Pick Up the Phone, Pedro Is Waiting

I can see it right now. Pedro Martinez is likely at home with his family, sitting next to the phone in eager anticipation, waiting with baited breath at the proposition that some team out there still believes in him. Well, what's it going to be, Omar?

Pick up the phone.

Now, Mets fans, before you go off the deep end at this proposition, let me clarify something. Pedro Martinez is not my answer to the hole in the Mets rotation.

Instead, he is my answer to a gaping hole in the 8th inning.

As we sit here today, on June 7th, two months into the season, I pose this question to all of you fellow Met fans: Do you feel comfortable and satisfied with your options in the 8th inning right now? Dessens? Nieve? Igarashi? Mejia? Feliciano as more than a lefty specialist? Are any of these guys a sure thing? Or is it all about riding the hot hand and patching everything together?

Well, Pedro Martinez could be your sure thing.

Many would say that he's old, he can't do it anymore, he can't throw hard. The criticisms and naysayers could go on and on. But take a look at how he performed in Philadelphia last year: 9 starts, 5-1 record with a 3.63 ERA after being acquired late in the season. He was effective and he proved he can still pitch. The problem was he couldn't go deep into a game.

Now, take those numbers as a starter and condense his potential effectiveness into 3 or 4 batters every 2nd or 3rd night, and spread it over the course of two or three months. This would enable Pedro to air it out and make only one trip through a batting order on any given night.

He is crafty enough to do it. Upon signing with New York in 2005, he was in a transitional period from being the power pitcher that he was, to the crafty veteran that he is - and he had pretty good success prior to injury.

So, why not ask? Ignoring the nostalgia and the obvious benefits such as his familiarity with the city, the organization, and the entire division, from a purely baseball standpoint one thing is clear. He can still pitch.

More than likely, Martinez isn't going to jump at the idea of being a reliever. After being dominant for as long as he was, he is going to wait for an offer to join a contending team with a spot for him in the rotation.

I don't see anyone making that call, but maybe I'm wrong.

But if I'm right, then the question is, will he hang it up? Or would he entertain an idea such as this? If the Mets are still in this thing around the all-star break - which barring a horrible stretch they will be - then perhaps Minaya would have the opportunity to persuade Pedro to finish what was unfinished business in the big apple.

Does having him as your set up man make the Mets better than they are right now?

Absolutely.

Pick up the phone, Omar.


-Tom Greenhalgh (6/7/10)