PEDRO Martinez on the mound against the Yankees tonight in the World Series should be great theater.
I’ll be the first to admit it: I didn’t give Pedro a chance in his first start of the postseason against the Dodgers in the NLCS. I said he was done after four innings — he’s not going to make it. And he totally turned my head. I apologized on national TV and said, “He is a great warrior.” Pedro allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings, all the evidence you need he can still handle a big game.
Of course, there is history between Pedro and the Yankees (who lost 6-1 to the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series at the Stadium. I was part of that 2003 Yankees team that faced the Red Sox in the ALCS. Who can forget the bench-clearing brawl in which Pedro tossed aside Don Zimmer?
Stuff happens in games, but Pedro is notorious at throwing at guys. He’s a guy you hate, but you want him on your team. He was that good. There are things in the game you just don’t do, and he kind of overstepped those boundaries from time to time, but that’s when Pedro was rolling. That’s when he was so exceptional.
As an opponent, you could deal with that. He didn’t put anybody in the hospital. He scared everybody, and that’s what a lot of people have done. Roger Clemens did the same thing. He put the fear in people. Once you put the fear in people you’ve got the advantage.
But this isn’t the same Martinez from five or six years ago. Now he’s got a little craftiness to him.
He knows how to pitch. He’s not afraid to come inside and drill you with an 89-mph fastball. That’s not going to hurt anybody, but it’s going to get your attention. And guys will flinch and jump back.
After that game against the Dodgers, I wonder: Is Pedro going to be able to repeat that? It’s a different ballclub. It’s not L.A., and the Dodgers weren’t hitting on all cylinders at that time, either.
He’s got an All-Star cast to pitch against tonight. Pedro knows what to expect, but right now if he pitches to his capabilities and keeps the ball down, he’s got a chance in that ballpark, because if you get your pitches elevated you’re done.
Pedro is similar to the guy who took the ball last night for the Yankees. CC Sabathia is the kind of guy who is not afraid to fail, because he always is willing to take the ball. That’s a rarity. There are guys who say they want it, but after awhile they are staring in the dugout looking for help or you can just read their body language out there.
You’ve got to truly want to want it, and CC Sabathia is that guy.
I see myself in Sabathia. It’s funny. When guys go to New York they become a different person because of that Yankee mystique, but you don’t have to change your demeanor. You don’t have to change your lifestyle.
Something tells me Pedro Martinez also will be in that fun mode tonight.