pedro martinez
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News Archive for September 1-15, 2001
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September 13, 2001
Pedro: It’s horrible: Attacks bring out worst fears for Sox ace
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
Since the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning, Pedro Martinez has been as transfixed by the catastrophes as everyone else. But watching the terror unfold in New York and Washington on the TV in his room at one of the finest hotels in St. Petersburg, Fla., provides little comfort for the Sox ace. Now, distress and fear occupy his time and mind.
September 10, 2001
Pedro likely done for season, Lowe gets start
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Red Sox Manager Joe Kerrigan announced Sunday that barring a stunning turnaround in the American League East standings, Pedro Martínez has made his last start of the season. … Kerrigan said that the team does not want to put Martínez on the disabled list. “I think that would be sending the wrong message to the team — that we’ve conceded. We haven’t conceded,” Kerrigan said. Instead, Kerrigan indicated, Martínez will stay with the team. The right-hander and team physical therapist Chris Correnti will work together for the remainder of the season on a training program to strengthen Martínez’s right shoulder.
Lowe to start for Martínez Wednesday
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
Yielding to overwhelming sentiment, both within and outside the clubhouse, the Red Sox announced yesterday that Pedro Martínez will not pitch Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It seems likely that he won’t pitch again this season. “He’ll miss his next start,” said manager Joe Kerrigan. “We’ll evaluate him on a daily basis. If we get close, maybe two or three back, in the last week of the season, we could still use him. We’re still going to keep him on the active roster.”
Martínez, Sox appear to be finished
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
They still refuse to utter the words: Pedro Martínez’s season is over. But the Red Sox all but shouted as much yesterday when they scheduled Derek Lowe to take Martínez’s next turn in the rotation and announced Martínez will return to action this year only if the Sox defy all probability and bolt back into playoff contention.
Red Sox ace is finished for the season
Tim Leonard, Bergen Record
One day after saying Pedro Martínez would make his next start, the Red Sox on Sunday said their ace will skip his turn, which was scheduled for Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After hearing the explanation from Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan, Martínez is effectively being shut down for the season.
Pedro’s Season Come to a Close
Michael Morrissey, New York Post
Pedro Martínez, barring a miracle rebound by Boston, won’t pitch again this year. And his spot in the Red Sox rotation is going to a reliever who hadn’t thrown from a windup in months. Deposed closer Derek Lowe will likely get a four-start audition in Martínez’s spot. Lowe will definitely pitch Wednesday in Tampa Bay instead of Martínez, who will remain with the team through the end of the season. The three-time Cy Young winner is 7-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 18 starts.
Pedro Joins Nomar On Sideline
Roger Rubin, New York Daily News
Pedro Martínez pitching again? Highly unlikely. Nomar Garciaparra coming back from the disabled list? A more remote possibility. On a day when manager Joe Kerrigan yanked rookie first baseman Izzy Alcantara for not running out a foul popup that drifted fair in the fourth inning, all signs suggest that the Bosox will pull up short in the marathon season. “I won’t take disrespecting the game,” Kerrigan said yesterday of Alcantara. “I won’t take it in the clubhouse and I won’t take it on the field.”
Lowe Rotates In For Pedro
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan made two decisions Sunday. One was a no-brainer, the other an experiment. Both were made with an eye toward next season. In a move considered long overdue by many, Kerrigan indicated that pitcher Pedro Martínez will be shut down for the remainder of the season with a sore right shoulder. Kerrigan also announced that Martínez’s spot in the rotation will be taken by Derek Lowe, who will start Wednesday at Tampa Bay.
“Wait until you see my windup,” said Lowe, who has worked almost exclusively out of the stretch the past 3½ seasons as a reliever. “I’ve got to work on it.” Lowe last started on June 28, 1998. He made 10 starts that season and received poor run support, going 0-7 with a 4.23 ERA.
Pedro likely done for ’01
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
Unless the Boston Red Sox somehow get back into the American League East race, sore-shouldered ace Pedro Martínez will not pitch again this season. Meanwhile, Martínez’s next scheduled start will go, instead, to reliever Derek Lowe. He will start Wednesday night at Tampa Bay. “We have been thinking about trying Derek as a starter next year. Pedro’s injury creates the opportunity to try him now, with four rotations left before the season’s end,” Kerrigan said.
Starting point for Lowe
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
“At spring training, this wasn’t the role I wanted – I wanted to be the closer but I didn’t pitch well enough to keep that job,” said Lowe. “If I would have had a year like last year, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation. If this is second prize, this is a pretty good door prize.”
Sox open their eyes: Finally do right by sitting Pedro
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald
Stop the presses: For the first time in the Joe Kerrigan Era (or should we call it the Joe Kerrigan Error?), the Red Sox have finally done something right. Yesterday afternoon, before the Sox’ daily drubbing – a 7-2 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium – the Sox confirmed that Pedro Martínez will miss his next scheduled start, and that struggling reliever Derek Lowe will take his place in the rotation. Talk about a blind squirrel finding a chestnut. It’s a smart move, with the only mystery being why the Laughingstockings didn’t hit on this idea several days ago.
