Essence of Pedro could help Mets contend
"Don't miss the show," Martinez warns. "It's the only time you're going to get it for free."
Martinez is joking, revealing a playful side that often surfaces when he is healthy and confident. In truth, he is full of good intentions, eager to earn his $11 million salary in the final year of his contract, eager to start the show.
His only regret: That he couldn't help more last season, when the Mets missed the playoffs by blowing a seven-game lead with 17 to play. Martinez, 36, returned from rotator-cuff surgery to make five starts in September, but too little time remained for him to fill the team's leadership void.
"They probably needed me more than I even thought," Martinez says. "Not only at the end of year, but during the season. It's not specifically about numbers, but influence with the team, young kids coming up who really listen to me.
"When we had that little stretch where we were struggling and we sunk ... we were sinking down and there was nothing I could do. I had only been with the team for a month. It wasn't reasonable for me to call a meeting. Whatever was going to be done had to happen with the people who had been there the whole year."
Twice, Martinez says that his only choice was to "sit and watch," but rest assured, he is not sitting now. No, he is taking the mound at the Mets' training complex shortly after the team's new ace, left-hander Johan Santana, finishes throwing. Wilpon is present, as is general manager Omar Minaya, assistant G.M. Tony Bernazard and a few of the team's top scouts. Martinez gets to work, and pitching coach Rick Peterson quickly flashes a thumbs-up, indicating his approval for the pitcher's fastball.
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| The Mets tend to feed off of Pedro's emotions. ( / Associated Press) |
Martinez is 17 months removed from surgery, but the usual caveats apply: it's only February, and he has yet to even throw a pitch in a Grapefruit League game. Then again, Martinez went 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in a pennant race last season at less than full strength. Now, Peterson says, "you're seeing a fresh body."
Early in camp, Mets bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello told third baseman David Wright that he could sense the change in Martinez just from the sound of the ball hitting his glove. Racaniello says he also notices a "major difference" when the two play long-toss. "I'm a lot farther back than I was last year or in years past," he says.
Even since the start of camp, Peterson says, Martinez has gotten stronger. "He came here, it was like he was behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry," the pitching coach explains. "Now it's like he's behind the wheel of a NASCAR race car. He's got a lot more power."
Adds Brian Schneider, the Mets' new catcher: "The stuff he has right now, he could take that into a game any day."
The last time Martinez recalls being this sound was as a member of the Red Sox in 1998, before he injured a back muscle during a postseason game in Cleveland. After that, he says his shoulder was never the same, even though he won American League Cy Young Awards the following two seasons.
"Now I'm feeling like I did back in those days," Martinez says, nodding to a reporter from Boston. "I remember I used to pick up the ball and fire it. Remember when I would go to the outfield and just fire a ball? That's how I am now."
As his arm strength returns, so does his familiar bravado. In one breath, Martinez proclaims, "If I take the ball, I'll take my chances against anybody." Minutes later, he adds, "I've only got three Cy Youngs. (Roger) Clemens has got seven. I don't see why I shouldn't get a couple (more) if I could."
Yet, Martinez also is realistic. He offers no guarantees when asked if he can make 30 starts. And he makes no demands of the Mets' front office about a new contract, saying that he must prove he is healthy first.
One step, one start at a time. A healthy, effective Martinez would benefit the Mets not only competitively, but also psychologically. Left-hander Oliver Perez leans so heavily on Martinez, he asked him to call pitches during a postseason game in '06. Martinez also could push a position player such as shortstop Jose Reyes, a fellow Dominican whose late-season funk contributed to the Mets' collapse.
"He's one of our emotional leaders," Wright says. "He has this knack of keeping everybody smiling and laughing, but still motivated at the same time. Just his presence gives a team a little lift emotionally, doesn't allow losing streaks to go on so far."
After last season, the Mets certainly could use the boost.
On with the show.
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