Pedro Martinez

[NY1]

October championships are usually won in the offseason, such is the case of the '04 Sox and the Schilling signing. Pedro gives the Mets instant credibility with other free agents, especially those from a particular island in the Caribbean. You know it, and I know it. Don't be surprised when old #24 of the Sox is patrolling LF for the Mets this coming season, then the Sox fans can really jump off the Dominican bandwagon.
What does seeing Pedro pitch in person have to do with anything? He was 16-5, before he hit a tough stretch at the end of the season. Pedro has a hard time with the Yanks, so what, many pitchers even great ones have a hard time with one particular team.
More myth than mystery still clocked 16 wins, imagine that.

Last place teams don't get better without taking risks and making changes. We got rid of our manager, and some dead weight pitchers, while picking up one of the top 5 pitchers in the AL.
As far as bowing to the Red Sox, hey they are the World Champions and that should be respected, but they're going on the cheap while the Yankees are just passing them by. Life will be back to normal in Boston this coming October, but you can always put your World Champion DVD on to keep you warm. Bill Buckner has finally been laid to rest.

My team got our guy, he spurned your team, because they lacked respect, in his opinion. If respect was the 4 years that he wanted then so be it. The Mets aren't the Twins. They have the money to eat that 4th year if it doesn't work out, the Sox couldn't. Not only that, but they are playing cheap with Manny also. The Sox are telling their fans, we won our series, now we're going to save some money. Enjoy the DVD, that's about the only WS you'll be watching this coming October with the Sox involved.

When does Papi want out is my question? One minute you say you care, the next you say Pedro is finished. Can it be both? I'm not sure, what is crystal clear is that someone who roots for the current world champs, shouldn't whine so much!


Martinez rejected a $40.5 million, three-year offer from the Red Sox, and the St. Louis Cardinals offered a four-year deal, a Mets official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty and Cuza didn't return telephone calls seeking comment.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/10417133.htm?1c

 

[Cleef]

That's what you've been basing your whole belief on?

the St. Louis Cardinals offered a four-year deal, a Mets official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A nameless, faceless whisper from the crowd offered that up and you put it on the stand as truth?

Some other beauties:

"October championships are usually won in the offseason"

WOW, You want to try that one again? I'll give you a mulligan. That hit the ball washer and is now behind you.

Did Yogi Berra first say that, or George Bush? That's how retarded that comes off.

This one is simply goofy, a last-breath grasp at......something.

What does seeing Pedro pitch in person have to do with anything?

Umm, how about EVERYTHING?
Does Omar go on rumor?
Does he collect baseball cards and picks his team out of a hat?

but they are playing cheap with Manny also

$21 million is cheap?

You keep straying from the topic of the Dominican Diva, then bring in all this other peripheral detritus. If you can't bring it, don't sling it.

 

[NY1]

A nameless faceless whisper that was reported on ESPN and Fox Sports. I can take your word for it, but then again, you're a nameless faceless whisper as well.
The Sox don't win the series without Schilling, Schilling was acquired in the offseason. What's to explain? The Hot Stove league revamps most of the big time teams. When was Manny acquired? When was Foulke acquired? Shall I go on? Few teams rely on their homegrown talent 100% to win championships. Much of that is done through OFFSEASON moves. Thus, championships are made in December just as much as they are in October. Not sure how much more I can explain that to you.

So, you can watch Pedro pitch better from the bleachers of Fenway, than from the TV? You sure about that? Having said that, you saw Pedro pitch in person and think he's on the decline. Minaya, also saw him, and disagrees with you. Who should I believe, a nameless faceless whisper or someone who does this for a living?
As for playing cheap with Manny, they tried their hardest to trade him, and were "stuck" with his paycheck last year. This year, they're trying to unload him again. Seems like the Sox don't like being on top and are trying desperately to assume their usual spot of second fiddle in the AL East. Bad for you, good for me as most nameless faceless whispers have Manny coming to the Mets.

The brim of my hat is doing fine. It would be even better if my team had won the world series. I can guarantee you that I wouldn't be whining on an internet message board with a Sox fan if that were the case. To each his own. Some just don't like the view from the top, perhaps its because they are soooooo unaccustomed to it. That's the only explanation I have.


