NEW YORK—Close friends of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez explained to the Mets pitcher Tuesday that, despite his team's attempts to get him to alter his unconventional delivery to alleviate the stress placed on his right push-off foot, Hernandez is great the way he is and should not have to change anything about his mechanics just to fit in on the Mets roster. "If the Mets don't want you to be their fifth starter, that's their loss," Hernandez's longtime friend Bob Cohn, 52, reportedly told the pitcher Tuesday. "Your windup is great. It's unique, it's quirky, it's flashy without being pretentious—Orlando, it's you." Cohn and Hernandez's other friends, however, later went on to suggest that maybe Hernandez might want to try possibly abandoning his high leg kick, "just to show a different side of yourself, you know?"