December 14, 2004: Pedro's Greed
Pedro
Martinez elected to join the New York Mets and turn his back on Boston. The
Mets are considered the second most evil team by the BMTG. Second only to
the other New York team. What follows is reaction to the biggest move of the
offseason so far.
ahchie | the diesel | bob hohler | bob ryan | jayson stark | peter gammons | dan shaughnessy
Pedro leaves sounding like a hypocrite, just like when Roger Clemens left. Clemens claimed he would only leave to play in his home state of Texas, then he joined the Blue Jays and later, in the most egregious move of all, the hated Yanks, before finally making his way to Houston. Pedro claimed to want to stay in Boston and said the only way he would leave is if the Sox did not want him. The Red Sox made an offer that was more than fair and it is clear that Pedro is only motivated by the bigger dollar amount.
This marks the second time this year that Boston has lost a player that should have retired in a Boston uniform, the first being Nomar. While the Nomar trade turned out to be a good one for Boston, here's hoping that Pedro's departure is also good for the Sox.
Going to the Mets or Yankees willingly is not acceptable and subject to sanctions from the BMTG. Hopefully, he won't succumb and be added to the list of Clemens, Mo Vaughn, and Boggs. If Pedro does go, his career is all but over as Duquette's brother runs the show for the Mets. He over pays for players well past their prime or who are capitalizing on one good season. Pedro was asking too much for a 6 inning pitcher. Theo can use that money to get Pavano or Milton and get a better pitcher in the log run. Pedro doesn't pitch 100 innings for the Mets next season. Bastard.
Martinez leaves Sox for $54m deal with Mets
ANAHEIM,
Calif. -- He enraptured the region, a charismatic and passionately competitive
superstar whose pitching brilliance helped the Red Sox enter the 21st century
as one of the most fearsome teams in baseball and vault them in October to
their first world championship in 86 years. Now he is gone.
Pedro Martinez, one of the most dominant pitchers and popular Latino athletes in New England history, yesterday dissolved his seven-year relationship with the Sox as he agreed to a four-year contract with the New York Mets that will guarantee him an estimated $54 million.
The deal remained contingent on Martinez passing a physical later this week, but the Sox resigned themselves to losing the three-time Cy Young Award winner who helped lead them to the postseason in four of his seven years in Boston. He departed in his first opportunity as a free agent.
"We wish Pedro nothing but the best going forward both on the field and off the field," Sox principal owner John W. Henry said. "He has earned everything he has accomplished, including his World Series ring and his reputation as one of the greatest who ever lived."
The Sox, who invested $92 million in Martinez after they acquired him for two minor leaguers from the Montreal Expos in 1997, waged a strenuous effort to retain him in their quest for a second straight world championship. They believed they succeeded when they heeded his request to guarantee him $40.5 million over three years plus a $13.5 million option for 2008.
But the Mets, in a stunning development, outbid by the Sox at the last minute by sweetening their offer from a guaranteed three years at $37.5 million with a $12.5 million option to the final four-year package.
At that, Martinez left Boston's final offer on the table. He confirmed to several friends last night that he accepted the offer from the Mets.
"He's extremely happy," said one close friend who asked not to identified.
The Sox lost their pursuit of Martinez by standing by their opposition to guaranteeing a four-year contract to the 32-year-old righthander, who suffered a small tear in the labrum of his pitching shoulder in 2001 and opted to treat the injury with a strength and conditioning program rather than surgery.
"We put our absolute best foot forward," general manager Theo Epstein said before he received the final word of Martinez's decision. "We've tried to keep Pedro Martinez in a way that makes sense for the ballclub. The team comes first, always. That said, he's been a great contributor. If the [team's final offer] was not enough, we wish him the absolute best."
The Sox concluded that committing as much as $54 million through 2008 to a pitcher of Martinez's age and condition was too costly, considering the team's other needs. Martinez will turn 37 in 2008. His brother, Ramon, a former righthanded pitcher for the Sox, retired in 2001 at age 33 because of a shoulder injury.
