Okay, so he didn’t really say that. But you might expect Pedro to have a little incentive to bring it to the Mets when he eventually faces them in the near future. He’s clearly not the same player he was 4 years ago, but he seemed to recapture some of that magic last night against the Yanks’ Trenton Double-A affiliate striking out 11 batters over 6 IP. Honestly, at this point both The Mets and Yankees could use Pedro Martinez. The Mets have had countless (literally, I don’t even know how many there have been) injuries, while the Yankees are trying to make the playoffs handing the ball to Sergio Mitre every 5 days. It would be impossible to look into a crystal ball three weeks ago and know that both teams would probably have this need there, but you’d have to wonder if the Yankees would have taken Pedro a little more seriously knowing Sergio Mitre is the only thing standing in the way of Josh Towers/Jason Hirsh or even a Sidney Ponson sighting (3rd times a charm, right?). All things considered, there’s no way to know how Pedro will perform at the major league level or what kind of durability he has this late in his career but hey, he’s gotta be better than Mitre or any Mets starter not named “Johan”. Check out the AP’s coverage of Pedro’s start after the jump.
Pedro will have to wait another year to go back to sitting under a mango tree
Via Associated Press:
READING, Pa. — Pedro Martinez recorded nine of his first 12 outs by strikeout and worked six innings for the Double-A Reading last night, in what could have been his final rehab start before joining the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I hope so,” Martinez said. “It’s not up to me to decide that. I hope this is my last one, and I hope that I am able to make improvements from here to the bullpen session.”
In his best start since signing a one-year deal on July 15, the 37-year-old Martinez allowed three runs and five hits without walking a batter against the New York Yankees’ Trenton affiliate. He finished with 11 strikeouts.
“I’m making improvements as I go on, and that’s what we want. Health-wise, my shoulder is fine, my arm is fine. I’m responding good between starts,” he said.
In that first four-inning span in which he struck out nine, Martinez gave up two hits, including a home run to shortstop Eduardo Nunez.
Overall he looked free and easy, recording first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 23 batters he faced. He threw 82 pitches — 60 strikes.
In three starts for Class A Clearwater, Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Reading, Martinez has given up seven earned runs and nine hits in 12 1/3 innings.
Martinez went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts for the Mets last season. In March, he pitched for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic, working six innings of scoreless relief in two games but went unsigned.
The Phillies immediately placed Martinez on the disabled list due to a right shoulder strain after signing him and has since traded for 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee. Adding Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner, will force Philadelphia to adjust a rotation that includes Lee, World Series MVP Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer. Though he began the season in relief, Happ has been one of the Phillies most effective starters this season.
Tags: MLB, new york mets, new york yankees, omar minaya, pedro martinez, philadelphia phillies
