Marty Noble reports for MLB.com that Pedro pitched well against the Tigers today. He pitched four scoreless innings (58 pitches) and gave up four hits. He was slow to cover first on a ground ball by Timo Perez of all people! All in all it was a successful outing.
“I’m right where I want to be,” was Martinez’s general self-assessment, the only assessment that matters. Continue reading “Pedro Martinez First Start A Success”
Pedro goes against the Tigers in PSL tomorrow making his first start of the spring. It’ll be interesting to see how many innings he’ll pitch. I would guess it’ll be three. The norm has been two innings for pitchers making their first start and the Mets have always been especially cautious with Pedro. There are only two weeks left until opening day so I hope that they give Pedro a longer leash if he’s feeling good.
Anthony DiComo provides the coverage for MLB.com with the obligatory quote from Johan Santana about how excited he is to spend time with Pedro this year.
Verducci writes some great columns for SI. This particular piece mentions Pedro Martinez as a potential pitcher ready to make a big jump from last year’s injury plagued season.
Pedro’s first start of the spring was rained out on Thursday night. So he pitched a simulated game on Friday against Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, and two minor leaguers. His fastball was around 90 mph, change was good, but the curveball wasn’t there. Don’t read into this too much. He still has three weeks to get ready for his April 1st start in Florida.
Ken Rosethal wrote a good article on the intangibles that Pedro brings to the Mets. It sounds like he’s about as healthy as he’s going to get. If that’s the case, the Mets will have one of the best, if the not THE best, one-two starters in baseball.
Pedro talked this week about being open to a contract extension beyond this season. The Mets appear to want to see what he can do for at least the first half of the season. He’s an injury risk after missing most of last season. Johan Santana is the clear #1 starter now, so Pedro’s stock has gone down as has his spot in the rotation. I would wait until the end of the season before talking to Pedro about another contract. If Pedro returns to his successful form, I would try to keep him on a two-year deal or maybe a third option year. They should be able to get him in the $8-10M/year range if he’s back to his old self.
The Mets Report 