Trying to make case for 5th spot, El Duque and Mike Pelfrey get ripped

The bunion-toed war-horse or the unproven underachiever? That's the fifth-starter choice the Mets will make this week. And miserable showings from both Sunday did little to inspire confidence in either option: Orlando Hernandez or Mike Pelfrey.

"As a whole, you wish it would have been a better day," GM Omar Minaya said after watching the revamped El Duque allow five runs in three innings, then Pelfrey allow eight runs in 4-1/3 innings in the Mets' 14-4 loss to the Cardinals. Continue