Red Sox whistle new tune: Pedro unplugged: Ace likely shut down today; Lowe takes spot in rotation
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
Though they delayed announcement until at least today, the Red Sox all but officially signaled the end of their summer yesterday, putting into motion a plan that would keep Pedro Martínez out for the remainder of this season and move Derek Lowe into the team’s starting rotation. … Joe Kerrigan was meeting with Lowe to inform the pitcher that he could start in Martínez’ place on Wednesday night at Tampa Bay. Indications were that Lowe would receive four starts – two against the Devil Rays and two against the Detroit Tigers – while Martínez begins resting and rehabilitating a shoulder injury that has essentially forced him to miss more than half of this season.
Surgery not in cards
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
His season all but officially over, Pedro Martínez yesterday expressed confidence that he will be able to rehabilitate his right shoulder this winter without needing surgery and be fully prepared to help the Red Sox next season. “Without a doubt, I can come back next year,” Martínez said. “Now I know how to prevent it and I know what to do.”
Red Sox’ hopes died of internal bleeding
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
Fair is fair, so let the analysis of the 2001 Red Sox collapse begin with something we should all be able to agree on. The single greatest blow to this team’s playoff chances came on the night of June 26, when Pedro Martínez walked off the Fenway Park mound with inflammation in his right rotator cuff. After that, all bets were off. “The biggest disappointment for our team was that we never had (Nomar) Garciaparra, (Manny) Ramirez and (Pedro) Martínez in the lineup together for a single game,” said general manager Dan Duquette. “That wasn’t how we had planned our season. That’s the biggest disappointment for me.”
Club’s waiting game adds insult to Martínez’ injury
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald
He sat there at his locker, looking and sounding and acting like an old-timey prize fighter who had gone several rounds too many. There was little of the old zip in anything Pedro Martínez had to say. His words came slowly and with little emotion; his face, as it did Friday night, looked swollen and achy. He just sat there and repeated, over and over and over, that he’s not in good health . . . but that he will pitch if the Red Sox want him to pitch.
Martínez hinting that shoulder is shot
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
You’ve heard of As The World Turns? What about the new Red Sox soap opera, Will Pedro Take His Next Turn? The plot thickened some yesterday as Joe Kerrigan met with Pedro Martínez
to plot the course of action following Martínez’s shortened outing Friday night, in which he was pulled after three innings and 54 pitches.
Red Sox’ winter outlook no brighter than summer of bitter discontent
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
The final two months of this Red Sox season have been depressing ones, with the losses piling up and the sniping intensifying between players and the front office. But fans hopeful that the offseason will bring significant changes may be in for further disappointment. Thanks in equal part to the looming labor problem and the team’s pending sale, the Red Sox are likely to be a team in limbo this winter, unable to move forward thanks to the uncertainty surrounding them.
Call Waiting: Pedro On Hold
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
As the Red Sox continued their colossal free fall from playoff contention Saturday with a 9-2 loss to the Yankees, the focus has shifted squarely on Pedro Martínez and his sore right shoulder. Kerrigan said the decision is up to Martínez. Martínez says it’s up to general manager Dan Duquette and Kerrigan. Duquette, according to Kerrigan, is leaving it “in Pedro’s hands and the manager’s hands.” Nobody is giving a straight answer. “Well, I’m sorry for you,” Martínez said. “That’s what you’re here to do. That’s how you make your bread and butter. It’s asking questions, it’s getting news. That’s what you’re supposed to do. You guys got the power of the pen. Whatever you see, just write about.”
Pedro decision poses questions
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
Why did the Red Sox allow Pedro Martínez to start against the Yankees, when they knew his shoulder was hurting? Why risk the career of a pitcher who just might be the greatest they have ever had? “Anything can happen in baseball,” Martínez said yesterday. “You saw what happened last year (when the Yankees lost 15 of 18 to allow the Red Sox back in the race). As long as we have a chance, I want to pitch if I’m feeling all right. If my arm does not feel right, I will not be out there.”
Rift Between Pedro and Red Sox Widening
Jon Heyman, Newsday
Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan didn’t tell ailing ace Pedro Martínez yesterday whether he’ll pitch anymore this season – and no one could figure out why, given that Boston is all but eliminated from the AL East and wild-card races. The answer seems plain to everyone in both clubhouses who saw an obviously hurting Martínez pitch so far below his norm in a three-inning stint Friday that it almost seemed like someone else out there.
Pedro: Sox Brass Will Have Final Call
Michael Morrissey, New York Post
It is a continuing staredown that could end as early as today or extend until the end of the season. It has no doubt added insult to injury, and it has upstaged the Red Sox’s dismal decline.
Pedro: I Decide When I Pitch
Darren Everson, New York Daily News
Out of contention for this postseason, the Red Sox now appear to be jeopardizing their chances for next season and beyond. They won’t if Pedro Martínez has a say in the matter. The All-Star pitcher, whose golden arm is tarnished by a small rotator cuff tear, is still scheduled to make his next start. At least that’s what manager Joe Kerrigan said yesterday after Boston’s 9-2 loss to the Yankees. Martínez said that’s not necessarily the case. “This will be my decision. If I’m not good enough to pitch at my level, I’m not going to pitch,” Martínez said when told of Kerrigan’s comments.
Yankees: Pedro will pitch if asked by Bosox
David Waldstein, Newark Star-Ledger
Pedro Martínez says he is willing to make his next scheduled start Wednesday night against Tampa Bay if the Red Sox ask him to, provided he isn’t in more pain than he is now.
The Dow of Professional Sports
Craig Lambert, Harvard Magazine
Professional sports has become a money game, dominated by billion-dollar media deals and “franchise free agency.” Marketers, broadcasters, player agents, and scholars explain what happened.
