pedro martinez
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News Archive for June 16-30, 2002
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June 30, 2002
Pedro gets Little’s vote
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
If Pedro Martinez wants to play in the All-Star Game, Grady Little isn’t going to stand in his way. … “I’ll go with Pedro and whatever he votes on,” Little said. “He deserves the most powerful vote.”
June 29, 2002
Pedro ponders All-Star possibility
Ian Browne, mlb.com
He’s a five-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young award winner. He is one of the marquee players in his sport. So if Joe Torre calls Pedro Martinez on Sunday and invites him to be on the American League All-Star pitching staff, it wouldn’t be that significant, right? Think again. “It would be significant for me,” Martinez said. “I’ve been there so many times, five times already. But it would be a bigger deal this time.”
Martinez would welcome star turn
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Little cleared a potential obstacle for Martinez by altering the team’s plans and scheduling the three-time Cy Young Award winner to pitch Monday against the Blue Jays at Fenway, rather than Tuesday. That puts Martinez on track to make his final start before the break next Saturday against the Tigers. Under the previous plan, he would have pitched Sunday, and Torre has a policy against choosing players who pitch on Sunday because they could not be expected to work in the All-Star Game on a day’s rest.
Pedro pumped to see stars: Awaits calls by Torre, Sox staff
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
Pedro Martinez said that he will play in the All-Star Game if selected by Joe Torre tomorrow, providing Red Sox manager Grady Little and pitching coach Tony Cloninger OK it. In fact, Martinez, feels so good about the health of his right shoulder and the possibility of pitching for the American League in Milwaukee on July 9 that it’s one of the reasons why he’s turning down an extra day of rest.
Martinez Prefers Four Days’ Rest
David Hueschkel, Hartford Courant
With the All-Star break a little more than a week away, the Red Sox have altered their rotation slightly to accommodate Pedro Martinez. … “I don’t want to pitch that last day [before the All-Star break],” Martinez said. “I’d much rather pitch the day before. … Plus, if I decide to go to the All-Star Game it will be good timing.”
Pedro gets his choice
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
Pedro Martinez stated his pitching preference yesterday, and got what he wanted. He was scheduled to start Tuesday against Toronto in the first game of a day-night doubleheader, and next Sunday against Detroit in what will be the Boston Red Sox’ last game before the All-Star break. Scratch that. Pedro will start Monday and Saturday, because he wants it that way.
June 28, 2002
All-What?
Art Martone, Providence Journal
There’s a pitcher I know who’s tied for seventh in the American League in wins. He’s tied for fourth in ERA. His .818 winning percentage is second-best. He’s second (by one) in strikeouts, to a pitcher who has worked six more innings in one extra game. He’s averaging 10.43 strikeouts per nine innings, by far the best in the league among starting pitchers. Only one pitcher with as many starts has walked fewer batters than he has; in fact, no one else is even close. His 5.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio dwarfs the field. (Second-best number: 4.15.) He’s tied for second in number of starts, and is in the top 17 in innings pitched. (Tied for 15th, to be exact.) His.209 batting average allowed is second-best in the league, as is his .599 OPS allowed.
Great year, isn’t it? You’d think a debate would be raging about whether or not he’s earned the right to start the All-Star Game for the A.L., and whether or not he’s on track for the Cy Young Award. But, as you’ve probably guessed, this is Pedro Martinez. Not only are we not talking about his starting the All-Star Game, you barely hear a word mentioned about his even making the team. … Pedro Martinez isn’t being judged on what he’s doing, but is being compared to his superhuman past. … We have to change our mindset. Okay, maybe he’s not PEDRO!!!! anymore; maybe he’s not the Unhittable King Of The Hill. But he’s still Pedro!!, and he’s still good. Real good. Real, real good. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.
Pedro: Time is now: Sox ace wants team to load up
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald
[A]t least one player on the Red Sox is anxious to see the club make whatever moves are necessary if they will improve the club right now. That player is Pedro Martinez. “Bartolo Colon would be good on this club,” Martinez said last night …”Jim Thome would look good on this club. You know what I want? I want us to go out and get the best team ever. I mean ever. Go get them all, and have them piled up in here. Whatever it takes.” …
Should the Red Sox gamble any and all minor league prospects, even the sizzling kids riding those Single-A buses, in order to go for it all in 2002? And, again, Pedro Martinez has the answer. “I’d say it would depend on who you are trading,” Martinez said. “What are you giving up for what you’re getting? But that’s the risk you take. That’s the risk you have to take.”