"I'm disappointed that Pedro is leaving for the National League and the Mets," Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino said. "He was a larger-than-life figure and made a gigantic contribution to the Red Sox. I will miss him both personally and professionally."
The Sox were satisfied they granted every demand of Martinez's except guaranteeing him the contract would run through 2008.
"We're obviously disappointed he took the Mets' deal, but we met his requests: We guaranteed the third year," Sox chairman Tom Werner said. "This will not deter us from finding a solution to reach our championship goals."
Though their negotiations with Martinez endured so long that one of their other top free agent targets, Carl Pavano, instructed his agent to negotiate a deal with the Yankees, the Sox insisted they would not suffer by losing one of the best pitchers in franchise history. Martinez went 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA for the Sox, though his performance declined last season, when he went 16-9 with a career-high 3.90 ERA.
One
of the most colorful but contentious pitchers in Sox lore, Martinez leads
all active pitchers in the majors with a 2.71 ERA and .705 winning percentage.
He ranks among the active leaders in wins (182), strikeouts (2,653) and shutouts
(16), among other categories. But the Sox believe they are one solid pitcher
short of potentially matching the effectiveness of last year's starting rotation
if their offense continues to rank among the most productive in the game.
Martinez and Derek Lowe, who also will depart through free agency, pitched a combined 399 2/3 innings last season with a 4.64 ERA. They already have conditionally signed David Wells, who went 12-8 with a 4.03 ERA over 195 2/3 innings last season for the Padres. They are seeking another pitcher of similar or greater ability to fill the rest of the void, with free agent righthander Matt Clement and Marlins righthander A.J. Burnett among the candidates. The Sox would need to trade for Burnett.
Amid fierce competition for Oakland star Tim Hudson, the Sox have fallen out of contention since they have been unable to match the talent the A's are likely to command from other contenders. Boston also has no chance of landing another elite pitcher who is available, Arizona's Randy Johnson.
With Martinez gone, however, the Sox have more money to spend on a shortstop and were making a strong push for Edgar Renteria, the All-Star who helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series. They also remain in touch with Orlando Cabrera in case Renteria returns to the Cardinals.
The Sox have ended their brief interest in another potential high-priced acquisition, former All-Star first baseman Carlos Delgado. But they remain committed to trying to re-sign catcher Jason Varitek, and though they made some progress at the winter meetings, which ended last night, they have yet to address Varitek's final demand of a no-trade clause. Varitek's agent, Scott Boras, said the issue has been deferred until the end of their negotiations.
As Martinez's primary catcher since 1999, Varitek was one of Martinez's chief supporters. He caught Martinez while the former Sox ace won American League Cy Young Awards in 1999 and 2000 (Martinez also won the National League Cy Young Award with the Expos in 1997). But Varitek was among the spectators for one of Martinez's greatest performances, when he won the MVP award in the 1999 All-Star game at Fenway. "He pitched with every ounce of his being for the Red Sox," Henry said. "Some of those performances were among the most memorable in Red Sox history. Who will ever forget the 1999 All-Star game?"
Proud, sensitive, and stubborn, Martinez generally demanded respect on his terms from management and the media, and when he felt he had been wronged he either lashed out or entered a prolonged period of silence. But as alternately charming and contentious as he often seemed off the field, Martinez routinely distinguished himself on the mound as one of the fiercest rivals in sports.
But the Sox, who nearly five months ago jettisoned another face of the franchise, Nomar Garciaparra, were prepared to go forward without Martinez as well.
"There's a world of opportunity out there," Epstein said.
Martinez showed his true colors
So
how are you enjoying your offseason so far?
Anyway, I'll bet you didn't sign a $54 million contract. I know I didn't.
On the other hand, none of us will have to pitch in front of the Mets' defense next year. Pedro will. At least we'll have some peace of mind.
Ah, Pedro, I guess now we really do know ye.
Nah, we don't. That's the central lesson we never seem to learn, or want to learn. We really don't know them.
