That’s exactly what the Mets did with Pedro Martinez and his 4-year, $53 milllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllion dollar contract. $53,000,000.
$53,000,000.
What do the Mets get for it? Two consecutive “everybody gets a trophy day” trophies for finishing second in the NL East when Pedro couldn’t quite get it done in the September. Bob Klapisch with ESPN has his take on Pedro’s legacy in New York.
Bob notes:
He went 0-3 while the Mets were being caught and passed by the Phillies, ending the season with a 5-6 record, the first sub.-500 campaign in a full season of his career, and a 5.61 ERA.
Hey, who’s your daddy, Pedro? *ahem* Okay, Philly fan grandstanding aside, I understand why the Mets took this chance on this guy. Pedro was a dominant pitcher in his earlier career. But a lot of times with pitchers getting near that old age of 35, they don’t seem to nearly have the same stuff they did. And, Pedro was not the reason the Sox won in ‘04. (David Ortiz on line one for you, Pedro.)
Now, Pedro wants to stay with the Mets, more than likely because I think he’s got a bad case of “Srtick It to the Yankees Syndrome.” The only problem being that the Mets have suffered from two consecutive seasons where their number one (or this year number two) starter didn’t provide for them, and they spent another October on the golf course. Pedro, you’re supposed to win those games in the stretch, dude.
Somebody other than the Mets will obviously take a chance on Pedro. My question is, why doesn’t that team get a few other starters to help out in September. Obviously, Pedro can’t seem to understand that in order to get to that final series and the chance to take on that other “N-Y” interlocking lettered team with the white and navy uniforms, you’ve got to win the big games. Not the ones on opening day.
In other news, The Yankee Scrolls mentions that the Yanks didn’t offer arbitration to any of their free agents. Neither did the Phils. And, I’m okay with that, too.
Anybody want a used ‘00 Pat Burrell that has a consistency problem, and difficulty getting into gear on extra base hits?
I don’t think the Pedro signing was a complete loss because his first season and half helped turn the franchise around, but in all the Mets certainly did not get their money’s worth. Buyer beware for anyone thinking of signing him.
Comment by jgreen — 5 December 2008 @ 5:42