Rotation update
Ian Browne, mlb.com
Pedro Martinez was originally going to pitch Monday against the Blue Jays, but the rainout gives Little a chance to get him an extra day of rest. Martinez has pitched on five days rest this season whenever the schedule has allowed for it. Little is planning on starting Martinez and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in Tuesday’s day/night doubleheader.
Damon Has All-Star Advice For Torre — Being Left Off Team Will Pump Him Up
Tom Yantz, Hartford Courant
Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon maintains he should be a member of the American League All-Star team. How strong is his belief? Pretty intense. “[Manager] Grady Little sees me play every night,” he said Thursday. “[Yankees manager] Joe Torre doesn’t. … If I’m not either voted a starter or named as an extra [by Torre] maybe it’ll be an added incentive to kick the Yankees’ butts this year.”
Police: Fan resisted arrest after jumping on field
Associated Press
A woman who attended a minor league game with her 8-year-old daughter and her Brownie troop faces disorderly person charges after she went onto the field to argue an umpire’s call. Lois Collinson hopped the fence Friday night in the bottom of the seventh inning of the New York-Penn League game between New Jersey and Staten Island after the Cardinals’ Justin Hileman was thrown out on an infield grounder.
June 27, 2002
Stories on and play-by-play of Pedro’s start against Cleveland can be found here.
Song news not music to ears — Pitching prospect has tests on elbow
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
In a development that could impact Red Sox trade talks, star pitching prospect Seung Song underwent an MRI on his right elbow. The 21-year-old Korean righthander, who is 6-5 with a 4.39 ERA in 16 starts for Double A Trenton, has complained of soreness in the elbow periodically. … Last season, Song was the team’s minor league pitcher of the year, posting a combined ERA of 1.90 for Single A Augusta and Sarasota. This season, notes John Nalbone of the Trenton Times, Song is the only pitcher on the Trenton staff who has not pitched more than seven innings in a start.
Nomar says wrist isn’t a problem
Phil O’Neill, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Nomar Garciaparra reacted irritably to a story in yesterday’s Boston Globe revealing that he had an MRI Monday for soreness in his left wrist. It’s not the (right) wrist he had surgically repaired on … “It’s nothing, it was just a precautionary thing,” he said before last night’s game of the MRI. “It’s something I felt the first week of the season. It’s minor, like banging your knee sliding into second base. It’s brutal to come out with it (news) now. I don’t know how it came out. Maybe people should ask me before they start writing (bleep).”
Only A-Rod rates above Tejada
Joe Morgan, espn.com
When people talk about the great American League shortstops, they mention Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra. In reality, the “Big Three” should be reduced to the “Big One” (Rodriguez) and then everybody else. Physically, no one can match A-Rod, who is a special breed, a unique player at any position. But second on the shortstop list is neither Jeter nor Garciaparra. It’s Miguel Tejada.
June 26, 2002
Red Sox shake up pitching staff
Ian Browne, mlb.com
First, the good news. The Red Sox bullpen is suddenly looking a lot stronger. This, after Rich Garces was activated from the disabled list Tuesday, and left-hander Alan Embree officially joined the team after being acquired Sunday. The bad news was that a couple of tough decisions had to be made to open up those roster spots. It resulted in promising left-hander Casey Fossum being optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, and veteran southpaw Darren Oliver getting designated for assignment. … The demotion of Fossum came as somewhat of a surprise. He has been a core member of Boston’s middle-relief crew all season, making 30 appearances and going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA.
Oliver gets the hook — Despite salary, he’ll be cashed in
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
The tenor of the Red Sox season abruptly changed at 3:50 p.m. yesterday when Darren Oliver closed the door to manager Grady Little’s office and was told his services were no longer needed. As jarring as the news was to Oliver, it sent a powerful message through the clubhouse: that the Sox are so intent on winning that they will eat a fat contract.
June 25, 2002
Manny happy returns — Sox hope Ramirez’s return sparks offense
Ian Browne, mlb.com
The roars will be deafening inside Fenway Park early Tuesday evening, and they will reverberate outside of the ancient ballpark onto Yawkey Way, and Landsdowne Street. It will be a loud and celebratory occasion when superstar slugger Manny Ramirez returns to the cleanup spot and steps into the batter’s box for his first Red Sox at bat since May 11. All those cheers will be directed toward a man who went hitless in his final 19 at bats in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket.
