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Posted 08/11/2009 at 03:57 AM
Talk about your ironic twists. Turn back the calendar about one month, and the Phillies were in dire straits in a desperate effort to firm up what was a very shaky starting rotation. The Red Sox appeared to be in such good shape that they had no choice but to keep top prospect Clay Buchholz pitching in AAA. So when the announcement came that Pedro Martinez would be returning to action with the Phillies, there were very few raised eyebrows. They needed an established starting pitcher in the worst way, thus making a roughly $1 million gamble on Pedro hardly a gamble at all.
Things have certainly changed in the interim for the two teams mentioned. As noted in yesterday’s column, the Boston rotation is a mess beyond their big two of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. The Phillies, meanwhile, are now in such good shape that they’re bumping Jamie Moyer to the bullpen to make room for Martinez.
Obviously, the Phillies didn’t know their fortunes were going to change so dramatically in a span of just one month. Cliff Lee was still pitching in Cleveland at the time, J.A. Happ was just starting to draw a little attention, and there was nothing to really indicate hat Joe Blanton was about to embark on the most consistent run of his big league career.
At the same time, the Red Sox had no way of knowing Tim Wakefield would end up on the disabled list, and there was a great deal of confidence that John Smoltz was going to fit perfectly into the middle of the Boston rotation.
Thus, the remarkable irony of this entire situation. There’s not a city on the planet that loves Pedro Martinez more than Boston. When Martinez made his return to Boston as a member of the New York Mets, they had to call a press conference a day prior to his start. The adulation accorded Pedro was amazing, to the point where he was so emotionally overwhelmed he couldn’t get anyone out. Put it this way. If Pedro Martinez was joining the Boston Red Sox for the final 50 or so games of the 2009 season, there are very few fans of the team that would be anything other than thankful regardless of how well or poorly he performed.
Instead, Pedro is going to be pitching for the Phillies. He’ll have virtually no grace period from their fans. The rep those fans have for being impatient is second to none. But beyond that, they have no particular allegiance to Martinez. If anything, they’re not crazy about him because he spent the last few seasons pitching for the Mets, the team that is clearly the primary rival of the Phils. In other words, the honeymoon will be over in a hurry if Pedro doesn’t get hitters out, and he may well wish he had signed with some other team….like the Boston Red Sox, who as it turns out, could really use him right now.
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Dustin Nippert finally seems to be realizing his potential after it appeared as though he would never amount to much. He’s been a big asset for the surprising Rangers. Nippert is in tough tonight, though, as lefty Aaron Laffey has been nothing short of outstanding at home for the Indians. This is a potential flat spot for Texas off their big series win at Anaheim, and with Laffey’s numbers at home, I’ll have to lean the Indians way tonight.
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