premium blogad:
blogads:
advertisement:
sitemeter:
|
|
|
March 31, 2006
Pedro the Lion
Having spent a fair amount of time in Massachusetts, I had heard the stories. About how Pedro Martinez couldn’t take criticism. How he didn’t care for the media, or really the fans for that matter, and how he wasn’t going to deal with either if he didn’t want to. How he was almost always cranky and fairly unpredictable — a bouncy, happy-go-lucky guy one second and a temperamental diva the next. Certainly, since coming to the Mets, we’ve seen none of this. Quite a few Mets fans were worried when the Mets landed Pedro because of all the horror stories we’d been fed. However since donning the blue and orange Pedro has been an amiable, courteous, good sport. Of course, the other part of what we’d been told was the long history of health issues. About how delicate the guy was. How looking at him the wrong way could shelve him for months. How you could blink and the next second you’d see Pedro on the DL. The funny thing is, just like all the other things that haven’t been true in New York, Pedro’s health hasn’t been nearly the problem it was made out to be. Heck, last season this infamously fragile little guy put up thirty-one starts and pitched over two-hundred innings of quality baseball — despite a stiff back and, yes, that’s right, the notorious big toe. Upon closer inspection of Pedro’s time in Boston, however, you’re left to wonder how exactly he landed that reputation in the first place. With the exception of his injury-shortened season in 2001 where he only managed eighteen starts, Pedro never started less than twenty-nine games in a season. In fact, over the course of his career in a Sox uniform, Pedro averaged twenty-nine starts a year — or 30.5 starts a year if you remove that 2001 torn rotator cuff season. In a game where a starting pitcher is expected to make thirty-three starts a year, that ain’t too shabby at all. A lot has been made of Pedro’s health this offseason. A lot. Special shoes, rotation rearranging, widespread panic. Every NL East prediction has included the phrase, “If Pedro stays healthy…” But are we, the collective Mets fanbase, making too much of it? Is Pedro the key to the season? Absolutely. With the lineup Omar Minaya has cobbled together, a dominant Pedro would all but guarantee an NL East division title. Even a “just good” Pedro Martinez has a good chance of being enough to clinch the Wild Card. Everyone knows Pedro Martinez is the key to the Mets season — especially Pedro. Last year, before Pedro was shut down for his final two starts, he delivered this parting line:
Let us not forget that despite all the things we’ve heard and seen in Boston and in New York, there’s been two constants: Pedro Martinez is a winner and Pedro Martinez is a competitor. Looking at his past accomplishments shows this time and time again. A guy who had to fight his way into a starting rotation despite an electric arm because he was deemed too small to start. A guy who threw six innings of no-hit relief in the ‘99 playoffs despite a strained back muscle. A guy who pitched far more innings than he should have from 2000-2003 because the team had no reliable second starter, nor much bullpen help. A guy who was deemed “done” by most experts in his first start in the World Series — and then went on to shut the Cardinals down through seven. If there’s a chance that his team is going to win, he’s going to play. If his team needs him, he’ll be out there. The Mets need both this year. I, for one, expect him to buck the reputation once again. 135 Responses to “Pedro the Lion”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
|
if anyone is interested in joining a fantasy league i have open slots….it has on base and slugging with holds as extra categories…billy beane type league
PLEASE EXPERIENCED FANTASY PLAYERS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING ONLY
league id is 307358
password is beane
its yahoo
D’oh! Sorry, Lunkwill, my bad.
Wait a few hours and try again, only this time add a few dates and details and maybe the name of a surgeon.
Hey, everyone! I just heard on April 8th at approximately 8:30am Pedro is going to have surgery on his big toe and be out for 3.28 to 4.52 months!
….
I don’t think it’s working.
The best april fools joke involving baseball ever
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/news/2000/07/24/finch_flash/
just got this off the wire
Wow, Jon Daniels must love those Phillies pitchers.
Vincente Padilla and Robinson Tejeda?
I must say, really good deal for the Rangers. Especially considering the fact they lost Adam Eaton.
And Dellucci=Jason Michaels.
That conversation with Omar seemed sooo awkward. I could tell it had alot of silence. Just very awkward.
I’m praying they show Mets minor league games.
Hell even if they’re slightly delayed for a crappy timeslot. I’ll be happy with that.
