Ted Berg: Sign Pedro
"If there's any move the Mets should make immediately, though, it's this: Sign Pedro Martinez. Unlike a power bat, Martinez would only cost money, and probably not a ton of it. Granted, that's easy for me to say -- it's not my money."
Before the season I wanted no part of Pedro. Circumstances have changed and it's an increasingly enticing option with Ollie and Maine injured. I'd certainly rather see him on the mound over Fernando Nieve or Tim Redding.
Comments
They say he's hitting 95
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
I would like to know who "they" are so I can call them liars.
If he is and people have witnessed this and he’s still not signed, something is wrong. Even with the injury risk.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
at this point
i will take him as a 3rd started over redding
by Jadden Hopkins on Jun 18, 2009 10:13 PM EDT reply actions
I'll always have a soft spot for Pedro
He’s Pedro Fucking Martinez. They could sign him in 2019 and I’d be happy w/the move.
If that means that Pedro is coaching those last seven years
Then, I’m on board!
I wouldn't give up on Nieve just yet
Wait til tomorrow to see what he does. I understand his past, but its still tough to judge a guy on one start, good or bad. If he’s getting lucky, ride the luck out.
Redding, on the other hand, has pitched, what, two quality innings, already? Four quality innings all year? He needs to be either demoted to long man duties or traded or moved to AAA or something. That beard can only get him so far.
I'll give up on Nieve for Pedro
just because I’m going to the game and I’d prefer to see Pedro :)
But Nieseve is ok, I guess.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
I posted this in the gamethread, but I figured I'd repost
tRA+ of Mets starters:
Johan – 127
Redding – 98
Livan – 89
Ollie – 87
Pelf – 85
Maine – 72
I’m not implying that Redding is an All-Star, but he’s been better than the ERA suggests. The hate directed his way is unwarranted, thus far.
by James Kannengieser on Jun 19, 2009 8:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Fair enough
Maybe I’m just watching him on the days where he hasn’t been good.
Also, in my original comment, I made the same case for Nieve as others have for Santos. I feel dirty.
Doesn't this lose a bit of value when Ollie is ahead of Pelf and Mainer?
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
My bad
I wrote the wrong stat for Ollie. His tRA+ in the majors this season is 41. In the minors it’s been 87. Whoops.
41. Think about how bad that is.
by James Kannengieser on Jun 19, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions
That's horrid.
One of us could probably put up a 41 tRA+.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
i definately could
pitching off of my eephus, the hitters won’t be able to catch up to or avoid my 63 mph crotch heaters.
I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya
by itsmetsforme on Jul 15, 2009 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't understand the school of thought
as seen on Metsblog, that you can’t sign Pedro and then cut him if he fails to perform because, well, he’s Pedro. That’s a crock. What’s the difference between releasing him after giving him a fair shot and what they’re doing now, which is just ignoring him?
If the Braves can cut Glavine in the way they did, we can sure as hell cut Pedro if he stinks it up.
I think the issue
Is as much that you figure to be paying him a few million, so financially, it’d be more like cutting Redding than cutting, say, Sheffield if he’d stunk. And if all else was equal, who would you rather cut, Redding or Pedro? Obviously there’s a cache factor with one of them.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on Jun 19, 2009 2:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Well, not an either-or choice
I just think — especially at this point — that it’s a dumb reason not to sign someone when you desperately need the help. Maybe they just don’t think Pedro’s that guy, which is fine. But the “we can’t just cut him because he’s Pedro” doesn’t make any sense to me.
At this point I agree with you
In the offseason, I think there was some legitimacy to the concern. I mean, its not so much whether or not “Pedro’s that guy” but its whether or not its worth it to find out. Now, its looking like it is. Then, I didn’t think so.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on Jun 19, 2009 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I was for Pedro before the season and now
but according to the reports the four teams that are going to watch him are the Yanks, Dodgers, Rays and Cubs. No Mets, which doesn’t surprise me as I feel they want to “turn the page” and “shake the core from the past seasons” and “alter the clubhouse chemistry” and “synergize their robust paradigm to add value.”
As for Pedro hitting 95, I really don’t believe that but that’s awesome.
Pedro is my favorite pitcher ever, and I would love to see him back.
I really think Pedro has as much upside as anyone we could get right now. He was great until he got injured and I don’t believe we’ve seen him pitch healthy since the beginning of 06. If he is really hitting even 92 or 93 regularly, he should be fine.
So if the options are Pedro, Redding, Livan or Nieve, I’d take Pedro in a heartbeat.
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
It's an intriguing thought
But “Pedro is hitting 95” is not the same as “Pedro has the stamina to go 6 innings” and we all know that he didn’t have that last year. I’m not putting him into the rotation if he’s only good for (say) 65 pitches.
Late in the offseason
We had too much pitching depth to guarantee Pedro a roster spot. We had Redding, Hernandez, Garcia, and Niese all vying for one spot at the back end. It would have been absurd to automatically give it to Pedro (for $5 million no less).
The complexion of our rotation, and our season as a whole, has changed dramatically. Sign Pedro, please.
Where are the Mets going to put him though?
It would have to be a given that they would cut ties with Redding, no?
I love Pedro and would love to have him back for the stretch run this year…however it might cause a lot of roster problems once Ollie and Maine come back
What if Redding
replaced Ken Takahashi in the bullpen?
by TheBigStapler on Jun 19, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Although if everyone were healthy:
Johan, Pelfrey, Ollie, Maine, Pedro, Livan, and Redding… you’d probably have to cut Redding. But, somehow, I bet that wouldn’t happen. In any case, I wouldn’t want to keep using scrubs like Nieve just to protect the team from that possibility.
by TheBigStapler on Jun 19, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Having Nieve is better than having Redding
IMO, because you can send him back to the minors or cut him…guaranteeing Redding the roster spot was the big mistake.
He isn’t an awful pitcher…but I also don’t think he deserves a roster spot on the Mets
Nieve might also have some hidden upside
He does throw hard, and is coming from an organization that completely gave up on him for reasons that weren’t related to talent even more than reasons that were.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on Jun 19, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Great, then we can count on him getting a $36 million contract in 2 years.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
If we're feeling nostalgic
I hear Gooden and Seaver are available. And Koosman is a little busy at the moment, but I’m pretty sure he needs some money…
by cjmulrain on Jun 19, 2009 11:48 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

























