For Fox Sports, Ken Rosenthal writes about how Pedro Martinez’s return this year will translate into a competitive on the field and off the field edge.
He writes:
A healthy, effective Martinez would benefit the Mets not only competitively, but also psychologically. Left-hander Oliver Perez leans so heavily on Martinez, he asked him to call pitches during a postseason game in ‘06. Martinez also could push a position player such as shortstop Jose Reyes, a fellow Dominican whose late-season funk contributed to the Mets’ collapse.
It’s great that Ken points this out, because it aggravates me when people say Pedro won’t contribute much this year because of his age and injury history. First of all I think on the field he will contribute, whether or not he can throw more than 7 innings. But off the field, he’ll be able to get the most out of Perez, Reyes etc. That’s probably just as important as what he’ll do every 5th day when he toes the rubber.