Hey, I was the same man that stayed up till 6am to see the entire game of China vs Taiwan for the WBC.
this is a no brainer to everyone except randolph.
randolph should be fired and banned from trying to manage a ballclub…
I have a feeling that those Rookies and second year players on Atlanta are going to fade into black they have no bullpen, no valid closer either. People tend to forget about their RF FranCoon, yeah he hit over .400 in July, I think I read around .310 in August, but battered around .220 in Sept. In FranCoon he walked less then Reyes did :)
Question. What happens if Cliff Floyd hits 42 hrs, bats .320, plays in 95 percent of the games played, and is NL MVP and an All-star? Do we re-sign him, let him go and make room for Lastings or what. That would be 2 back to back career numbers from him.
What Happens if A. Hernandez hits over .300 this year. Do we say good bye to Matshiite at the All-star break and call up keppinger as a utility player to give Wright, Reyes, and Hernadez breaks?
What if A. Hernandez hits .200 for the first 2 months of the season? If a player hits .200 for season how many games will that one person cost us.
Why isn’t David Wright locked up long term right now? The Better he gets the more money he’s going to cost us down the road. Its already pretty obvious that he can play. I guess they don’t want to pay him to keep the costs down, but he deserves a pay raise of something.
I read today where Jose Lima was told by Willie that if someone got hurt that Jose would be the first one called up :( Oh my god how horrible would that be. Why not call up a reliever and let Heilman start? Wouldn’t that be the easiest thing to do. I would rather have Heath Bell as a reliever then Jose Lima starting. Frankly after his horrible spring, he has no reason to be even taking up space from any minor league player. Jose should do the right thing and retire, and if he doesn’t want to be apart from the game then come a coach somewhere. I mean he used to be a good pitcher when he had an arm, Im sure he has a lot of knowledge he can teach these kids. We have a facility in the D.R. right he would fit good there, plus he would be far away from Shea :)
I really do feel sorry for Jeff Keppinger and the way he was treated this spring. Whatever happened to the process of winning a job? A. hernandez didn’t win that job it was given to him on a platter. Granted I like A. Hernandez as well, but you know fair is fair. IM sure Keppinger would do a lot better then Matshitty. Just think if this was football Mattshitty would be waived for salary cap purposes if nothing else.
Ok, here is my line up and predictions for our team.
Jose Reyes .308 avg 67 Steals 48 Doubles, 17 Triples,12 HRs,
Paul Lo Duck .298 avg 1 steal, 32 Doubles 0 triples,16 hrs,
Carlos Beltran .298 avg 38 steals,42 Doubles, 7 Triples, 27 Hrs, 101 RBIs, 110 runs
Carlos Delgado .307 avg 1 steal, 40 doubles, 1 triple, 38 Hrs, 112 RBIs, 118 runs
David Wright .332 avg 17 steals,56 doubles, 2 triples, 37 Hrs, 120 RBIs, 126 runs
Cliff Floyd .288 avg 8 steals, 42 doubles, 1 triple, 33 hrs, 98 rbis, 100 runs
Diaz/xavier .275 avg 16 steals, 40 doubles, 5 triples,35 hrs, 87 rbis, 88 runs
A.Hernandez .270 avg 30 steals, 25 doubles, 5 triples, 8 hrs
Tom Glavine 3.80 era, 16 W - 8 L
Pedro M. 2.62 era, 21 W - 5 L
S.Trashel 4.10 era, 14 W - 11L
Bannister 3.66 era, 15 W - 9 L
Zambrano 3.69 era, 15 W - 10 L
Heilman 2.25 era
Wagner 1.75 era, 54 saves
those predictions from griffin are absolutely insane……..
lets come back to earth……..more likely….
reyes……..290 avg. 325 obp 5 hrs.
loduca…….280 avg. 9 hrs.
beltran…….280 avg. ….22 hrs.
delgado…….307 avg…….38 hrs……..on target…
wright……….320 avg…….35 hrs.
floyd………275 avg……..25 hrs.
diaz/xavier……..255 avg… 15 hrs………
hernandez……..250 avg……..1 hrs.
glavine……13w-12L
Pedro……16W-10L
trachel……12W-12L
Zambrano……13W-12L
heilman……14W-10L
wagner…..45 saves
I take it you think Heilman is going to end up starting the majority of the season?
