To borrow from WFAN’s Howie Rose, you can put it in the books. Even if it’s not exactly official, Livan Hernandez is the fifth starter now that Freddy Garcia has been re-assigned to Triple-A or extended spring training.
Garcia wasn’t horrible in his outings but he did manage to give up runs in every game he pitched, save for one against the University of Michigan.
Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey may have been a little spent in his last outing vs. the Houston Astros. Due to a muscle strain between his ankle and his shin, he hasn’t been able to do full running drills for three weeks. This could lead to a lack of conditioning and stamina that is usually gained from those kinds of exercises.
Finally, reliever Carlos Muniz has a new pitch to add to his arsenal: the splitter. It may be what is keeping him in the majors thus far. It may not be as good as one the J.J. Putz has refined but Muniz’s is getting better thanks to pitching coach Dan Warthen. They say it’s especially effective against lefties.