September 9, 2001
A decision for Pedro expected Sunday
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Red Sox Manager Joe Kerrigan says he will wait until Sunday before deciding if Pedro Martínez will make his next start against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday in St. Petersburg. The Boston skipper and his ace had a brief discussion Saturday and Martínez indicated that he has to wait and see how his sore right shoulder feels before making a commitment to the next outing or the rest of the season. “Right now, I still don’t know. It’s sore. My arm got heavy after the second inning. I’m better than I was the game before but it’s still not good enough,” said Martínez.
Pedro’s next start still up in the air after more jabs
Associated Press
Will Pedro Martínez pitch again this season or won’t he? While Boston manager Joe Kerrigan said Martínez is set to make his next start, the Red Sox ace insisted Saturday that it will be his decision. “This will be my decision. If I’m not good enough to pitch at my level, I’m not going to pitch,” Martínez said when informed of the manager’s comments. .. The three-time Cy Young winner made it clear that he feels under pressure from the Boston front office to continue to pitch.
More Nonsensical Rants For An Even More Nonsensical Season
Ben’s Rundown, whatcurse.com
Sigh. How much does this suck? A team designed to break your hearts — sure I can handle that. But a team designed to piss everybody off to the point that the entire country is waiting to point and laugh when you lose. It’s not just one thing. It’s not just a few things. It’s everything. Let’s try to make some sense of it all.
Was Jimy in tune with the lack of logic that really rules the world? Or are the players so confounded at being put into games when it makes sense, that they don’t know how to respond? … Is Craig Grebeck still on the team? Seriously. I don’t know. I guess I could check, but that would require more effort than the Sox have been expending playing their games lately, and I try to keep my work proportional.
Martínez, Boston’s All-Star Pitcher, Appears Done for Season
Buster Olney, New York Times
Pedro Martínez, Boston’s All-Star pitcher, indicated before yesterday’s game with the Yankees that his arm was not sound enough to allow him to pitch. “I don’t feel right,” he said. “I don’t feel good enough to pitch.” And so it would appear that Martínez’s season is over.
Rants and Raves: Red Sox are a soap opera
Ken Rosenthal, The Sporting News [September 5]
Rant: As a former columnist for The Baltimore Sun, I never thought I’d see an organization as dysfunctional as the Orioles of the late 1990s. But the 2001 Red Sox are just as bad, if not worse. Dan Duquette isn’t a general manager, he’s an Orwellian creation, standing in the middle of a tornado and shouting that the sky is blue.
[I don’t know why I keep posting these types of stories (above),
but I do. This time, I responded with a lengthy email. – ajw]
Links to articles about Pedro’s Friday start in New York are in the 0907 Log.
September 8, 2001
Bonds and the Babe
Giants slugger’s season rivals Ruth’s prodigious 1920 output, statistical analysis shows
Carl T. Hall, San Francisco Chronicle
Even if he doesn’t wrest the single-season home-run title from Mark McGwire this year, Giants slugger Barry Bonds is on his way to one of the most spectacular seasons in baseball history, enough to propel him into Babe Ruth territory on the list of the game’s all-time greats. … To determine just how good Bonds really is, The Chronicle asked some of the game’s leading statistical experts to look beyond the home run totals and other popular but often misleading performance measures.
Baseball Crank
Dan McLaughlin, projo.com
Give the devil his due: if there’s one thing we’ve seen this Yankees team do over the past 5 years, it’s put away an opponent on the ropes. On Sunday, Mike Mussina nearly became only the fifth pitcher in major league history to throw a 9-inning, complete game perfect game — on the road. … how many perfect games have been thrown in pennant races? …
On this “Curse” business . . . don’t forget that the Red Sox were not the only, or even the first, team to sell Babe Ruth. In 1914, pressed by declining ticket sales caused by the opening of a Federal League team accross town, Jack Dunn — owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the then-independent International League, and the man who discovered Ruth in a home for wayward boys — had to sell Ruth to the Red Sox to stay in business. Dunn’s team had some hard times immediately thereafter, but between 1919 and 1925 they ran off 7 straight pennants, winning 100 or more games every year, and 3 postseason championships. It was one of the greatest runs in the history of American professional baseball. No Babe? Dunn came up with Lefty Grove. Some Curse.
[The Yankees also dumped Ruth after the 1934 season. -ajw]
September 7, 2001
Pedro to give Yanks a go
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
Pedro Martínez is still planning to pitch tonight in New York against the Yankees. “If I feel comfortable, I’ll go,” Martínez said yesterday by telephone before leaving for New York in the early evening. “If not, I’ll just shut it down.” While Martínez could always change his mind about what he wants to do between today and the end of the Red Sox’ season, that decision now rests with him.
Decisions now rest with Martínez — Ace still scheduled to pitch tonight
Michael Smith, Boston Globe
Pedro Martínez went ahead to New York yesterday, a sure sign he will pitch in this weekend’s series against the Yankees. Martínez, who threw briefly in the Fenway outfield Wednesday, said afterward the soreness in his right shoulder was gradually subsiding. However, if he weren’t fit to pitch, he would postpone his start until tomorrow, Sunday, or even Monday.