Pedro the Dominican Diva, is a Met. The Mets are better for it, the Sox are worse for it. Live with it and move on, just stop whining about it!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr_DR]

Where is all this venom coming from? I thought you were happy to have him. I'm happy you took him.

Do you think the Sox really wanted him to take their offer? I don't, neither did anyone else. Why weren't the Yankees competing for him? What did they offer him? NOTHING. He asked for the meeting with the MFY's and they wished him luck. NO ONE ELSE came calling, no one.
Your handle "NY" should stand for "Next Year".

No one came calling because other teams did not have money to sign him.

 

[rafael]

Pedro averegages 11 hit batters per year. He averaged the same in MTL including 2 bench clearing brawls. If you are the sox fan you claim, you'd know Pedro better than to think he will be less agreesive.

BTW. . . .Pedro DID win the ALCS for the Sox. Take a look at yankee offense stats, particularly Arod and Marsui. . . .before Pedro drilled arod and went high and in to matsui. Their production fell off a cliff.

The BEST thing Pedro could do for the Mets in spring training? DRILL clemens in the ***. Then turn to Mike Piazza and say. . ."we're on the same team now".

He was reared there, but the Pedro we know today was built in the A.L.

As for skills, he's far more skilled now then when he was coming up in LA/Montreal, only now he doesn't have the horsepower or the stamina to go a full game - or 7 innings for that matter. Think about all that money and what you're paying for. Hoping for the best - in my opinon - still won't get the dollar value. Moreso with a team that has a long hill to climb and still has to beat out 3 very good teams just to get to the playoffs (Philly, Atlanta and the '03 champion Marlins).

Boras and Varitek have already backed off their original demands, if that signing doesn't happen........it will be vinegar in my lemonade.

I love lemonade.

 

[Cleef]

Just for the record

Martinez rejected a $40.5 million, three-year offer from the Red Sox, and the St. Louis Cardinals offered a four-year deal, a Mets official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty and Cuza didn't return telephone calls seeking comment.

A nameless faceless whisper that was reported on ESPN and Fox Sports. I can take your word for it, but then again, you're a nameless faceless whisper as well.

From a Baseball Hall of Fame reporter.

Forget the hysterics when he left, talking about the Red Sox, not the Mets. His agent, Fern Cuza, knew for a month that the third year was there and that he could get whatever he wanted from the Mets. So he finally drove it to something/anything above Schilling, then took it to the Mets knowing they'd give Martinez whatever he wanted. They spun a nice myth about the Cardinals and Red Sox rushing back with four years to make the Mets look good, but it was fiction.

You've worn out the elbows in your JV jacket.

The BEST thing Pedro could do for the Mets in spring training? DRILL clemens in the ***. Then turn to Mike Piazza and say. . ."we're on the same team now".

I would love to see this. There'll be theater no matter where he is.

 

[NY1]

Like yourself, Gammons is the bitter lover. Why wouldn't he be? He's a diehard season ticket Bosox fan from Boston. If you'd like, I'll print BS from Gammons? Just for the record, ARod plays for the Mets, per Gammons' predictions from a few years back. So does Sosa, per Gammons. When is that Randy Johnson deal coming down? Gammons said it was a done deal about a week ago?

So why is he right this time? Spare me with the JV references.

 

[Cleef]

Found this

From one of my favorite sites, SOSH (sons of sam horn?don't ask).

It's as DR related as anything. Enjoy.

"Respect" and growing up in the Dominican Republic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intuitively, I think Pedro is closer to the end of his career than the Mets or Red Sox apparently do, so I put aside most of my disappointment when Pedro's signing was announced by the Mets.

Despite my belief that losing Pedro would turn out to be in the Red Sox' best interest in the mid-term, I confess to having harsh thoughts about the way that Pedro handled the negotiations and his apparent belief that the number of dollars in his contract is the most accurate measuring stock of "respect." I shook my head in puzzlement about why the last dollar had to be squeezed out of this contract when he already has enough money that the next three generations of his family could easily live in luxury.

Then I remembered the summer about 15 years ago that four young Red Sox farmhands from the Dominican spent many off-field hours at our house during the Arizona Rookie League season in which the Red Sox and Mariners fielded a single team. There were seven Latin players among the Red Sox contingent. We did our best to act as Foster parents.