I got one of those angry e-mails yesterday. You know, the ones that decry the "modern" player, with his lack of loyalty, as opposed to the old-timers who played for "the love of the game." Because of Pedro, this e-mailer was henceforth through with baseball. He'll find something else to do next summer, rather than follow the Red Sox. Sounds tough. Maybe he will, and maybe he won't.
But these are almost invariably the sort of people who don't know that Hall of Famer Edd Roush sat out the entire 1930 season because he could not come to a contract agreement with the New York Giants. Mr. Roush did not play solely for fun. He played for money, as do they all, then and now.
As Latrell Sprewell would say, a man's gotta feed his family.
The longer I've been around professional sports, the more I realize I should always pay heed to the wisdom of the incomparable Roger Angell, who warned us long ago that, when the subject is baseball players, "they are what they do." In other words, we should fix on their talent, not their perceived humanitarianism.
Of course, I usually appreciate the full extent of Angell's dictum after the fact.
Pedro's a pretty good example. During his first two or three years in Boston, he was almost in the too-good-to-be-true category. He was a great pitcher, for sure. He appeared to be a team guy. He was bright, witty, and accessible. His command of his second language was so good that I once told him he could teach an English course to Hispanics during spring training. He wasn't just capable of translating his thoughts from Spanish to English. He was idiomatic. He had English slang and references. His postgame explanations were often pitching clinics. All this made him immensely appealing from an American writer's viewpoint.
We were also told that some of his vast earnings went toward construction of a church in the Dominican Republic. What a guy.
As time went on, the quirkiness became evident. He became increasingly sensitive to perceived slights, whether they came from management, the media, or the fans. It was no longer possible to praise him enough. But he cleverly wanted it both ways. If he pitched less than great, he would say, "You know, I am just a man, not God. I can have bad days." Fair enough. But only he could say or write that. He wanted complete control of the praise agenda.
Then another Pedro began to surface. This imperial Pedro wanted to come and go as he pleased. He was quite willing to embarrass his managers by living on his own time schedule, knowing he had the clout to get away with anything. He became an envelope-pusher supreme.
So was this a new Pedro or the real Pedro? And did it really matter? He was what he was, and now he wasn't as appealing a personality. The word most commonly used to describe his whole shtick was "diva," but he could just as easily have been called an old-fashioned "spoiled brat."
Until someone somewhat comparable is imported to replace him, it is ludicrous to say his talent won't be missed. He still won 16 games last season, he still had some magical moments, and he still had enough gas in the tank to pitch brilliantly against the Cardinals in the World Series. He's a No. 1 starter for all but the Red Sox, the Astros, and (probably) the Cubs.
The Red Sox will miss that talent, but do not think for a minute management will miss The Act. He had become very high maintenance.
Had you told me five years ago I'd wind up writing what you just read in the above paragraph, I would have been incredulous. But I know I am right, and I should have known better than to deify Pedro Martinez or any other ballplayer.
The eternal truth is that we always find out what really makes any of them tick when it's contract time. That's when we learn what their priorities are. Some fool us in a pleasant way. Brad Radke has now done it twice, and good for him. He really does like living and working in the Twin Cities enough to accept less than full-market value to remain there.
Pedro's decision was to leave a good team situation for a shaky team situation. The only reason was the money. Perhaps Pedro isn't as smart as we thought he was. Or perhaps we never really knew him at all.
Sometimes
the choice of agent tells you all you need to know. I have churned out a sufficient
share of adoring prose on the subject of Jason Varitek, who has captivated
us all with his bulldog approach to the task these past seven years. But the
bulldog has chosen the ultimate pit bull to do his negotiating, and in so
doing he reveals another, less attractive side of his personality.
Anyone who chooses Scott Boras as his agent is inherently into combat and bloodletting. Anyone who chooses Scott Boras as his agent is prepared to preside over a scorched earth campaign. Anyone who chooses Scott Boras as his agent is not remotely into this for "the love of the game." He is into this to maximize his earning potential to the last penny, not to win championships or perform in harmonious circumstances.
Does that change your opinion of Jason Varitek?
They are what they do. In Pedro's case, he pitches. In Varitek's case, he catches (with all the leadership attributes that implies) and hits. They are not romantics. They are professional ballplayers. They are the spiritual descendants of Edd Roush.
