Fifth spot for Mets? Duque confident; Pelfrey hit

Once again, the No. 5 spot in the rotation was under the microscope yesterday as Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey both took the mound in very different situations.

Hernandez, the favorite, spent another morning trying to adjust to his revamped delivery and pitched what was supposed to be a simulated game - with no hitters. That made the session a little short on tangible results, other than seeing Hernandez flip through his repertoire of breaking pitches and show more velocity on his fastball than he had previously. Continue