Decision is Pedro’s
Springfield Union-News
As the Red Sox trudge into Yankee Stadium tonight for a four-game series drained of any significant drama, a sliver of mystery lingered yesterday as Pedro Martínez remained listed as tonight’s probable starting pitcher against Orlando Hernandez. That is, Martínez’s intention has not changed. He will arrive at the ballpark assuming that he will take the mound for his 18th start of the season, but maintains his right to beg off if his torn rotator cuff ails him more than it has the past few days.
Yankees Likely to See Pedro After All
David Lennon, Newsday
On Tuesday, Pedro Martínez denounced Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, criticizing him for his apparent ignorance of the condition of the pitcher’s shoulder and suggesting he might shut it down for the season. Three days later, Martínez will take the mound tonight against the Yankees – or at least that’s the plan. These days, not even Martínez seems to know what he’s up to next.
Manny deals with rumors, boos
Karen Guregian, Boston Herald
Manny Ramirez has told his teammates — both past and present — he wants out of Boston. The Sox slugger has told friends he wished he had never signed his eight-year, $160million contract with the club. At least, for the past few days or so, those have been the rumors making the rounds at Fenway Park, and circulating in published reports. One rumor actually had Ramirez recently making a call to John Hart, his former general manager with the Cleveland Indians.
“I don’t know where all (those rumors) came from,” Ramirez. “Am I happy here? Yeah, I’m happy here. I got no problems being here. … I don’t want to go anywhere else. I don’t know who said (I wanted to leave).”
Ramirez hit with reality check
Michael Holley, Boston Globe
When you meet Manny Ramirez, you immediately notice how humble and naive he can be. Most of the time – except in times like these – his naivete is one of the best things about him. … Now the whispers are he’s not having fun and he regrets signing his $160 million contract with the Red Sox. With all respect to Ramirez, who denied the suggestion yesterday, the whispers have some truth.
Sox’ star slugger says rumors out of left field
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
On the surface, it defies reason, the notion that a famous young man who is in generally good health and is guaranteed $160 million over the next eight years could somehow be unhappy. But it has become a renewed topic of conversation in New England, where Manny Ramirez’s state of mind has once again become a subject of speculation, one addressed yesterday by the player, his agent, and Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette.
”I don’t know where that rumor started,” Ramirez said in Spanish to the Globe’s Tito Stevens, ”but it’s not true. I’m very happy here, and I don’t want to be anywhere else.” Those ”rumors,” as Ramirez termed them, originated with ESPN commentator Peter Gammons, who has reported Ramirez has told Sox teammates that he wishes he’d never come here.
Edes gets it half right. The rumor was started by Gammons on Baseball Tonight. In reporting the turmoil in Boston, Gammons joked that the next thing you know, Manny will ask to give back his money and get out of Boston. However, the national media treated it as an actual rumor. The New York Times reported it as a fact on Friday. Amazingly, even Gammons himself is reporting the rumor in his column as legitimate without acknowledging that it was he who started it — as a joke. — ajw
Red Sox Involved in a Family Feud
Jack Curry, New York Times
It has taken less than three weeks for the Red Sox to go from challenging for the postseason to disintegrating in a wave of ugly losses and uglier words.
Nomar Tears
Emma Peel, poomagazine
So last night I had a bitter, blistering breakup with the Boston Red Sox. And though, in fairness, this is an annual affair, last night was particularly ugly. I stomped my feet. I cried. I kicked and punched all the red sox paraphenalia in the apartment. I was honestly muttering and wailing like a lunatic. And then, all of the sudden it dawned on me– I realized that loving the Red Sox is like being in an abusive relationship.
September 6, 2001
Kerrigan wants more “nuts and bolts”
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Joe Kerrigan said Wednesday the biggest surprise in his first 2½ weeks as manager has been the number of questions about issues that have nothing to do with the game. “To be honest, my biggest surprise has been the lack of baseball questions,” the manager said. “What about that play? What about that at-bat? What about this pitch or that pitch? Was it a fastball or change-up? It just seems like there’s a real lack of nuts and bolts being [discussed].”
Pedro a go for Friday start
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Red Sox Manager Joe Kerrigan said Pedro Martínez is a go for his next scheduled start Friday night at Yankee Stadium. “I talked to him [Wednesday] and he told me he feels a lot better than he did. He wants to go for Friday.” … Martínez said he wants to put this week’s discussion about his health in the past. “I’m done talking about this. I’ve said what I’ve said and Joe will speak for me.”
Duquette and Pedro meet, discuss next start
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Starting pitcher Pedro Martínez met with Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette to discuss Martínez’s availability for his next start. “It’s my understanding that Pedro will be ready to pitch sometime this weekend,” Duquette said. “We’re looking at possibly Saturday.”
Martínez is currently listed as the probable starting pitcher for Friday’s game against the Yankees in the Bronx. “Yes, I’m feeling better and expect to feel the same tomorrow,” Martínez said Wednesday. “I’m hoping to pitch on Saturday, Sunday, Monday — I don’t know.”
Get it together: Pedro talks with Duquette — Sox break out to beat Indians
Karen Guregian, Boston Herald
After exchanging missives — and in some cases, missiles — through the print and electronic media, Pedro Martínez and Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette finally cleared the air. The two spoke yesterday morning in a phone conversation initiated by Duquette, and again later face-to-face.
Somewhat surprisingly, both the player and GM indicated Martínez was still going to try and make his next start against the Yankees. … Some sort of truce was apparently reached between the Sox ace and his boss after the lengthy meeting. “It’s long gone now,” Martínez said of the conflict with Duquette over the state of his arm. “We talked. Everything’s fine between me and him. There was some stuff that went out of line. You guys (in the media) exaggerated some of the things, and that’s it. It’s all over. Everything’s back to normal. We’re moving forward.”