That's it. That's the deal. In order to continue loving the game, we must all work on ignoring who's playing it.
Greener pasture or Flushing meadow?
"They're going to have their chances to get me back in that uniform.
If they don't get me, it's probably because they didn't try hard enough."
-- Pedro Martinez, after his final game with the Red Sox
ANAHEIM,
Calif. -- Oh, they tried. The Red Sox tried harder to "get" Pedro
Martinez than many people in their organization wanted to try. They tried
harder than Pedro will ever acknowledge they tried.
Pedro Martinez's ERA ballooned to 3.90 last season.
But hard as they tried, Martinez will never throw another pitch in that Red Sox uniform. We know that now.
We know because on Monday, he said yes to the New York Mets, to an offer of $50 million over four years that is as close to a definition of insanity in baseball as we have witnessed since -- what? -- the Mike Hampton contract?
The Red Sox were never going to guarantee this man four years. They weren't particularly excited about guaranteeing him three years.
They know -- everybody knows -- Martinez has a tear in his labrum that's practically as wide as the San Andreas Fault. One informed estimate put that tear as 90 percent full.
So there is a stupendous chance that one of these days, Pedro will go from being Omar Minaya's most famous acquisition straight to being the Mets' next Mo Vaughn.
Minus the insurance, that is.
We surveyed a half-dozen baseball men Monday, after word of Martinez's stunning I Love New York tune began to leak around the winter meetings. The question we asked was this:
What are the chances of Martinez making it through four healthy seasons as a Met -- no muss, no fuss, no trips to the DL?
And the unanimous answer won't surprise you: Zero. None. Nada.
Pedro's clock is ticking. And the always-wary city of New York will be watching.
We wish him the best, because it has always been a blast watching him perform his inimitable magical mystery tour on every mound in America. But the way he worked these negotiations, the way he misled the Red Sox on his way to exotic Flushing Meadow, will not go down as his finest hour.
The complete details of this negotiation may never become clear. But this is how this deal went down, from what we know now:
On Saturday night, the Red Sox were just about 100 percent sure he was coming back. He had asked them to guarantee three years. So grudgingly, they guaranteed three years and $38 million.
He had asked them for perks and planes and privileges that Bronson Arroyo will never even envision, let alone ask for. But grudgingly, the Red Sox gave him virtually all that, too.
That was supposed to be that. Instead, Pedro did nothing more but use that astounding offer to squeeze more out of the Mets.
His agent, Fernando Cuza, met with the Mets on Sunday. He laid out what the Red Sox had promised Martinez. He asked the Mets if they were willing to guarantee a fourth year.
Mets GM Omar Minaya mulled it over for a while. Then, on a Sunday night that changed everything, Minaya agreed to guarantee four years, about $50 million.
Incredibly, Pedro still didn't say yes.
Standard negotiating practice these days, according to two longtime baseball negotiators, is never to offer a deal-sealer like that fourth year without explicitly saying, "I'm only offering this if it means this deal is done."
But it appears Minaya didn't attach that stipulation -- because after that, according to sources who had spoken with the Red Sox, Cuza went back to the Boston delegation one more time.
He said Pedro was hurt and angry. Why would one team be willing to give him four years but the Red Sox wouldn't? Why wouldn't the Red Sox show him the respect he had earned after all these years?
The Red Sox delegation didn't need to listen long. They had heard enough. They had done enough. They had done all they were going to do. So if Pedro could get all that from the Mets, he should probably go get it before the Mets changed their mind.
And that was how it ended. Seven of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history.
More than 200 trips to the mound. An astounding 117 wins -- vs. only 37 losses. Nearly 1,700 strikeouts in 1,383 2/3 innings. And no number that can measure the charisma, the genius, the sheer artistry of one of the great pitchers of his time. Or any time.
The Red Sox won't be the same without him. There will be a little less buzz, a little less electric current surging through those Fenway nights, a little less reason to blow up an evening's plans to make sure you made it to the TV room for Pedro's starts.