Farm work completed very quietly
Joe Burris, Boston Globe
The most talked-about rehab assignment in recent memory ended last night. … Ramirez has been on the disabled list just over six weeks, after fracturing his left index finger May 11 in Seattle. Last night against the Knights, he completed an 11-game assignment … He started in left field and batted third but departed after his second at-bat without fielding questions from reporters. In all, Ramirez went 3 for 30 with a double, a home run, seven walks, and seven strikeouts for Pawtucket.
For the Red Sox’ Lowe, a Fresh Start — One-Time Closer Is Delivering Goods In Boston
Billy Witz, Washington Post
Of the myriad changes that Derek Lowe has undergone in the last year, add to the list the look on his face late Saturday afternoon after the Boston Red Sox pitcher suffered a rare loss. The visitors’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium opened and a phalanx of reporters headed straight for Lowe’s stall in the far corner, where they found him showered, dressed and waiting for them — not with anxiety, but with a smile.
June 24, 2002
Red Sox get reliever after his showcasing
Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune
On Saturday afternoon, the Padres showcased left-handed reliever Alan Embree for the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees. Embree responded by pitching three hitless innings. He struck out seven, including the last six Yankees he faced. That was good enough for the Red Sox …
Sox land lefty Embree to shore up bullpen
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
The search that ended yesterday with the Red Sox acquiring one of the National League’s top lefthanded relievers, Alan Embree, from the Padres began during a 10-2 loss to the Yankees June 1 in the Bronx. That’s when Rich Garces emerged from the bullpen and surrendered two bombs, a grand slam by Enrique Wilson and a two-run shot by Jason Giambi. At that moment, Sox officials said yesterday, they knew they needed help. And they got it by trading two minors leaguers, including promising righthander Brad Baker of Leyden, Mass., for Embree and minor league righthander Andy Shibilo. Embree is making $500,000 and will be a free agent after this season.
Bullpen gets a boost with trade for lefty
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
Other than Darren Oliver, who was relegated to long relief after losing his spot in the starting rotation, the Sox had only Casey Fossum to rely on in relief. Before a fine three-inning scoreless stint yesterday, lefties were hitting .345 against Fossum. Embree, 32, had a 0.94 ERA in 36 appearances for the Padres, holding lefties to a .145 (8-for-55) average. Over his eight-year career, lefties have hit Embree at just a .225 clip. The competition was stiff for Embree, with the Anaheim Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and a fourth unidentified team in the market for him.
Sox Eager For Home, Manny’s Return
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
The Red Sox begin a 14-game homestand this week highlighted by the return of Manny Ramirez. He is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday. … In nine interleague games without the DH, the Red Sox hit .218. The only players who hit over .300 on the trip were Shea Hillenbrand (.361) and Jason Varitek (.360).
Kile had blockages to heart
Shia Kapos and Michael Hirsley, Chicago Tribune
Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile complained of shoulder pain and weakness the night before he died, possible warning signs he had heart problems, officials said yesterday. An autopsy on Kile, 33, revealed an 80 percent to 90 percent narrowing of two of his three coronary arteries, and that his heart was nearly 25 percent larger than normal, said Dr. Edmund Donoghue, the Cook County medical examiner.
June 23, 2002
Martinez has thrown the skeptics a curve
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
So, what are we to make of this latest renaissance by Pedro Martinez, who last week in San Diego appeared every bit as deserving of going to the All-Star Game as Derek Lowe? … A baseball friend who knows Martinez well said this after his latest start: “I think Pedro is finally coming to terms with where he’s at now. He knows there are times when he won’t have a feel for his pitches, and he’s going to have to struggle his way through it. But there will be other times, like the night in San Diego, where he can still dominate. It just won’t be in the same way as it used to be. Will he make it through this season? Who knows? The arm is going to give one day. He knows it. But he has come to the point where he can pitch with that reality.” …
He’s fifth in the league in earned run average. He’s second to Roger Clemens in strikeouts, and second to Lowe in batting average against. His 1.76 ERA on the road is the best in the league.
Around the bases
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
The American League has been in touch with Little for his recommendations for the A.L. pitching staff for the July 9 All-Star game. Lowe, Pedro Martinez and Ugueth Urbina are all near-certain picks, though Martinez is unsure whether he’ll go or take the three days to rest his shoulder.
