El Duque begins his comeback as a 44-year-old in rookie ball

Fresh off being sued for $900,000 over a business deal gone wrong, Orlando Hernandez began his comeback last night by throwing one inning in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Signed to a minor-league contract by the Nationals three weeks ago, the 44-year-old Hernandez allowed one run on two hits in what was his first game action since pitching at Triple-A for the Rangers last season. His brother Livan Hernandez is thriving in the Nationals’ rotation after years of horrible pitching, but El Duque is unlikely to join him in Washington. He hasn’t faced big-league hitters since 2007 with the Mets and Jamie Moyer, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Jesse Orosco, David Wells, and John Franco are the only pitchers to spend time in the majors at age 44 or older during the past 25 seasons.