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Diamondbacks Are Counting On Hernandez's Magic Act
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"It's truly unbelievable," Arizona first baseman Conor Jackson said, "because he comes into spring training, and he gets hit. He gets hit in spring training, and you're like, 'Oh my gosh.' And then he gets in the regular season, and it's a completely different Livan."
All of which points to the idea that Hernandez is a chameleon, changing his colors with the circumstances. His six-inning performance in the division series clincher over the Chicago Cubs has become Exhibit A of how Hernandez handles himself. The Cubs had two base runners in each of the first five innings, yet managed just one run. It is as if Hernandez is merely trying to keep things interesting.
"I tried to play with the hitter a little bit," Hernandez said.
This phenomenon, though, isn't limited to the postseason. With nobody out and nobody on, opposing batters hit .345 against Hernandez this year. With two outs and runners in scoring position, they hit .202.
"He can definitely be frustrating, the way he just kind of throws junk up there and gets you out in front," Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "Then he throws a fastball by you."
Reminded that the fastball is likely 83 or 84 mph, Tulowitzki smiled. "It looks a lot faster," he said.
Until that game against the Cubs, the most recent memory of Hernandez in the postseason came from the 2002 World Series, when he suffered his most humiliating moments -- 5 2/3 innings over two starts in which he allowed nine earned runs, in which 19 men reached base and he recorded only 17 outs. The Giants lost those games to the Angels, including Game 7, and they remain Hernandez's only postseason defeats.
That, though, was five years and two teams ago now. Saturday afternoon, when Hernandez finished talking about his expectation and his mind-set, he leaned into one of the microphones in front of him.
"I go to sleep now," he said, and you got the feeling that he might not wake up until the bases were loaded, there was no one out, and he needed to make a pitch.