Stars in his eyes
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
American League officials have asked Little for a list of pitching candidates for the All-Star Game. Presumably, he was asked to name opposing pitchers. But one of his own, Derek Lowe, appears on track to start the Midsummer Classic. Lowe is scheduled to face the Blue Jays July 3 at Fenway, which would leave him well rested for the All-Star Game July 9 in Milwaukee. Little said he did not discuss Pedro Martinez’s availability. Martinez has indicated he would rather rest than pitch. “That’s not really my area to say,” Little said. “If anyone is selected, it’s in their ballpark to make a determination about that.”
Death stuns Red Sox
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
Though a game was in progress, word of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile’s shocking death gradually spread to each and every member of the Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday. … Kile, 33, was found dead in his Chicago hotel room yesterday morning prior to a scheduled meeting between the Cardinals and Cubs at Wrigley Field.
June 22, 2002
Dodgers Trade Still Irritates Pedro
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
Had he remained in L.A., there would have been a good chance Pedro Martinez’s number would someday be hanging above the outfield stands with the Dodgers’ legends. Nearly a decade has passed since the Dodgers traded him to Montreal in December 1993, but it still stings. “They were the responsible for trading me,” Martinez said. “They have to live with it. I don’t.”
Looking Back
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
On his first return to Los Angeles with the Red Sox, Pedro Martinez let the folks here know he has not forgotten the way they treated him. Though he expressed gratitude that the Dodgers signed him in the Dominican Republic when he was 16, giving him a chance to play in the majors, he was not pleased that the brass in LA never gave him a legitimate shot to chase his dream of starting in the big leagues. They traded him to the Expos.
“I’m not very happy that it happened because I was denied an opportunity to be a starter here, even though the Dodgers’ people back in the Dominican said, ‘Don’t trade Pedro,'” he said. “But it wasn’t good enough.” He also said the Dodgers should retire the number of his brother, Ramon, who had his finest years in LA. “[Ramon] was a blue-blood,” Pedro Martinez said. “He did a lot of things for this organization.”
Apparently, He Wasn’t Fragile
Mike DiGiovanna, Los Angeles Times
If it wasn’t the worst trade in Dodger history, it was certainly in the top two, the 1993 deal that sent a young, skinny, supposedly fragile pitcher named Pedro Martinez to the Montreal Expos for second baseman Delino DeShields. While DeShields spent three undistinguished years in Los Angeles, Martinez became one of baseball’s most dominating pitchers, a right-hander with a 95-mph fastball, a snap-hook of a curve, a wicked changeup and three Cy Young awards. It had to make the Dodgers cringe when they saw Martinez in the Red Sox dugout Friday night.
Pedro doesn’t miss Dodgers
Brian Dohn, Los Angeles Daily News
Boston right-hander Pedro Martinez won’t pitch in the weekend series at Dodger Stadium, but he certainly made his presence felt before Friday’s series opener with several poignant comments. Martinez, traded from the Dodgers to Montreal in 1993, said he never wants to play for the Dodgers again, plans on ending his career with the Red Sox and added the Dodgers should retire the No. 48 his brother, Ramon, wore in Los Angeles. … “I would never come back to L.A.,” said Martinez, whose contract has a club option for 2004. “I actually think I’m going to finish my career here in Boston.”
Martinez still holds a grudge — A slight to brother Ramon bothers him
Robert Kuwada, Orange County Register
Pedro Martinez has been back and forth over the trade and the reasons behind it many times. He was too small, too frail. He would break down. He couldn’t be successful as a starting pitcher. So the Dodgers sent him to Montreal in 1993 for second baseman Delino DeShields. Three Cy Young awards later there isn’t much sense in getting too upset about it. “They were responsible for trading me; they have to live with it, I don’t,” Martinez said. But Martinez remains perturbed over the way the Dodgers organization and former General Manager Kevin Malone treated his older brother Ramon Martinez in releasing him at the end of spring training in 2000, a move that also did not sit well with some in the organization.
Hillenbrand lives dream
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
A native of the Los Angeles area, Shea Hillenbrand took advantage of his family’s season tickets and routinely attended games at Dodger Stadium. Playing there would be “a lifelong dream,” Hillenbrand said … Hillenbrand went a perfect 4-for-4 … [and] provided all the Sox offense with a pair of home runs – one to right-center field and the other to left – while also hitting a single and a double. …
“I grew up outside of Los Angeles. My whole childhood I was a die-hard Dodgers fan. That’s the only team I watched,” Hillenbrand said. “If the Dodgers weren’t playing, I wasn’t watching. This is my ultimate dream. Obviously, when you dream about playing here, you dream about hitting a home run here. I’ve had dreams the whole last week about playing here. I could see the seats that I used to sit in looking up from third base.”