Remember Pedro's comment about sitting under a mango tree 15 years earlier when he didn't have 50 cents and no one knew who he was? That tells you a lot about who he still is inside. It is a glimpse into the voice in his head.

He grew up speaking Spanish and now lives and works in a country where English is spoken. He has little education and now lives and works in a country (and especially in a city like Boston) where a college degree is often just the first step toward building your resume. He had NO money, few clothes, probably used a piece of cardboard for a glove until he tried out with the Dodgers, never had baseball cleats until he signed his first contract and may have known someone who had a car, but probably didn't.

The young Dominican players that we took in didn't have ANY life skills. They had never done their own laundry. They had to be encouraged to take showers. They did not know how to buy basic necessities. They were convinced that everyone was taking advantage of them (and they were probably close to the mark). They were so used to being hungry all the time that, even when food was available, they couldn't seem to believe that there would be enough food for the next meal or tomorrow or next week. They were good kids. Two of them hid food in their pockets because they were embarrassed to ask to take some back to their motel and were worried (even after many weeks of regularly being picked up after practice) that they might not be invited back again.

The young men from the other Latin countries treated them as though they were livestock. They laughed at their bad Spanish, their lack of hygiene, their lack of knowledge about things that middle class people take for granted and their appearance.

Think about where Pedro started. Think about the passion that he has had for becoming the best pitcher ever. Think about the basic hurdles that he had to cross to be treated like a semi-equal by his teammates at every level until he became a star. Think about how determined Pedro must have been to place that earlier life in his rearview mirror while still remembering and repecting his roots. What challenges that man must have faced and must still be facing every day.

How much confidence can a Dominican kid have in the esteem that others say that they hold for him (regardless of the money that he has earned or the success that he has achieved) after making this journey? Would you be reading between the lines of every complement? Would you be searching for any clue that your spouse, your teammates, your coaches, your manager or the owner of your team was insincere in his/her praise and that it was only your fame and money that was important to them?

Those of you who grew up in tough situations probably never lost the frame of reference that you had when you had nothing. Perhaps that has resulted in money being relatively unimportant to you, since you had nothing for a long time. Many of us have seen this "Depression Era" mentality in our grandparents and parents.

Others, however, may have had a great time accumulating the material things that we didn't have when growing up and in our early adulthood.

Neither reaction is wrong. The way that we deal with unfamiliar financial success is a function of personality type as much as anything.

The only measure of respect that Pedro knows can't be faked is length of contract and amount of contract. That's why the Mets showed "respect" and the Red Sox "disappointed" him. It was no small factor that Omar grew up in a similar environment. Omar knew in his heart of heart what Pedro needed. Pedro probably added up the money and the comfort level in having a Dominican GM and came up with two.

Few of us suffered through as much as Pedro. Few of us understand what it is like to always feel "less than" regardless of our accomplishments. Few of us instinctively discount praise because we know that we are just little Dominican kids sitting under mango trees who have accomplished nothing and don't even have 50 cents.

Sorry, Pedro. I forgot a lesson that I learned before. God bless you and good luck to you and your family.

By: AZBlue at: 12/28/04 1:49 pm

[posted with permission from author]

 

[Jasper]

From one of my favorite sites, SOSH (sons of sam horn?don't ask).

It's as DR related as anything. Enjoy.


[posted with permission from author]

extremely well said. and i would also add that the dodgers basically told pedro that he would never be a starter....just a clean up guy when there was a messy game. and look what felipe did with him here in mtl. the minute you doubt pedro, he will surprise you. omar is not stupid. i imagine he sees pedro going 2 good years as a starter, then turning into a john smotz type closer for 2 years. bosox fans will gripe now, but in 20 years when they look back at their last world series win in 2004, it will be pedro that comes to mind as the first step towards the world series. and the bosox organization was doing this great marketing campaign a few years back about how much they wanted to have to dominican fan base behind their club. i guarantee you if you walk the streets of the dr or bronx this spring, you're going to see a helluva lot more mets caps than bosox or yankee caps. the yankees really blew it. the merchandise they could have sold, signing pedro would have paid his contract with all the dominicans in metro ny. but the yanks have never been about money, have they?