But it's a funny thing. As much as the Red Sox will miss all that, they won't miss the countless days he showed up late, the obligations he dodged, the special treatment he demanded.
If he can get away with that in the city of New York -- where he has hardly been everyone's favorite baseball visitor, where they have reaped none of the joy he has spread over these last seven years -- more power to him.
But we are trying to imagine the back page of the Post or the News after he opted not to show up for Game 6 of an apocalyptic League Championship Series, as he did this past October. The headlines might not fit on the page.
In the end, he needed more rest and nonstop maintenance. He was still fun when he took the ball, or when he led those cheers from the dugout. But one baseball man who knows the Red Sox well predicted there would be no clubhouse uproar over this. Not a peep.
"You'll be amazed how little you'll hear those players complain," he said. "I bet you'll never hear a word -- no matter how many games he wins."
The Mets get a great pitcher -- on some nights, anyway -- and a great attraction for their new TV network. But don't ask for 120 pitches. Don't ask for nine innings. Don't ask for any emergency starts on short rest. And even regular rest may stop being quite enough.
What the Red Sox get, mostly, is a huge challenge. They were sure they had Pedro. Then they didn't. They were sure they had Carl Pavano. Then he U-turned toward the Bronx to make his mother and father -- longtime Yankees fans -- happy.
So now, instead of those two, they have David Wells, who turns 42 next May, and a giant hole in the rotation that Pedro was supposed to fill.
They can use some of Pedro's money on Edgar Renteria, a tremendous player and more cost-effective purchase. But it appears they will take their time trying to find that last starter. Maybe Odalis Perez. Maybe Tim Hudson. Maybe some other creative Theo Epstein acquisition.
They will still be good. They will still be must-see New England TV. They will still get to raise that World Series banner on Opening Day.
But everything that comes after this will be filed under Life Without Pedro. He made their world more interesting every moment he was around. But he might very well have made their life a lot more peaceful just by deciding he had hung around long enough.
Mets' money talks for Pedro
In
the end, respect is defined as money for Pedro Martinez. Oh, he might have
felt Red Sox owner John Henry and president Larry Lucchino dissed him because
they did not immediately give him what he felt he is worth. But in the end,
they scraped and bowed and gave him the perks he requested -- all proof he
is different from the other players on the Red Sox.
It wasn't enough to keep him. On Tuesday, Martinez told the world he's a Met.
His agent, Fern Cuza is happy. He can report back to SFX that he got top dollar. But, in July 2006, will everyone be so happy?
Let's forget about any injury because anyone who has been enraptured by Pedro the performer the past 10 years prays he is healthy and his shoulder holds together in The Swamp. And let's say Martinez is what he is now, which Tom Verducci aptly compared to Greg Maddux. Martinez is not the man who ensured Hall of Fame induction with a Koufaxesque run but a nice, six-inning, three-run a game pitcher.
Remember, in 17 starts on normal (4 days') rest, his 2004 earned run average was 4.995, or 5.00; his three outstanding postseason starts were on seven, eight and seven days' rest, while his weaker start was on a fifth day of rest. And, remember, he didn't pitch on four days' rest from June 13 to July 27 and was given 10 days off at the All-Star break. From 1997 through 2002, Martinez had by far the best strikeout-walk ratio in the game but in 2003-2004 he ranked ninth. He led all major league pitchers in lowest OPS year after year, but in '04 he was ninth in the American League, right behind Freddy Garcia and Jake Westbrook. When Red Sox fans howl about their rivalry with the Yankees, remember, in the past two years, the Red Sox were 24-16 against the Yanks when Pedro didn't start, 3-9 when he did.
