| Moritz Wollert. 23rd August, 2005 - 1:05 am
 Pedro Martinez, 3 time Cy Young Award winner and one of the best pitchers of all time, really has helped the Mets to turn their franchise around.
Pedro has 12 wins and 5 losses in 25 games this season, although his record isn?t really showing how good he is pitching for the New York Mets this season. His ERA of 2.86 does however.
His last two starts tell the story of Pedro?s season so far. Last week he carried a no hitter into the 8th inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers and he was 5 outs away from a perfect game.
Then a triple by Antonio Perez ruined Pedro?s bid for a no-no. The ball would have been an easy flyout for an everyday center fielder but that?s just not what Gerald Williams is. The Dodgers won the game on a homer by Jayson Werth in the next at bat. You can?t blame Pedro who had to take another loss because of horrible or non-existent support by his teammates. The Mets had 10 hits and only produced one lonely run.
Last night was another example for the lack of support Pedro gets for his win column.
The Mets destroyed Washington?s ace Livan Hernandez and gave Pedro an 8-0 lead to work with.
He knew what he had to do and he did it. He shut out the Nationals for 6 innings and Mets manager Willie Randolph thought it was about time to give his No.1 starter some well deserved rest.
Well, after the game he could laugh again: ?Made it interesting, didn't we??
True, Willie.
The Mets bullpen with highlight pitchers Danny Graves and Braden Looper blew the whole lead and almost cost the Mets the game. Chris Woodward RBI single in the 10th inning rescued the night.
It certainly cost Pedro another W. He would have a definite 20+ win season if his teammates would give him more support. It also happened earlier in the season for example against the Yankees at Shea when Pedro left with a 3-1 lead and got another no decision.
?It seemed like it was going to be an easy day at the office for the whole team," Martinez said by himself. "It seems like it was only easy for me."
The good thing is all that crap doesn?t matter right now.
Who cares right now that Braden Looper isn?t a good closer?
Who cares that the Mets bullpen doesn?t deserve the term ?solid??
The only thing that matters right now is that the Mets get the W. There?s time for complaining later. Now you gotta stick it out with the guys that are on the team.
Pedro?s presence in the Mets clubhouse can be seen in the team?s record. The Mets wouldn?t be in the hunt for a playoff spot if he wouldn?t be on the team. He is a positive guy, you always see him joking around in the dugout, you can feel a very positive energy around the team. He gives the team the star power it certainly lacked lately.
In a town like New York, stars do matter and they make an impact. Pedro made the Mets matter again after a horrible season in 2004. He gives the Mets a face for their franchise and he certainly gives them an ace for the top of their rotation.
Pedro?s velocity isn?t the same what it?s used to be. On Saturday against the Nationals he never scratched the 90mph mark with his fastball. But he still shut out the Nats and that?s what matters.
I won?t complain about a pitcher who shuts out the opponent over 6 innings.
And Mets fans also aren?t complaining about Pedro. He averages about 6000 more visitors in his home starts at Shea Stadium than the other Mets starters.
The Mets and Pedro are still in the race for the Wild Card spot in the National League. For sure Pedro isn?t the only reason. You got very promising players in Jose Reyes or David Wright, you got a good new manager in Willie Randolph, you got some money spent.
And you got Pedro Martinez.
People may say his record isn?t that good and he isn?t the same pitcher he used to be.
Pedro is still Pedro though. And he is a special player. He?s an older Pedro but still Pedro.
All I know is that the Pedro project worked out so far for the Mets and that the fans can be happy with the star and the team. The team is coming around and they are on a good way.
The last thing this Mets team has to learn is how to be consistent. All season long they are having huge ups and downs. Consistency is the key word. If they work on that and if their starters last longer than the first inning, Mr Benson, than the Mets will still talk playoffs at the end of the season.
Again, consistency is the key word.
Pedro knows that. He gave the team consistency all year. |
