ESPN reported early Sunday morning that Mets starter Pedro Martinez would miss his scheduled Tuesday start against the Phillies. The Mets are pushing him back to a weekend game in the following series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The article really gives no reason for the sudden change of heart, even mentioning a few times that Martinez’s bullpen session was viewed as successful. In a quote, Mets manager Jerry Manuel simply attributes it to taking their time with Martinez’s healing process.
At seeing this article, my first thought was, well, here we go again. It seems like with all Martinez’s injuries, the first report is that it is nothing significant. Then suddenly it requires just a few days recovery, and then before you know it, weeks and months are added.
But then I figured other elements were at play. Mostly, I think the Phillies series is viewed as a big series and having Martinez “rushed back” for his Tuesday game might affect both Martinez and the Mets with a bad showing.
But seriously, after suffering through the last three tumultuous years of this four-year contract, I’m almost ready to see the end of the Pedro era as a Met. Injury-ridden veterans are getting to be insufferable.
