As much as SportsNet New York tried to stoke emotion by airing Pedro Martinez's presser with the Phillies on Wednesday, he might as well of been Steve Trachsel up there. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but hear me out.
Martinez has this almost mythic quality among Mets fans for "turning the franchise around," but how can he get credit for something that never actually happened? He ended up as a four-year window-dressing for a poorly constructed franchise. Sure, Pedro had his moments with the club, from the 12 strikeouts against the Reds in his first start as a Met to the time the sprinklers went off at Shea Stadium (that was cool, huh?) to the 2.82 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 2005. His starts were an event in 2005 and the early part of 2006. But that's where it ends. One good year and three clunkers. All for the bargain price of $53 million.
It was fun. It was nice. He's a future Hall of Famer after all, but Petey never threw a pitch in the 2006 playoffs. And as the Mets were choking away another division title in 2008, Martinez had a 7.77 ERA and 1.95 WHIP in four September starts. Not what the Mets paid for.
So I look at Martinez for what he is. A guy who put up a -2.2 VORP in 2008. 76 National League starters with at least 80 innings pitched ranked higher than him. And this included the likes of Tim Redding, Saul Rivera and Shawn Chacon. You know, real difference-makers.
Was Martinez putting on the jersey of the rival-Phillies supposed to hurt? Knowing that he has a 7.85 ERA in four career starts at Citizens Bank Park made it a lot easier to swallow.
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Pedro knows how to pitch. When he returned from the DL 1 1/2 years after rotator cuff surgery, he had five starts, was 3-1 with about 1 K per inning, even though his fastball topped out at 91 or so. The problems continued with subsequent injuries and the death of his father. I feel he can be an effective #4 or #5. The question is for how long? Given the sorry state of the Phils rotation, it isn't a bad pickup for 1M plus incentives. That is a lot less than Tim Redding is paid. It's a gamble, but one the Phils could not afford not to make.
I'm a long-time Met fan who has been banging my head against the walls with the September melt-downs the past couple of years. Having said that, I like Pedro and wish him well in Philly - except, of course, when/if he should pitch against us.
Pedro was a huge factor in turning the Mets around, if you can call it a turn-around. I call it that, though the results of the past few years have not been acceptable. Pedro bring's world-class clubhouse experience to any organization. He'll do just fine. Now the Mets, that's another story. We need a TOTAL overhaul, starting with the discharge of Jerry Manuel.
Breaks my heart......WHY the Phillies??? any team but the Phillies, Yankees or Braves!!!
Manuel is not the problem. Randolph was way worse. Why the Phillies? He has no other offers. The Phillies are division leaders with one of the worst eras in the NL. Mets do not need a total overhaul. They need to be healthy.
Pedro will do just fine if he stays healthy. He knows how to pitch, with or without a fastball of 94-95mph. If, when needed he can get it up to 91 mph and with his other pitches, hitting his spots, he will get hitters out. Moyer has won over 250 games without a fastball. This is my suggestion to Charlie Manuel, rotate Pedro and Moyer in their starts, after Amaro acquires a #1 (Halliday). Pedro starts and goes 5 innings and then bring in Moyer for the last 4 innings and the next time start Moyer and bring in Pedro. That combination with Halliday, Hamuels, Blanton and Happ will get them to the WS again. GO PHILLIES !!!!
We will see the real Pedro soon. Out of shape lazy fatboy (what the heck was with him when he pulled a hamstring during his first outing of last year in Miami in April 08, I'll tell you what, it's called poor conditioning, he was sweating buckets that night not because of the humidity) who will complain and when he gets lit up he will say every team are his daddy's (remember that comment in 04 when he said the Yankees were his daddy's).
As a Mets fan, I say good riddance. If you think the Phils got a bargain, they are in for a rude awakening. No title defense for the Phils.
Although Pedro helped the Sox win a title in 2004, he was already in a steady decline in stats. His stint with the Mets just proved that he is not healthy enough to play baseball like he did back in 2004. Plus, the Red Sox knew how to use him. Pedro after 100 pitches really stunk. That is why they always took him out when he hit the century mark. Mets didn't do this and it ruined his arm and his stats during his time period there.
I like Pedro - a lot - but he's been less than stellar for the club the last 2 or 3 years, not much of a contributor at all. Manuel is NOT the problem, getting the top players healthy is the problem. For all you anti-Mets people out there, DL your top 3 fielders and/or hitters and two of your starting pitchers - let's say Howard, Werth, Victorino, Hamels and Happ as an example - and see how great your club is doing. For a short while, the Mets were in 1ST PLACE in their division and still are within striking distance even now. Pedro may have been a good deal for the Phillies but the minute they signed him, he was placed on the 15 day DL - not a promising situation in my eyes. I do wish Pedro luck, he is a great pitcher and an asset to any team for his vision and experience in the clubhouse.
This seems like a sign of desperation. The Phillies are leading the division over Florida, not Atlanta or the Mets. That with tons of pitching problems. It seems to me they worry what the Mets will do when healthy. The Mets sure do know how to fall apart when their in first in September, but maybe if they are not in first could be a good thing. Once healthy they should get confidence back and will be a force. The Phillies know this, so getting Pedro makes sense. He knows the Mets, hes so confident in the clubhouse, and he has been rested and could be a quality started. Could is the key word, they did just put him on the 15 Day DL right after signing him, which is odd...
Pedro had a physical on Monday and I suspect if there were any real problem with his shoulder, he wouldn't have been signed. The Phillies may just want him to get a couple of starts at the AAA level before a ML appearance and there may be contractual reasons with either the one he just signed or with the Players/Owners Agreement that prevents being "sent to the minors" to do that.
Just an observation: Yes, there are legitimate injuries... but a lot of the teams appear to be using the DL this year to fine tune mechanics when pitchers are struggling. It's always reported as some sort of strain: knee, shoulder, elbow. Take your pick. Gives them time to work out the problem at AAA instead of in a game situation and keeps the roster full.
The Mets are choking in July instead of September. Don't tell me about injuries, everyone has them.
This move is consisten in what the Phils have been doing all year: stockpiling AAAA arms (CHP, Lopez, Trashner, Majewski, etc.) and seeing who works out. While Pedro brings a ton of (probably overrated) intangibles, you were pretty much right on in comparing this move to signing, say, Steve Trachsel. I presonally am on board with the move, but if I hear "he really knows how to pitch" on more time, I'm going to scream.
Basically, if he makes a dozen starts and wins five of them, this move is a huge success.
His shoulder seems okay now, but he has barely pitched this year. Pedro doesn't have to injure his arm or shoulder. Of course every team has injuries. Few have the 1, 4, and 5 hitters, nearly 300 rbi between them, and two starters plus their primary setup man go down. Not saying the Mets win healthy, but they do contend. Pedro is not Moyer, Moyer was never a fireballer. He does know how to pitch, but small mistakes are costly because of average velocity.