Martinez was fourth in the AL in quality start percentage behind Johan Santana, Brad Radke and Curt Schilling, but the timeline tells a story:
| Year | BR per 9 IP |
H per 9 IP |
SO per 9 IP |
SO/BB ratio |
| 2000 | 7.22 |
5.31 |
8.82 |
|
| 2001 | 8.19 |
6.48 |
12.57 |
6.52 |
| 2002 | 8.98 |
6.50 |
10.79 |
5.98 |
| 2003 | 9.79 |
7.09 |
9.93 |
4.38 |
| 2004 | 11.20 |
8.00 |
9.41 |
3.72 |
Going into the National League, particularly Shea Stadium, certainly helps, as Pedro has said that non-DH lineups are worth up to 30 pitches a game. (Although the pitchers also face retaliation in the non-DH game, and a 3.90 ERA pitching in Fenway Park might be 3.10 in Shea.)
But while Stu Sucherman, the public relations friend of Mets owner Fred Wilpon, might think this is the way back to the hearts of New Yorkers, this seems to be a typical Mets maneuver. They're built to win the back pages of newspapers in January, but come September they're trying to figure out what to do next year. Someday they'll figure out fans want winners, which entails performance, not promises and glowing talk-show praise leading into a Jets game.
In 2004, the Mets had the highest payroll in the National League and were the only team among those with the 10 highest payrolls to have a losing record.
"Look at their current roster, and the only two players on multi-year deals who aren't vastly overpaid are Mike Cameron -- and he was hurt -- and Braden Looper," says one AL GM. "Remember, this whole business is out of whack because they overpaid Kris Benson by $2 (million per season)."
But the biggest problem is simply Martinez in New York, and for Cuza to ignore this is acting in the worst interest of his client. In Boston, Pedro was allowed to do whatever he wanted -- show up whenever and take vacations. The Boston media were easy on him for what he had done. They gave him a mulligan for not attending Game 6 in New York. He went months without talking to the media for what he considered slights. He reacted angrily to fans who booed him. By and large, he was given slack because for a seven-year stretch he was the best right-handed pitcher in the history of the franchise.
What players, agents and talk-show callers don't understand is that players are not paid on the past, but on the perceived future. Martinez's performance curve is declining. The idea is to eliminate as many inefficiencies as possible, and one of the major inefficiencies in the baseball business is sentiment. That is why Pedro was asked to take a paycut in Boston, albeit one on a contract that totaled $40.5 million.
In New York, there will be no pass, nor should there be one. This is completely a mercenary decision by Martinez, and he will have no room for complaints whatsoever if he is savaged by New Yorkers. Why not? Pedro Martinez went to the Mets solely because they offered him more money. Period. If he doesn't perform to the standard GM Omar Minaya has promised his owners, it won't be a pretty picture.
And you thought SFX had a problem with Jason Giambi in New York?
Personally, there's so much about Pedro to love. To walk down the streets of Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic, and see the churches, school, houses and youth center that he has built is chilling. He is brilliant, and he has a duende that is mystical.
If he had gone to St. Louis or Florida, Los Angeles or San Francisco, it would be a different story. But he is the ultimate mercenary on a team whose business is dictated by the Daily News' poll of the day, and that's before getting to being uninsurable.
The Red Sox will plod forward, knowing Curt Schilling likely won't be available until May 1.
"We would have spent three years with a great deal of anxiety," says one member of the front office. "Pedro is very good, but losing Pedro and Derek Lowe means we have to replace 400 innings and a 4.60 ERA."
They will try to kick the tires on A.J. Burnett and others, but there are no games scheduled in January. They have until April to get one more starter, then try to get into the summer bidding for a potential free agent like Burnett or Ben Sheets, knowing that of the past five world champions, 5.8 members of their postseason rosters were added after May 15.
On the bigger three-year picture, they probably have better ways to use their $40.5 million, with Jon Papelbon and Jon Lester en route near the end of this season. But Pedro is Pedro, and when he took the mound at Fenway Park, it was like Springsteen doing so.
Because Pedro is Pedro, New York might be his hell's kitchen.
And that's before he gets an MRI.
Money pitcher
New Met grabs for 'respect'
And
to think if we'd just shown him a little more "respect," Pedro Martinez
would be back pitching with the Red Sox for the next three years.
Maybe if we'd put his statue on top of the golden dome of the State House. Maybe if Peterborough, N.H., had changed its name to Pedroborough. Maybe if we'd built a Pedro Library on Columbia Point, something equal to the JFK Library. Maybe that would have been enough respect to keep him here.