Martínez still ready to start
Ron Chimelis, Springfield Union-News
Pedro Martínez says he’ll face the New York Yankees tomorrow night, unless his tender shoulder flares up at the last minute. “So far, I’m pitching. If I show up on the field (tomorrow) and feel fine, I’ll do it. If not, I’ll wait for another day.” Still, he sounded concerned. He was asked if he was looking forward to his start. “No,” he said. “I’m not.”
Martínez still scheduled to start tomorrow in NY
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Despite his angry protests about the team’s handling of his injury, Pedro Martínez remains scheduled to face the Yankees tomorrow night in the Bronx if his tender rotator cuff permits it. A day after he blasted Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette for saying he was ”not hurt,” Martínez threw for several minutes in the outfield to Chris Correnti, the team’s rehabilitation coordinator, and reported incremental progress in his ailing shoulder. ”Today I feel better than yesterday,” he said, ”and I expect tomorrow to be the same way.”
Martínez’s status still up in the air
Steven Krasner, Providence Journal
Will Pedro Martínez make his scheduled start tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium? Well, yesterday it depended upon whom you asked and when you asked the question.
Manager Joe Kerrigan told ESPN after batting practice that Martínez would make the start. But after getting out of his chair from the ESPN interview, Kerrigan dashed past the media and said he’d talk “after the game, after the game,” when asked about Pedro’s status by the assembled media. A few minutes later, Martínez, who had played a little catch and talked with Kerrigan in the outfield during batting practice, said he wasn’t positive he’d make the start. “I feel better. I’ll be pitching (tomorrow) so far.” …
Kerrigan has been on the job since Aug. 16, and his team is just 6-12 in his first 18 games as a manager at any level. He was asked yesterday what has surprised him most about his new job. “The biggest surprise I’ve had is a lack of baseball questions about a game. There aren’t many nuts-and-bolts baseball questions about this play or that play in a game.”
Martínez hoping to start Friday against Yankees
Associated Press
Pedro Martínez, who a day earlier criticized Boston general manager Dan Duquette for saying he was healthy, said Wednesday he hopes to pitch again this season. Martínez threw in the outfield while the Red Sox took batting practice before playing Cleveland. His next scheduled start is Friday at Yankee Stadium. “I’m hoping I pitch Friday,” he said. “If not I’ll pitch Saturday, Sunday or Monday. … I feel better.”
Pitching Pedro not worth it
Ron Chimelis, Springfield Union-News
If Pedro Martínez pitches this month, and winds up with any more physical damage because his general manager didn’t know when to say “when,” the next move of the Boston Red Sox should be simple. If baseball’s best pitcher further injures himself for absolutely no good reason, Dan Duquette should be fired on the spot. There are plenty who feel Duquette should go, anyway, but that’s another issue for another day.
Expect Sox mess to only get worse
Sean McAdam, espn.com
A familiar lament is being heard in Boston these days: “Wait ’till next year.” With slight variations, it’s the same weary battle cry voiced there every year for the past 83 years — or since the Red Sox last won a World Series. But the events of the last few weeks have been so demoralizing — to players, coaches and fans — that there’s a gnawing sense that the problems with the franchise aren’t going away over the winter.
What &#$@!% curse?
Bill Simmons, espn.com page 2
Let’s make one thing clear: This will be my last Page 2 column that mentions the phrase “Curse of the Bambino.” … Red Sox fans don’t sit around talking about Babe Ruth or their team’s impending doom. … But we need to set the record straight about “The Curse”: The only people who keep mentioning “The Curse” are media people and uneducated non-Boston fans. Red Sox fans don’t talk about the Curse … not because we’re afraid of the Curse, but because it’s so absurd that we wouldn’t bother discussing it in the first place.
Start Red Sox overhaul by dumping Duquette
Bob Matthews, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The New York Yankees planted the final three nails in Boston’s 2001 baseball coffin over the weekend, with Bernie Williams, Roger Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera doing most of the pounding. The three games were close but the Yankees left Fenway Park with a sweep — mainly because they know how to win big games and the Red Sox don’t. … The 2001 Red Sox are dead and the team should shut down hurting stars Pedro Martínez and Nomar Garciaparra for the season and begin to plan for next year. It might not be a bad idea to replace the person due to do the planning — general manager Dan Duquette.
September 5, 2001
Hope springs infernal: Aimless Red Sox fall into abyss
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
Their season began with a tumultuous spring and is ending with a cataclysmic fall, and in between the Red Sox have spun their wheels and spewed their venom. David Cone: “I thought the Bronx Zoo was something. But this place takes the fucking cake.”
Martínez says he has minor tear in right rotator cuff
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez revealed Tuesday that he has a minor tear in his right rotator cuff. “The best way that I can answer the question [of Pedro’s shoulder] is to tell you the result of the MRI,” Red Sox team physician Dr. Bill Morgan said. “They injected dye into the shoulder. There was no leakage of dye. If there was a tear, there would be leakage. Dr. Yocum concurred with the original diagnosis and he agreed, ‘Let the symptoms guide you.'”
