for a 34-year-old right-handed pitcher with a repertoire of pitches that go slow, slower and slowest.
The Nationals, stocked with inexperienced rookies fast approaching innings limits, were both desperate and had a history with Hernandez — a key part of the 2005 team that brought baseball back to the District.
Somehow, that late-season flier nabbed Washington a pitcher who is now undergoing a remarkable rebound in 2010. It is only May 11, of course. But Hernandez is 4-1 with a 1.04 ERA in six starts. The 35-year-old wasn’t even a lock to make the team out of spring training yet has again become one of the National League’s top pitchers.
“Livo does what Livo does,” Nats pitching coach Steve McCatty said last week. “It’s not about lighting up the radar gun or having Strasburg-esque stuff. It’s about pitching, throwing balls to spots and having people put the ball in play. He’s been tremendous so far this year.”
His latest performance was a seven-inning, one-run effort against the Florida Marlins on Sunday at Nationals Park. Hernandez gave up just five hits and a walk. He has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a game this season. Only once has he failed to pitch seven complete innings.
His reliable control is still there — 14 walks in 43 1/3 innings. But Hernandez certainly isn’t blowing anyone away with a fastball that generally sits in the mid-80s. So far, he has just 14 strikeouts. An offseason workout regimen that included games of racquetball helped him shed weight — at least a bit — and ease the chronic knee pain that has plagued him in recent seasons.
“I don’t know how he does it sometimes,” said Nats first baseman Adam Dunn, who in his career against Hernandez is 6-for-25 with two homers and two walks. “He just keeps people off balance. He’s never out there trying to strike people out.”
