On Dec. 15, 2004, Omar Minaya felt that signing Pedro Martinez would help revive a faltering Mets team from the ashes.
Little did he know that the deal may put them right back there.
Okay, that’s a little bit extreme. But is there a Mets fan out there that can disprove the fact Pedro Martinez has either been a ghost or a liability in his last three years of work?
The flame throwing, in-your-face pitcher of the Red Sox and Expos days is long gone. He’s been replaced by a soft tossing, over the hill, fifth starter that costs $14 million in 2008. If he goes six innings and gives up three runs, it’s a very successful outing. Low standards, huh?
Watching him out there every five days, which in the past couple of years has been a rarity, I feel like I’m watching a pitcher who’s desperate for a sign that he’s still the same guy. Gone is the death stare Pedro gave his batters on a 3-2 count, then dropping a change-up to make hitters of all caliber look foolish.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Now it’s an 86 MPH fastball up and away for ball four. As a baseball fan, it’s unfortunate, watching a star dwindle into irrelevancy. As a Mets fan, it’s even more unfortunate because every game he pitches is a big game.
So this raises the question: Was signing Pedro Martinez worth it? Forgetting about the rejuvenation of the franchise for a minute, let’s delve into strictly his on-field production.
He was fabulous in 2005, his first year, with a sub-three ERA and 217 innings pitched. In his last three years, he has mustered a total 257 innings with 17 wins, two more than his 2005 total.
He has proven to be a liability this year, with only five “quality” starts out of 18 games. Two games he pitched a full seven innings. The Mets are 7-11 in those 18 starts, and he’s posted a 5.5 ERA.
In four of his last five starts, coming in the time in which the Mets may very well be at a crossroads for their franchise, he’s given up four runs or more. When Jerry Manuel desperately needed innings, Martinez failed to deliver.
It’s seldom talked about, due to the other issues involving the Mets, but it's one that should be discussed. Has Pedro Martinez’s production validated the deal? Even with all the extra tickets he sold, was it worth it? Bulky deal, no playoff appearances, and three years of essentially nothing.
Martinez insists that he wants pitch again in 2009, and to whomever is willing to pay him millions and hold a slot in the rotation for him, I wish them luck.
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2 months ago
A lot of people had a sticking point with the Mets giving him that extra year and it turns out those people were right.
I think most people, including myself said this would be a great signing for the first year or two. The Mets needed a spark and signing Pedro and Beltran at the time was a great way to do that. I think the Mets knew that and were willing to risk the last year for a few good ones and a rejuvenated fan base.
Was it worth it?
I don't know.. It was early on.. I think its more of a wash if anything.
2 months ago
Pedro opened the door to bring in Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana, maybe even Carlos Delgado. He was a reason why the latin guys wanted to come to the Mets. Plus if its not Pedro going out and throwing 5 innings and allowing 4 earned runs, its probably someone else (like Livan Hernandez) doing the same thing for a little less money. I really hope Pedro can somehow pull a big performance out of his sleeve for one last time
2 months ago
For the record Delgado didnt want to be a Met orginally because of Omar going overboard with using latino spice to bring aboard the top latin stars. That's why he signed on with Florida.
But you are right Pat. Fernando Martinez who is the Mets top prospect said he signed on with the Mets because of Pedro.
I tend to agree with Nino that it was a wash in the sense of his on-field production not validating the contract, but everything else making up for it somewhat.
2 months ago
Good insight into the off-field support. It is certainly valuable for ticket sales and for fellow players to see a name like Pedro on the roster. However, these are purely intangibles in the game of baseball. And intangibles like these are hard to stand up against the stats and numbers. He's making a shitload of money and he's a complete liability. I don't see much difference here between him and Barry Zito's deal. Zito at least makes his starts. Pedro has lost all value to his baseball team... some of his cy young seasons were arguably worthy of an MVP award as well. He's not the same pitcher though. I loved watching him and still drool reading over some of his season campaigns back in the day. Now he's just a not consistent and certainly not worth re-signing.
from 2 months ago
The sad thing is pitching is at such a premium there are desperate teams that will be willing to give him 5 million this off-season.
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