On a side note, I just opened up ESPN.com’s baseball page and almost threw up. Is Jason Stark a total idiot Yankee fanboi or what? He decides, in making excuses why the Yankees are going to win the World Series, that Scott Proctor is a major league starter, some guy in the minors is a major league starter, Aaron Small is a major league starter, and Pavano/Wright are not useless injury-filled money magnets and, therefore, the Yankees have nine starting pitchers to draw off of.
I mean, seriously, I’ve never really realized before what an idiot Jason Stark is. I think he has a Hall of Fame vote too…..
It’s been assumed (prematurely) that Floyd won’t be back after this year. Personally, I think it’s a mistake. if he puts up the kind of numbers quoted above, why can’t he be retained for LF and bring Milledge in to play RF? Isn’t LM now being groomed for both corner positions anyway? I like Floyd a lot and I think he’s a good veteran to keep around - if he can keep his numbers up.
both cornermeant to say either corner position
Aren’t most of these blantant Yankee hacks? Buster Onley is by far the worst, It seems the popular thing to do is to overrate the Yankees year in, year out. I recall one of the sports guys on NY1 saying the Yankees would win 110-120 games last year!
I kinda like the Mets NOT being picked by most people to win. That’ll make these “experts” look all the more silly come October.
I don’t mind the Mets being not picked. It’s that the Yankees have one of their weaker teams of recent memory yet the Yankee Fanzi’s predict them, in major independant publications, to win everything and, later, land on the moon. What other team gets that?
Totally agree. I’m usually not one for conspiracy theories, but think about this: the Yankees draw the most on the road; are widely considered the most lucrative team in merchandise and in foreign countries; and I guarantee you that you’ll see more Yankee caps than any other team. America’s Team? Yes, that’s the popular belief. So, do you think any of these guys will go out on a limb and actually say the Yankees suck? Do you think Selig and MLB wants that going around? Plus, here in NY I can almost guarantee that a media member bashing the Yankees means him/her having limited player access (you don’t think George is that powerful? ask Dave Winfield). Unfair as all that is, it’s just the way it is.
As a bit of an update, in the preseason predictions chart, 4 different ESPN staff have picked the Yankees as the World Series champion including that old hack Peter Gammons. Is anyone realizing yet that the Yankees main problem last season (old, injured, ineffective starting pitching) was not approached at all this offseason?
C’mon now guys. I’m as big a Mets fan as the rest of you, but the Mets have just as much issues in the pitching department as the Yankees. Also, their lineup is better than the Mets as it stands. Oh yeah, one last thing - Who the hell cares what’s going on with the Yankees? I honestly don’t get the obsession.
I’m not suggesting that these columnists should be picking the Mets to win nor do I think the Mets are shoe-ins by any means. If I had to evaluate between the two teams, I’d say the Mets have the edge in pitching and the Yankees in hitting. All I’m saying is that I’m constantly miffed at the blatant favoritism the Yankees get in the general media. I mean, the A’s, in my opinion, have a much better chance at winning it all than the Yankees.
One more day :)
I agree - and the ‘obsession’ on the part of Mets fans comes from the fact that the Mets are treated as second-class citizens by the national and local press.
I obviously want to see the Yankees tank, but I also think that many of us, as Mets fans, are often more objective about them than many journalists and commentators. As MFS71 remarked, there are ‘political’ reasons for reporters to suck up to them, and there is also the phenomenon by which a beat reporter (Buster Olney, or WFANs Sweeny Murti, or even lifelong Sox fan Suzyn Waldman) becomes even more of a fanboy because he spends all his time with the team and develops personal attachments to the players and to the success of the team. (I don’t know what Stark’s excuse is.)
Frankly, I think that picking the Yankees to make the World Series is a safe pick, but at the same time a very stupid one. Last year they were lucky to make the playoffs, relying on career years from starting pitchers and even more devastating injuries among their rivals. And they are coming back with the same staff this year, with everyone a year older. (Their #2 starter is Mussina, who would be #4 on the Mets and #6 on the Sox.) They added Johnny Damon, which was a great move because they subtracted him from their biggest rivals, but their lineup didn’t exactly struggle last year, and they still got nowhere. The rest of their league has caught up to them, especially in pitching, but for the casual reader, their collection of names can look intimidating.
I also think calling it obsession is unfair. It’s hard to say it’s obsession when it arises from a reaction to someone’s article. I follow the Sox also, since I live in NE most of the year, and so from my perspective all of these Yankee BJs are a double slight. But if they weren’t so prevalent, I don’t think I’d care.
