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In the battle of two aging aces, Pedro will win

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Jon Paul Morosi

Jon Paul Morosi is a national MLB writer for FOXSports.com. He previously covered baseball for the Detroit Free Press and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He began his journalism career at the Bay City Times in his native Michigan. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Nov 4, 2009 4:20 PM ET
     
 

NEW YORK

The interview room at Yankee Stadium was near capacity on Tuesday evening. There were scores of reporters there. It didn't feel like an ordinary travel-day postseason news conference. There were two reasons for this: Baseball is about to crown its champion, and reporters like to be entertained. We know that a Pedro Martinez performance shouldn't be missed, whether it's on a chilly mound or a cozy dais.
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With all due respect to the managers involved in this World Series, their daily media sessions can't compare with Martinez's witty voyages to the podium. When he sits behind a microphone — particularly in New York — he is bound to say something of interest. Often, multiple somethings. At one philosophical moment on Tuesday, Pedro pointed out — correctly — that many people aren't given "props about the good things" until after they are dead. "So," he said, smiling, "I'm hoping to get it before I die." Later, Martinez was reminded that fans of the Red Sox — for whom he hasn't pitched since 2004 — will probably lend their full support to him in Game 6 of the World Series on Wednesday night. In that start, he will try to prolong the Phillies' season. Of greater significance to New Englanders, their former ace will attempt to do so at the expense of the Yankees. "They don't like the Yankees to win — not even in Nintendo games," Martinez said, drawing laughter from the media. But Tuesday's finest theater came later in the show, after the language pivoted from English to Spanish. He was asked to comment on how the Yankees have seemed to act as a foil in his career — an archrival when he was in Boston, a crosstown rival when he was in Queens, now a World Series foe. The question was posed: Is it by coincidence that his decision to sign with the Phillies has brought him back to New York, for the second World Series of his storied career? "It's not a coincidence," Martinez replied. "It's destiny." Destiny. We use the word a lot when it comes to championships. Maybe too much. Yet at a time like this — when a maximum of two games, both set in the Bronx, remain on the year's baseball schedule — the notion starts sounding pretty genuine. As baseball fans, we were due for a memorable World Series. Now, I think we have one. Before the first pitch, I believed the Yankees would need six games to win their 27th world title. But I wouldn't mind being wrong — about the six games, not the Yankees. The teams are so alike, so competitive, so admirable in their own ways, that this series is worthy of a seventh game. And I think Martinez will make certain that it happens. "I look at this situation as a blessing," he said. "I mean, what else would I want?" This is already the longest Fall Classic since 2003, and it has a chance to be remembered as much more than that: Game 6 is giving us the 38-year-old Martinez and the 37-year-old Andy Pettitte. Both have more than 200 wins. Both know what it's like to celebrate a world title. Both will be eligible for free agency at week's end, which adds emotion and (let's be honest) some incentive, too. Despite the multiple Red Sox-Yankees postseason confrontations, they have never before faced each other as starting pitchers in a playoff or World Series game. Intriguing, no? On Tuesday, Martinez thanked God for blessing Pettitte and him with good health and the chance to play for so many good teams. On Wednesday, Martinez predicted, we will see "two old goats out there, doing the best they can, having fun with it." And at this point, I believe Martinez has more to give. Pedro has had five days between starts, Pettitte only three. Pettitte has not had fewer than four days between starts since 2006. If I were a Yankees fan, that would concern me. If they were working on the same amount of rest, I would feel differently. After all, Pettitte is 3-0 in this postseason, including clinchers in both American League playoff series and a victory in Game 3 at Philadelphia. Martinez, meanwhile, is 0-1.
Pettitte faced left-handed sluggers Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel and Bobby Abreu in earlier rounds and didn't allow an extra-base hit to any of them. The trend continued Saturday, when Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez went hitless. If Utley, Howard and Ibanez take a collective 0-fer again Wednesday, the Phillies are probably going to lose. But I don't think that's going to happen. Because when a pitcher's arm is weary, his sliders and cutters don't move as much as they should. And to repeat: Pettitte is attempting something he hasn't done since he was a Houston Astro. "It's not even a concern," Pettitte said. "I don't know how I'll feel. I know I felt terrible the other night and I was on six days' rest. I just am going to go as hard as I can for as long as I can." Pettitte understands what to expect. He had short rest prior to Game 2 of the 2003 World Series and pitched brilliantly (8 2/3 innings, one unearned run) in a New York win. But I suspect this will be a more difficult task, with six more years of mileage on his reliable left arm. Is Martinez a sure thing? Of course not. But he proved in Game 2 that he can stand up to the American League's best lineup in a hitter-friendly ballpark. Although Martinez didn't win that game, he very easily could have. Martinez has thrown exactly 13 innings — over two starts — since Sept. 30. He has had plenty of rest. Perhaps that's why, when asked in Spanish if he would have any pitch count in Game 6, he replied, "I have no limit." Martinez will be ready. To think otherwise is to ignore his body of work as one of the finest Big Game pitchers of his time. Call it destiny. Call it fate. Call it whatever you'd like. But do you really think Pedro Martinez, with all his pride and moxie, came back from the injuries to be booed off the mound in the third inning? Baseball deserves a Game 7, and it's going to happen because of what Martinez does in Game 6.
Tagged: Yankees, Phillies

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