Down at Turner Field this Friday, Pedro Martinez will finally be on the hill again.
Martinez is set to make his return two days from now against the Braves after missing the last 30 days with an inflamed right hip and food poisoning. The Mets ace will have a pretty crucial start, both for his health and his team’s rotation.
If Martinez can pitch well, it will be an indicator that the Mets’ most critical player is healthy and back to where he should be.
If he shows that he is still hurt or gets hammered by Atlanta, it should prompt some concerns.
It could also affect the way the Mets view the trade deadline three days later. The Mets are looking for pitching help, but it could perhaps mean there is further necessity of adding another top starter.
“It’s like a first outing coming out after a month. I don’t really know what to expect,” Martinez told The Post yesterday. “I’m just going to go out there and do whatever possible.” Martinez said he was not nervous, calling it “one game” and “a regular game.” He refused to say he was back all full strength.
“How can I be 100 percent if I haven’t faced a batter?” he scoffed. “I feel good. But I don’t know if I’m 100 percent. Let me push it and I’ll let you know.” He can let everybody know on Friday.
Martinez threw an 80-pitch simulated game on Saturday at Shea and he tossed two bullpen sessions before that, one at Wrigley Field in Chicago and one at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Willie Randolph said Martinez is now set to pitch.
“Pedro’s been champing at the bit. He’s ready, man,” Randolph said. “As a matter of fact, Pedro probably would want to pitch [today]. He’s that ready. But he’s going on Friday. But I don’t think there’s anything he needs to do really. His last side was awesome.
He was happy. He threw the ball real well. I stood there and watched him. So I feel very confident he’s ready to go on Friday.” The day after Martinez’s last outing, the Mets were up 12 games in the NL East.
Heading into last night’s action, they were up 11 1/2. So although Martinez has been hurt, the team has not nose-dived.
Still, Friday’s outing remains significant, even as Randolph downplayed it.
“I really don’t think in this start that even if he doesn’t pitch well, it’s going to be a big red flag or anything, going to worry about anything,” he said. “He hasn’t been on the mound in about a month, right? Something like that – three weeks, four weeks. So you can’t expect him to be razor sharp.
“To me, the main thing is that he’s healthy. If he gets out of that start and says his hip doesn’t bother him and he feels healthy, then I don’t really care about that because he’s going to get his starts and Pedro is going to pitch well. I’m confident of that. So I don’t think that just one or two starts, [I’m] holding my breath or worrying about how he’s going to come out. I think he’ll pitch well and we’ll win. If not, then he’ll get ready for his next start.”