The Pedro Question
In the past week, as the struggles of Freddy Garcia, Livan Hernandez, and Tim Redding mounted, a not insignificant portion of the Mets fanerati has begun calling for the resigning of our former ace, Pedro Martinez.
No matter what's happened the past couple of years, Pedro remains a mostly beloved figure to Mets fans, so the renewed interest in him is understandable. When he's himself, Pedro brings a swagger and a light-heartedness to a team that can be very valuable, particularly in a city like New York with all the media and fan scrutiny.
As a big Pedro fan the past few years (and someone who's admired his career from afar ever since he started out 8-0 against the Mets), it pains me to say that I'm not one of the people pulling for the Mets to ink him to a 1-year deal.
Say all you want to his recent outings against the Netherlands (described by some as an A or AA quality team), we all know what we saw last year. The complete inability to prevent runs in his first inning. The general ineffectiveness. The cocky, boistrous swagger replaced by a humbled look of bemusement.
It was an injury-plagued season, yes, but Pedro is 37 years old. He made 23 starts in 2006, five in 2007, and 20 in 2008 -- injuries are part of the package now.
Pedro had a mixed run with the Mets, and you hate to see it end on a bad note (which you'd have to call his performance in 2008). Signing him to be the ace of the 2005 team was the right move, but signing him to be the fifth starter in 2009 seems based more on fondness and hope than any practical measure.
For me, Pedro will always be the jheri-curled wonder he was that first season with the Mets, the guy with the blue glove who made Cliff Floyd's light at the end of the tunnel reappear and baseball at Shea fun again. The awful truth is it was all kind of downhill from there.
* * * * *
Yesterday we said goodbye to one of the principle cogs of the 2006 season, Duaner Sanchez.
Retrospectively, Duaner's tenure with the Mets is just kind of sad. He was so good that first seasaon that it's only natural to wonder what might have been if he hadn't gotten into that taxi.
There's no saying. Would he have shut the door in Game 2 of the NLCS? Would a starter other than Oliver Perez have lost in Game 4? You never know.
RIP, Duaner. We'll pour some out for you this weekend.
- A.F.O.M.G.
No matter what's happened the past couple of years, Pedro remains a mostly beloved figure to Mets fans, so the renewed interest in him is understandable. When he's himself, Pedro brings a swagger and a light-heartedness to a team that can be very valuable, particularly in a city like New York with all the media and fan scrutiny.
As a big Pedro fan the past few years (and someone who's admired his career from afar ever since he started out 8-0 against the Mets), it pains me to say that I'm not one of the people pulling for the Mets to ink him to a 1-year deal.Say all you want to his recent outings against the Netherlands (described by some as an A or AA quality team), we all know what we saw last year. The complete inability to prevent runs in his first inning. The general ineffectiveness. The cocky, boistrous swagger replaced by a humbled look of bemusement.
It was an injury-plagued season, yes, but Pedro is 37 years old. He made 23 starts in 2006, five in 2007, and 20 in 2008 -- injuries are part of the package now.
Pedro had a mixed run with the Mets, and you hate to see it end on a bad note (which you'd have to call his performance in 2008). Signing him to be the ace of the 2005 team was the right move, but signing him to be the fifth starter in 2009 seems based more on fondness and hope than any practical measure.
For me, Pedro will always be the jheri-curled wonder he was that first season with the Mets, the guy with the blue glove who made Cliff Floyd's light at the end of the tunnel reappear and baseball at Shea fun again. The awful truth is it was all kind of downhill from there.
* * * * *
Yesterday we said goodbye to one of the principle cogs of the 2006 season, Duaner Sanchez.
Retrospectively, Duaner's tenure with the Mets is just kind of sad. He was so good that first seasaon that it's only natural to wonder what might have been if he hadn't gotten into that taxi.
There's no saying. Would he have shut the door in Game 2 of the NLCS? Would a starter other than Oliver Perez have lost in Game 4? You never know.
RIP, Duaner. We'll pour some out for you this weekend.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 9:53 AM
1 Comments:
When i saw that D Sanchez got canned I thought about this site and how folks would respond. I feel really bad for the guy..He did nothing wrong but his career ended with a non baseball injury he could not avoid and made all the right choices...went to hang out before an off day and get some grub in a cab so he would avoid a DUI. but it is a business so hopefully he lands on his feet and proves O Minaya wrong..i doubt he will but I hope so. He was soo good for a season and a half.
good luck Duaner.
Pedro looked good versus Netherlands...but u are very right..that team did not seem to have top offensive talent but eeeked out some wins when they had to.
kudos to the black, orange and white squad.
Post a Comment
<< Home