“Whether Pedro has a tear is a matter of semantics,” said Red Sox spokesman Kevin Shea. “Pedro has only normal wear and tear. Dan said the other night that he was fine to pitch and Pedro has not come forward and reported any pain. I spoke to Dan earlier [in the evening]. He conveyed to me that with regard to Pedro and Dan, Pedro’s the only one who knows he’s hurt. We certainly wouldn’t ask him to pitch if he’s injured. We wouldn’t jeopardize any player by asking them to play when hurt, and we certainly wouldn’t do that with Pedro and his future.” Martínez: “I don’t regret [pitching Saturday], but I don’t want to be pushed and I have been.”
MRI shows no tear in Pedro’s rotator cuff Pedro still worried about shoulder
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez said Tuesday that he is pitching with a minor tear in his right rotator cuff, but the team said an MRI did not show any signs of a tear in Martínez’s rotator cuff.
Status of Martínez’s shoulder in question
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
What’s the status of Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez’s shoulder? It depends on whom you ask. Martínez said Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with a minor tear in his right rotator cuff. Red Sox team physician Dr. Bill Morgan said that he saw no tear in a recent MRI performed on the star right-hander. And a Red Sox spokesman said that it really comes down to how you phrase it.
Pedro says his rotator cuff may be torn
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez yesterday revealed that he’s been told he has a torn rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder, then blistered General Manager Dan Duquette for saying he’s not hurt. The news comes as a bombshell for Sox fans who can now legitimately worry about the long-term health of the franchise’s most prized commodity. The fiery words for Duquette – “If you don’t know, just shut up” – also highlight the open rebellion in the clubhouse as the season crumbles.
Martínez says he has a tear, then cuffs Duquette
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Livid that Dan Duquette declared him healthy enough to continue pitching, Pedro Martínez yesterday lambasted the Red Sox general manager and asserted for the first time that he spent two months on the disabled list because of a minor tear in his rotator cuff.
Martínez takes aim at Duquette — Ace claims rotator cuff slightly torn
Kevin McNamara, Providence Journal
Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez vented anger at Dan Duquette yesterday, criticizing the general manager for saying he was healthy enough to pitch when Martínez actually has a minor tear in his rotator cuff. In a lengthy interview before last night’s game, the Sox pitching ace said that he’s still recovering from his injury. The Sox had previously stated that an MRI performed by team physician Bill Morgan showed Martínez to have “inflammation” in his shoulder. Martínez had a follow-up examination with Anaheim Angels team physician Lewis Yocum on Aug. 21. Yocum reportedly told Martínez that he did not have a “thinning of the rotator cuff,” as Morgan allegedly stated, but a minor tear.
Pedro Aims Some Heat At Duquette
Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant
Cold, arrogant, detached. These are charges Dan Duquette has accepted, even relished, during his eight seasons as general manager of the Red Sox. But nobody figured he’d be so incompetent he’d risk the future of The Franchise, so dense he’d even tangle with Pedro Martínez.
Pedro’s upset at GM
Ron Chimelis, Springfield Union-News
In a pointed, often sarcastic response to Boston Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, pitching star Pedro Martínez said yesterday he’ll stop pitching and is willing to hand over his paycheck before jeopardizing his career. But Martínez also promised to keep pitching as long as he can, even though he says he has a small tear in his rotator cuff and not just an inflammation, as has been previously said.
Pedro doesn’t hold back
Phil O’Neill, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Pedro Martínez ripped into GM Dan Duquette over a “minor tear” in his rotator cuff and the firing of coach John Cumberland, and Nomar Garciaparra went off about the lack of respect from the front office as the Red Sox cauldron bubbled merrily away yesterday. “What I don’t appreciate is Duquette saying I’m healthy,” Martínez said in a rambling pregame interview. “I don’t need to be pushed. He’s not going to put me at risk. If he wants to take my check, take it. I’m only going to pitch if I feel I can.”
Mates say decision should be Pedro’s
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
General manager Dan Duquette appears to be one of the few members of the Red Sox who believe that Pedro Martínez should keep pitching this season. Martínez’ teammates are not exactly clamoring for him to continue to give the tear in his rotator cuff one more college try, and they seemed at a loss to explain how anyone other than the injured person could make such a determination.
Opinions far from torn: Foes, mates say ace should shut it down
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald
A tear is a tear. And for a pitcher like Indians starter Dave Burba, there’s nothing to debate when Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez says he is throwing with a minor tear in his right rotator cuff.
Red Sox dispute Pedro claim of minor tear in rotator cuff
Howard Ulman, Associated Press
Martínez said Red Sox team physician Dr. Bill Morgan told him he has thinning of the rotator cuff, but that Anaheim team physician Dr. Lewis Yocum told him there was a minor tear. Duquette did not directly respond to Martínez’s remarks, instead having team spokesman Kevin Shea do his talking. ”Pedro’s the best judge of whether or not he’s hurt, and we wouldn’t ask him to pitch if he’s hurt,” Shea said. Shea said the differing diagnoses were ”a matter of semantics.” Morgan did an MRI in which dye injected into the shoulder showed no leakage, indicating there wasn’t a tear. Shea said Yocum concurred with the original diagnosis.
Thickening clouds Garciaparra comments hang in air
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
Nomar on his comment (”That’s why no one wants to [expletive] play here”): ”It wasn’t a [public] comment, because a comment means I was actually asked about something, I actually answered a question and replied to something. That’s what a comment is. What this was was me coming out of the bathroom talking to a teammate and they heard me. They had no idea what I was talking about. I could have been talking about the media – I could have been talking about there isn’t enough coffee in here.”