Actually, no. Upon further review, it now can be said that Pedro knows only one measure of respect. And that is money. All the love and sellouts and Dominican flags and "Keep the Faith" billboards, and championship rings . . . they don't offer any kind of peace or happiness for Pedro. And they certainly don't guarantee respect. No. In the mind of Pedro, respect is measured in one thing -- "how much are you paying me compared with how much you are paying Curt Schilling?" Oh, and guaranteed years, of course.
He doesn't need the money. He has more money than anyone ever could spend. The Sox have paid him $92 million over the last seven years and were set to pay him another $40.5 million for the next three years. But in Pedro's mind, the Mets respect him more because they are willing to guarantee a fourth year at those rates.
Four years guaranteed, $54 million. This is what makes him happy. This is what makes him feel wanted. Now he gets to compare his salary next to Schilling's and be happy about it. He gets the same years and more money than Carl Pavano. With Pedro, it's not about winning championships, or lifestyle, or fan appreciation. It's about wallet-measuring. Whose is bigger?
Pedro's decision to join the Mets is rooted in either greed or insecurity. I know some of you think it's easy for me to casually dismiss a fourth-year guarantee of so many millions, but what difference does that last year make? If you already had more money than you ever could spend, why would you leave for more money?
If you were happy in your job, and had enough money to take care of the next seven generations of your family, would you uproot your life because another employer offered a fourth-year guarantee when your present employer offered only three at the same money? Just for ego? Just to say you trumped the guy in the cubicle next to you? Could you be that insecure about your own place in the world?
That is Pedro.
With Cy Young and Roger Clemens, he goes down as one of the three best pitchers in the history of the Red Sox. In seven seasons here he went 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA. In 1999-2000 he put together two Koufaxian seasons. He should have won the American League MVP in 1999. That was the year he came out of the bullpen in Cleveland, stopped the bleeding with six innings of no-hit relief, and put the Sox into the ALCS. He was dazzling in his one World Series start in '04.
He was smart, fun, and entertaining. He introduced us to a new culture. He made Boston a better place in which to live and he made Fenway a better place in which to play baseball. His talent was infinite. He was a delight. Pedro game days became Fenway festivals.
But the dark side emerged as the years went by. He saw enemies that weren't there. He was rankled when a manager asked him to abide by rules. He figured no rules applied to him. He was Pedro. He needed love and he needed special treatment. He needed periodic vacations -- during the season. He was special and he wanted to make sure everybody knew it.
He looks great in all the photos, goofing with Manny Ramirez, hoisting the trophy, smiling and hugging with his teammates when the World Series was won. But this is the same man who elected to stay in Boston after the Red Sox won Game 5 against the Yankees in the ALCS. He stayed home while his teammates went to New York for Game 6. If the Sox had lost Game 6, Pedro would not have been with his teammates for the dramatic end of the playoff run.
He will be hard to replace. No rotation is improved when it loses a talent like Martinez. But the Sox did the right thing not giving him a fourth year guaranteed. The Mets have a wonderful new pitcher. But it says here Pedro will not last the length of this contract (I said the same thing about Roger Clemens when he went to the Blue Jays in 1997).
It's going to be fascinating to watch him in New York. He gets to pitch in a pitcher's ballpark and he gets to strike out the opposing pitcher once every three innings. But he's not going to have Manny and David Ortiz hitting monstrous homers and watching his back. He's not going to have fans who'll ignore his diva routines. He might even encounter management that wants him to follow the rules like the rest of his teammates. Oh, and he'll have to walk to the plate after buzzing the other team's No. 3 batter in the top of the first. No more diplomatic immunity supplied by the designated hitter. Another weapon lost. Pedro's head-hunting days are endangered.
It's lose, lose, lose all around. The Sox lose. The Mets lose again when the contract becomes an albatross. And Pedro loses everything that worked for him in Boston.
But he's got the four years. He's got the $54 million. And you know what that is? That's respect. And that's the only thing that matters to Pedro Martinez.
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