US Baseball Pro

Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey, the two contenders for the final spot in the New York Mets’ rotation, pitched against each other in a simulated game Tuesday.

Don’t expect their performances to sway manager Willie Randolph one way or the other.

“Like I’ve said all spring, I don’t take a lot out of simulated games,” Randolph said. “For Duque, it’s just a matter of getting him through healthy.”

Hernandez said he felt good about his outing, the latest step in a slow process of changing his delivery to compensate for a bunion on his right foot.

“I’m very happy today,” El Duque said, adding that he threw all his pitches. “I feel very comfortable. Every time I feel better and better. I’m going up.”

Hernandez’s command improved as the game went on. He walked four and hit a batter with a pitch in his first two innings, then gave up two long homers in his final inning.

“The one inning, when they were hitting (Hernandez) around a little, we were throwing all fastballs trying to work on location,” catcher Brian Schneider said. “There are times out there when he’s working on things. Today was all about working on things.”

Any questions about Hernandez’s ability to get hitters out with his new delivery and apparent lack of velocity (his fastball was clocked between 78-81 mph Tuesday) could be answered soon enough. Randolph said Hernandez will make his spring training debut Sunday against St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Pelfrey breezed through his first four innings, giving up one run and three hits, all doubles—two to minor leaguer Rene Reyes and another to Schneider.

Pedro Martinez did a nice job dodging the dangerous bats. Carlos Delgado wasn’t so fortunate.

Martinez pitched four scoreless innings in his spring training debut while Delgado needed four stitches to close a bloody gash in his arm after a freak accident as the New York Mets beat Detroit 7-4 in a split-squad game Sunday.

Martinez had an earlier exhibition start rained out and skipped another because it would’ve meant a three-hour trip across the state.

“I’m happy about getting out there and facing some real hitters,” Martinez said. “I’m right where I want to be.”

Delgado, one of many Mets already injured this spring, definitely was in the wrong spot.

The slugger hit an RBI double in the third inning and later took a lead off third base.

Brady Clark swung and broke his bat, and the jagged barrel sailed down the line and speared Delgado on the outside of his right forearm. Right away, his arm was covered in red streams.

“It was a lot more blood than I wanted to see,” Delgado said.

Delgado immediately left the game and exited with a small bandage. He was previously scheduled to be off Monday and expected to be out a couple of days.

Delgado said he was watching Clark’s infield popout and didn’t see trouble headed in his direction. When he spotted the flying bat, he tried to twist his body but it was too late.

The New York Yankees and New York Mets signed Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana this off-season, respectively, to huge contracts that will make each superstar rich beyond any of our wildest dreams. The reality is, the New York Yankees and New York Mets will not make them rich-you will! Still like your team’s deal?

It is not just the New York Yankees and New York Mets. Any of your favorite baseball teams paying for high-priced baseball talent, this story is about your team, and the effect of these huge salaries on your wallet.

To read about the contract of a Johan Santana, Alex Rodriguez or any other big-money baseball player, is on the surface to say, “Great, my team made a big move. At least it’s not my money.” Whoa, not so fast. The reality is that it is your money. How? Any time you pay for a ticket to the game where the price has increased, you help pay their salary. Any time you sip from the cup of beer at the game where price have gone up, you help pay their salary. Any time you bite into the hot dog at the game where prices have increased, you help pay their salary.

Is it fair for a baseball player or star athlete to make exponentially more money than a teacher, a repairman or anyone else that helps us live our lives in a more immediate manner? Fair, my friends, has nothing to do with it. Economics 101-the law of supply and demand. The fair value of something is the exact amount that someone is willing to pay for it.

Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana are merely playing the system for what it is worth, getting the most money from the New York Yankees and New York Mets that their agents can draw.

In reality, we would do the same whether we openly admit it or not. When we go into our reviews at work, we look to improve our state, and deservedly so. We work hard, are loyal, and have only so many opportunities to reap any kind of reward.

MLB, its Owners, its players and machinery are out for one thing and only one thing above all else. That is, to make money for itself and its players. How does it do this? By getting money from its fans.

