It was with mixed emotion I greeted the news of Pedro Martinez imminent signing as a free agent with the New York Mets. It is difficult to see Martinez leave the team after his being an integral part of the one Red Sox World Series championship team in my lifetime. That plus the seven seasons of purely brilliant pitching performances he provided us during his career here.
At the peak of his dominance he was pure artwork. Certainly he had over powering stuff but many have had physical skills in major league baseball and failed. He combined power and finesse with an equally impressive pitching strategy. When a batter faced Pedro they couldn't count on anything at any time. If a batter thought he might see the fastball then the nasty change up would be on its way. Similarly if the batter looked for a slider away a hard one inside might stand him up. Pedro had command of four pitches and he used them as he wished.
Breaking in with the L.A. Dodgers in 1992 for two appearances, his major league career blossomed in his final year of 4 seasons in Montreal in 1997. His stats were tremendous and resulted in a CY Young award. In 31 starts that year and 241 innings pitched, Pedro had 17 wins and 8 losses with 13 complete games, 305 strikeouts and an incredibly stingy E.R.A. of 1.90. That puts him in the same other world category as Gibson and Koufax.
In his 7 years in Boston he managed to win more than 17 on four occasions and incredibly had an E.R.A. of 1.74 in 2000. He never matched the complete game numbers only completing a high of 7 in 2000. If anything has been a chink in his armor it has been his durability in late innings. The fact that his E.R.A. has jumped to 3.90 over last year was a factor in the Sox decision making regarding a new contract.
No matter what happens in his new stint with the Mets, his career numbers of 182 wins, 76 losses and a career E.R.A of 2.71 coupled with 3 CY Young awards should be more than enough to get him into Cooperstown.
Despite all of this I think it is time for Pedro to move along. The negotiations although not particularly acrimonious took on the all to familiar trappings of today's players and agents. Respect is measured in dollars and the Mets respected Pedro with a reported 4 year guaranteed deal worth 53 million dollars. The Sox were only willing to ante up 3 years and 40 million.
Much can be said about this from both sides. Pedro is an aging super star who would have been able go out gracefully in Boston as his star dimmed. He has long been notorious for being a temperamental diva and the fans and media have given him a pass for the most part. This is not likely to happen in New York should he make a few trips to the disabled list, which would seem inevitable given his history of shoulder woes and the reported tear in his labrum.
The flip side of this of course is that we could suffer in the same way we did when the Sox let Clemens go in the "twilight" of his career. Of course Clemens has started 257 games since then and won 136 of them not to mention more CY Young awards and some championship rings. Clemens should thank the Sox for letting him go as it resulted in him getting a wake up call and finally getting himself in decent shape after his last four very mediocre years in Boston.
Clemens physically is a bull of a man while Pedro is much slighter. Can Pedro go on to complete a career in a similar fashion? My thinking is no. The Sox made a reasonable offer showing the both the respect and pragmatism appropriate for the situation. They have lost him but it certainly freed up a lot of money, which they have already put into play by signing Edgar Renteria away from the Cardinals. Edgar doesn't pitch but you can be sure Theo is busy putting to work another 8 or 10 million a year to find another pitcher or two.
Another clear indication of this being a prudent business decision was that the Mets are the ones who signed Pedro for this huge contract. This isn't the first time the Mets have signed a player past his prime and suffered the consequences. There is a distinct possibility that in the near future the Mets could be holding the bag for 50 plus million and the Sox will be gleefully fielding a cheaper and healthier pitching staff.
So the ink isn't even dry on the championship pennant and already we are suffering through another off-season of the mix and match of assembling a squad to face off against the evil empire. We may look back on this as another one of Theo's smart moves or perhaps we won't. Ain't it great?