Monday morning interview with former Red Sox pitching coach John Cumberland from Sporting News Radio.
Transcript of Dan Duquette on Red Sox pre-game radio show Tuesday evening re: John Cumberland and Pedro Martínez’s health.
Pedro angry with Duquette for questioning his health
Associated Press
Pedro Martínez has a minor tear in his rotator cuff and criticized Boston general manager Dan Duquette for saying he was healthy. “What I don’t appreciate is Duquette saying I’m healthy because then it is not true,” Martínez said Tuesday before Boston’s game against the Cleveland Indians. “I’m doing the best that I can to help the team, but I’m not 100 percent. … I think Dan knows as much about medicine as I do, maybe less. That’s why I’m surprised he said I’m healthy.”
Players pile on: Criticism of management continues
Karen Guregian, Boston Herald
Pedro Martínez remarked yesterday that if Nomar Garciaparra has something to say, count it as the truth. … “No wonder players don’t want to play here. This place is a (expletive) joke,” Garciaparra was overheard to have said.”`What are we going to get, another college roommate of the guy upstairs?” The latter, of course, was a direct dig at GM Dan Duquette, who brought back fellow Amherst College graduate Dave Jauss as a coach after Jimy Williams’ firing. …
Martínez … was just irritated by the GM painting him in an improper light. His advice for Duquette: “Just don’t say anything. If you don’t know (if I’m healthy or not) just shut up. Just shut up and go to the trainer or ask someone who knows. If you don’t know, you’re going to get in trouble with the players. As much respect as I have for him, it’s not right for him to say that.”
On Duquette’s island, Sox want off
Karl Ravech, espn.com
Dan Duquette is not Benedict Arnold, though many of his players’ comments recently will have you believe he’s hung ’em all out to dry. “I love the Red Sox,” Duquette told me Tuesday night. Being the general manager of this team has been a dream come true for the Massachusetts native, only this season that dream has turned into a total nightmare. …
With regard to comments made by Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who said after hearing of the Cumberland demotion Sunday, “It’s no wonder no one wants to play for this organization,” Duquette told me, “Nomar knows very little about the efforts the organization made to keep Cumberland.” And that “it’s something (Nomar) shouldn’t be talking about.”
Duquette’s Ship is Sinking
Dan Patrick, espn.com
I’ve suspected it for a while but now I know it’s true. Based on his actions over the last few weeks, and the performance of his team during that span, Dan Duquette is in his office right now, rolling ball bearings between his sweaty fingers and palms. The shades are drawn. He jumps and starts at the beep of his email or the ring of his phone. He hears footsteps down empty hallways. Dan Duquette is Captain Queeg.
Pedro: Tear diagnosed before he came off DL
espn.com
Pedro Martínez says he was diagnosed with a slight tear of the rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder before the Boston Red Sox activated him from the disabled list last week. …
From a distance, Boston seems half-baked
Ray Ratto, espn.com
America’s attention is riveted, as ever, on New England’s shame, the Boston Red Sox. They have already been good and properly mocked for firing manager Jimy Williams, guilty of being mocked, ignored and undercut while the team was winning. But hey, it’s the Red Sox. Silly things happen. But the beauty of the Red Sox is that they never leave bad enough alone. … the prototypical Red Sox fan is for the most part an annoying little screwball, celebrating their team’s failures for their failures’ sake and then trying to pass off their retelling as literature.
A’s have it all over Red Sox as postseason team
Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
The Red Sox are depending on David Cone, Mort Van Winkle, Pete Methuselah and Bobby Geritol. … The Red Sox play terrible defense and have a team full of designated-hitter types, most of them overpaid. … You like Manny Ramirez in the heart of the Boston order, but you like Jason Giambi more. You marvel at Pedro Martínez, but remember he’s a .500 pitcher in September. You get a kick out of Hipolito Pichardo, who had a bad outing for the Sox and simply retired. You scoff at Carl Everett, whose inappropriate tantrums bring down team morale, and feel sorry for Nomar Garciaparra, back on the disabled list. It’s unsettling that the Sox’s last 19 games are against Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Detroit, but this thing should be over by Sept. 11 — after their next nine games against Cleveland and New York.
September 4, 2001
Red Sox vs. Yankees: Comparison of Pitching after 120 games
Mike Koblish, aka Philly Sox Fan, SoSH
S.o.S.H. Top Ten Red Sox Prospects List
Anthony Chase, aka TonyC, SoSH
September 3, 2001
Given his choice, Pedro would shut it down
Steven Krasner, Providence Journal
Pedro Martínez said yesterday he wasn’t going to ask the Boston Red Sox to shut him down if the team considers itself out of playoff contention. But the Sox ace made it clear that shutting him down sooner than later might be the best way to ensure that he’s healthy enough to fulfill the remaining three years on his contract. He is scheduled to pitch Friday against the Yankees in New York.
“If you look at the long term, it would be wise to let me get healthy,” said Martínez. “But it’s their choice. It’s not my decision. I have to work regardless of the situation. I belong to them. … I know the risk I’m running with every pitch I throw. I want my career to end properly. I don’t want to retire at 29 or 30. … I’m a proud man. I won’t whine. If they want me to pitch, I have to work for the money they pay me. If they want me to pitch I’ll accept it.”