So the New York Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to a long-term, huge contract. Better believe that your ticket prices, beer, hot dogs, gear and cable bill are headed North accordingly. So, in the end, it is you that pays Alex Rodriguez, or Johan Santana, or whichever high-priced star happens to play at your favorite stadium.

As a New York Yankees fan, New York Mets fan, Los Angeles Dodgers fan or wherever, you want your team to win. To win, you have to pay high-priced players. The question is whether you mind paying more for a better product?

When you buy a television, you expect to pay more for a better brand than Joe Schmo’s TV brand. We don’t think of it in those terms but it is the way that it is when you the fan shell out money to be a part of sports. You want to follow a competitive team? Then you will shell out the bucks, out of your own pocket, to compensate your favorite team in return for a better product. Fair? Fair has nothing to do with it…never does.

Fans of MLB do have a choice, and the power, to put the brakes on high-priced contracts, such as Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana’s. The reality though, is a stark one for true fans. The answer is to stop paying.

The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and every other MLB team pays attention to one thing and one thing only-how much cash is rolling in.

Stop following the Los Angeles Dodgers or Boston Red Sox with your wallet, and there will be less to pay the players. Less to pay the players, the less salaries will be. Less fannies in seats, the lower ticket prices will become. Supply and demand.

The reality however, is that MLB knows this will never happen. In the wake of strikes, steroid scandals and such, MLB still enjoys record attendance throughout the United States. As a MLB fan, you cannot have it all. If you want to follow MLB, be ready to pony up cash. The closer you want to follow, the more cash you will need.

Alex Rodriguez, Johan Santana and the others do not care about how much you have to pay. They care about how much they can make during a limited MLB career. It is a Catch-22, but fans will continue to come, continue to pay, continue to harbor some resentment.

MLB fans-the reality is this is the going rate to have access to the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets or whichever team you follow. You cannot have everything. You can have your favorite team, on a competitive level which is expensive, but in the end it will be your cash bankrolling the winning, creating the competitive atmosphere that you are then able to follow. Is it worth it? Only you can decide for yourself. Until now, the answer among MLB faithful is a resounding, yes.

Randy Johnson was happy to pitch without pain. Still, he was disappointed with the results of his first outing since back surgery.

The Big Unit gave up three runs and four hits, including a three-run homer by Chris Iannetta, in 1 1-3 innings Monday during Arizona’s 10-9 victory over the NL champion Colorado Rockies. Johnson walked one and struck out one.

“Minus the results today, there was a lot of positive things,” he said. “But as competitive as I am, I’m still disappointed that I would pitch like that.”

The 44-year-old left-hander returned to the mound for the first time since June 28. Last summer, he underwent back surgery for the second time in less than a year, but Monday he said he felt healthy.

“I’ve got a long ways to go, but I’m just happy to be able to get out there and pitch pain-free,” Johnson said. “Comparing today to the last time I pitched at Chase (Field), it’s night and day. So I’m happy about that. The results will come as I pitch more.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers have let Former Manager Tommy Lasorda Manage the Los Angeles Dodgers while Joe Torre is in Asia with some of the players. Even after all these years, don’t let the pot belly and marinara sauce fool you.

Tommy Lasorda is one of the great, old characters of MLB that makes baseball the sport with the richest history. For those of us who remember him as the feisty Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers for what seemed like forever, his chit-chat and clown-like persona hid a very real competitive fire, spearheading a Los Angeles Dodgers team that was very competitive during Lasorda’s tenure.

Tommy Lasorda is now 80 years old, and has been in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for almost 60 years. Back to the days of the Brooklyn Dodgers in fact, and Lasorda has known or played with all the great old Dodgers, from Jackie Robinson to Sandy Koufax. Lasorda reminds us that although the object in MLB is to win, you can have a good time doing it.

When the best Managers of MLB are discussed, Lasorda’s name is not top-of-mind, and maybe it shouldn’t be. But his record is excellent, and he did win the World Series twice. Included was the 1988 Dodgers team that was woeful offensively, yet got by the New York Mets and Oakland A’s, both teams that had much more firepower than Lasorda’s Dodgers.

It was good to see Tommy Lasorda back in a Dodgers uniform, albeit for a short while. They do not make them like that anymore, and in a time when MLB has all the negative headlines it could imagine, that is a shame.