June 21, 2002
Williams closes in: Ted’s son to debut soon
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
Nearly 10 days after completing a week-long tryout for Red Sox officials in Fort Myers, the son of Red Sox great Ted Williams could be playing in a minor league game as soon as Monday or Tuesday, club officials said last night. Meanwhile, the Red Sox yesterday acknowledged that John Henry Williams made a request to Sox owner John Henry earlier this year that led to the audition.
Castillo: Welke deserving of Oscar
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
Realizing a suspension is most likely inevitable, Frank Castillo isn’t about to go apologizing to umpire Bill Welke for stepping on his foot on Wednesday. Castillo was ejected from the Red Sox’ 3-2 loss at Qualcomm Stadium after snapping at Welke following a controversial balk call, which was followed by Julius Matos’ tiebreaking double. When he ran over to third base to complain, Castillo accidentally landed on Welke’s foot, causing the umpire to recoil as if he’d been bitten by a rattlesnake.
“He’s a pretty good actor,” Castillo said. “I did step on him by mistake, but he should win an Oscar for what he did. It was pretty dramatic. … It seems like I have a rap now. I don’t think I deserve it. If I get suspended then the umpire needs to go to umpiring school and learn the rulebook. I know I’m right. I’m not going to snap over nothing. It was a crucial part of the game and a chicken-(expletive) call.” …
June 20, 2002
Ted Williams’ son to sign with Red Sox
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
Sixteen years after his historic 1941 season, at the baseball ripe age of 38, Ted Williams batted .388 during the 1957 season. His only son is now prepared to do something far more inconceivable.
June 17, 2002
Dibble’s comments have Mets firing back
New York Daily News
After Shawn Estes missed Roger Clemens’ rump with a fastball Saturday, most Mets clammed up on the subject of retaliation. But after some saw and the rest heard about ESPN commentator and former player Rob Dibble’s criticism of Estes’ toughness that night, they let loose.
“He was the most unprofessional player to ever play, or one of them,” Bobby Valentine said yesterday. “He threw bats in the stands, threw balls in the stands, fought with his manager. When he hit people it was because they hit a home run off him, not protection for his teammates. … He was unprofessional and uninformed. He said there was no retaliation after Mike got hit,” when in fact Glendon Rusch retaliated immediately by hitting Tino Martinez, Valentine said. “This is the reason people switch off ESPN, because you have people with no knowledge of the game or the English language presenting the game we love. … When I was in uniform with him in Cincinnati (as a coach in 1993) he was known as anything but an enforcer. But he was known for what he’s known for now, as a big mouth.”
June 16, 2002
Father knows best, no matter what day of the year it is
Steven Krasner, Providence Journal
[O]n Father’s Day, a few members of the Boston Red Sox reflect on their baseball memories and lessons they learned in their formative years. … Pedro Martinez: His father, Paulino, is a supervisor of workers in a school. “The best advice he gave me was to work hard, and that nothing was going to be easy. He made me understand that. He always said ‘Hard work, hard work.'”
Plunk no slam-dunk — Sox: It’s not easy hitting Clemens
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
How could anybody miss that butt? … I’d been watching the Fox broadcast of the Yankees-Mets game at Shea, and it seemed impossible that Mets southpaw Shawn Estes could have failed in his effort to hit Roger Clemens with a retaliatory pitch. … Pedro Martinez claimed to know nothing of the events of the day. Told that he had been featured as a “headhunter” by Fox – a graphic in which statistics showed Pedro hitting batters more frequently (roughly one in every 85 batters) than Don Drysdale, Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson, or Clemens – Pedro frowned. “Did they show the ratio of charging the mound and getting suspended?” Pedro protested. “I’m 100 for 100 in that. And Roger gets away with anything he wants. Maybe it has something to do with me being a skinny [guy] from out of the country.”
Pedro shuns starring role
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
Pedro Martinez, a near-lock to be selected to the American League All-Star team, expressed reservations yesterday about attending the July 9 exhibition. “I doubt it,” said Martinez about the chances of his going to Milwaukee. “I know the team likes us to go if we’re selected but I think there might be enough others from the team going. But I haven’t been selected yet, so it’s not time to decide for sure.”
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