Duquette’s opinions cover lots of bases
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
Watch for a tug-of-war between the club and Pedro Martínez to intensify in the coming days. While Martínez hinted broadly that he would prefer the team shut him down for the rest of the season once it’s out of contention, Duquette steadfastly refused to do so. “The team is not going to shut Pedro down,” Duquette said firmly. “We pay him a lot of money to pitch. … He’s fine. If there was [a concern about his health], we wouldn’t ask him to pitch.”
Martínez hints at shutdown
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
With his fragile shoulder aching the day after his showdown with the Yankees, Pedro Martínez said yesterday the Red Sox would be wise to shut him down for the rest of the season if they fall hopelessly from playoff contention.
“If you look at the long run, the future, I still have three years here. It would be wise to just let me get healthy whenever we can and do whatever possible to win later on if we’re not going to win this year. But we still have chances, and I’m just here to help.”
General manager Dan Duquette unilaterally rejected the notion of shutting down Martínez, barring a significant setback, regardless of the team’s place in the standings. “The team is not going to shut Pedro down. We’re paying him a lot of money to pitch. Our fans enjoy seeing Pedro Martínez pitch.”
Martínez will shut it down if team asks him to do so
Fran Sypek, Springfield Union-News
Pedro Martínez is on schedule to make his next start Friday night in New York against the Yankees, but the Red Sox ace is taking a cautious approach to the rest of his 2001 season. “I’ll just do what my body tells me to do. If they tell me to shut it down, I’ll accept it because I know there’s risk (of doing more damage to his shoulder) with every pitch I throw.”
Martínez takes it day by day
Mike Petraglia, redsox.com
One day after pitching six shut-out innings in Saturday’s game against the Yankees, Pedro Martínez admitted that his right shoulder was still sore. Though Martínez said it’s not unusual for him to be sore after a start, he said Sunday that his right shoulder isn’t at full strength.
“It’s obvious that I’m not 100 percent. But if I have to pitch throwing a fastball 91 or 92 [miles per hour] or if it’s just 88 or 89, whatever, I’m going to go out and do what I have to. … I’m here to work for the club. I’m their employee. It’s not easy pitching with pain. I’ve done that a lot. It is starting to eat at me.”
Pedro’s Shoulder Sore The Day After
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
Pedro Martínez said his right shoulder was sore after pitching six shutout innings Saturday against the Yankees. He threw 87 pitches in his second start since coming off the disabled list. Martínez also acknowledged that by continuing to pitch this season he is jeopardizing his career. His next scheduled start is Friday at Yankee Stadium.
Is It Time to Rest Pedro?
Jon Heyman, Newsday
Pedro Martínez said yesterday that his arm was so iffy throughout the past week that he didn’t know whether he’d make it to the mound right up until game day on Saturday. “It was day by day,” he told Newsday yesterday, the day after six masterful but wasted shutout innings against the Yankees. The Red Sox thought long and hard about whether Martínez would make it to the mound Saturday after his comeback start in Texas five days earlier. “During the week, the recovery part wasn’t really quick, so there was concern about it,” Martínez said.
Pedro: I’ll Pitch Through Pain
Michael Morrissey, New York Post
Pedro Martínez says he won’t beg out of September because, “I’m an employee.” And Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette won’t shut down a healthy Martínez, no matter the team’s standingt, because “our fans enjoy seeing him pitch.” Martínez said yesterday he’ll proceed towards his next start Friday despite feeling less than 100 percent. Even though Pedro’s older brother, Ramon, has instructed the three-time Cy Young Award winner to shut it down if the Red Sox fall further behind in the AL East, Martínez said he has no current plans to do so. Ramon Martínez’s career was cut short due to an arm injury.
Pedro Hurt, But GM Says Pitch
Roger Rubin, New York Daily News
Red Sox ace Pedro Martínez said yesterday that despite a successful pitching performance on Saturday against the Yankees, he is hurting. And he raised no objection to the idea that if the Sox continue to plummet in the standings, they might consider shutting him down for the rest of the year. However, don’t look for that to happen.
September 1, 2001
News/Links to Pedro’s start against the Yankees.
Friday, August 31, 2001
If Jeff Kent were black
Joan Walsh, salon.com
[The Rick Reilly Sports Illustrated] flap exposed a double standard in coverage of the Giants, Bonds and Kent that’s sloppy and lazy and maybe even partly racial. Worst of all, it showed the amazing extent to which reporters’ own experience of a sports star — the petty slights or the charm and flattery — can control the way they cover him, and how the star is in turn perceived by fans. Kent and Bonds are in many ways brothers under the skin: proud, hardworking, self-critical loners, family men with few friends on the team. Both have been known to stare through fans like they didn’t exist and stonewall kids’ requests for autographs. In short, in some ways both guys are cocky assholes, but one is white and dutifully answers reporters’ questions, while the other is black and does not. Guess which one’s the media darling?
Don’t hand Cy Young to Clemens just yet
Rob Neyer, espn.com
I don’t want to make a federal case out of this, but the notion that Roger Clemens obviously deserves to win the Cy Young Award strikes me as fairly preposterous. Seems to me that the Cy Young should go to the best pitcher in the league, but you can reasonably argue that Clemens isn’t even the best pitcher on his team.
Innings Hits HR BB SO ERA Support W-L
Mussina 188 181 18 38 169 3.55 4.3 13-11
Clemens 182 170 16 56 176 3.56 7.2 17- 1
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