That may be true, but my point was that the media dwells on the Mets pitching shortcomings ALOT more than they do the suspect Yankees’ staff. Not much has really been made of Pavano and Wright going down (two key acquistions from the standpoint of many Yankee observers last year), yet Pedro’s foot and Wags finger are blasted across the tabs with so much gloom and doom.
The obsession stems from us Mets fans opening the newspapers and watching the local news and seeing the Yankees get so much more attention. On top of that, it’s unfair and biased coverage. Hey, as a team, I actually do respect many of the Yankee players and what they’ve accomplished. I don’t have the same respect for their whiney fans and kiss-butt media hacks who “expect” them to win and refer to the Mets as that “other team” or “nice little team from Queens.
I agree. I honestly feel Wright and Delgado will each hit 300 or better with over 30 RBIs. I think non-Met fans are greatly underestimating Delgado’s mere presence alone on the rest of the lineup. This, IMHO, could be the best Met lineup ever in terms of producrion. We’re looking at four guys with the potential for 100 rbis EACH (Delgado, Wright, Floyd and Beltran). And this Met fan has a feeling at least two of those four will reach that level.
Mike Cameron is already on the DL for the Padres. Strained oblique muscle or something. Remember Cammy missed significant time last year even before the collision with Beltran. Cammy was nice for us at times, but he’s 33, hobbled with various injuries, strikes out a lot… It was probably time for him to go.
Darren Oliver? Oh God.
I don’t know if anyone posted this yet but its a great article about David Wright by Alan Schwarz. We really struck gold with Wright.
Alan Schwarz
sorry I dont know how I messed the link up, its
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview06/news/story?id=2391581
Eeek…….looking like rain tomorrow :(
That’s a very fair and unbiased assessment, JK47. And it’s also why Nady really was the best we could get back. All winter, a lot of Met fans were deluding themselves into thinking OM could’ve gotten more or should’ve waited for someone like Boston to trade with. Seriously, even IF the Sox agreed to a Cammy trade, would it really have been for someone better than Nady? I seriously doubt it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Cammy a lot, but he was flawed before the trade and not as great as many here felt.
flawed before the
tradeflawed before the injury is what I meant to say
Couldn’t agree more 71. I really liked Cammy and there’s no doubt he’s a gamer. But he was no where near as valuable as people tried to make him out to be. Way too many strikeouts, not as good in the field as when he was in his prime. It wasn’t a bad trade. We saved a lot of money from the deal and Nady should be at the least satisfactory.
I usually lose that argument with the same argument you just gave. I’ve even been mocked by people Metsfan. I’ve given reasons for everyteam who filled a cf openning last yr and why Nady was pretty much the best player we would of gotten in return. I always contend, from my stand point and at the time, we should of gotten one more minor peace from the Padres but never thought Boston was willing to give up anyone other than over hyped, catching prospect Kelly Shoppach and we would of probably been in line to pick up part of cammy salary too.
The wrong guy got sent up and the wrong guy missed the team. IMO, Victor Diaz should of been sent to AAA for a week. Not as a penalty but in light of the injury suffered by Zambrano. Making room by sending out Feliciano was wrong. We needed to go with 12 pitchers this first week until we knew that Zambrano was healthy enough to pitch on sunday. Oliver shouldnt of been the guy either. Yes I know the rational is he has been a starter all his life but he is clearly not as good as Health Bell. in conclusion, we should of sent down Diaz, go w/ 5 bench players the first week, have Bell and Feliciano become the 11th and 12th men in the pen and keep Oliver in our minor league camp.
Anybody just catch Mike’d Up? Francesca actually picked the Mets to win the East with a prediction of 90 wins! Very surprising coming from Mike.
Chis in GA: I agree that Bell and Feliciano are definitely better pitchers, but I’m not overly concerned because I don’t see Oliver being around that long. I’m okay with it FOR NOW if it means Oliver does long relief and thus the starters (think Pedro) are eased along slowly.
Geeks: I just posted at 12:09, yet my post reads 11:09. Are you boycotting the time change? LOL, j/k.
Like I said, I’m okay with the Nady trade. At the same time, you’re right, Chris, another little piece - especially a pitcher - would’ve been nice. But I highly doubt Boston (for example) would’ve given us a pitching prospect.