“I think the Mets are a possibility. They know him better than most,” said Pedro Martinez‘ agent Fern Cuza while speaking to SI.com about Pedro’s chances of returning to the Mets next season. But in the same report by Jon Heyman Pedro’s agent also said:

…multiple teams already have checked in about the Hall-of-Fame-bound righthander.

Cruz also added that the things that troubled Pedro last season, the death of his father and his injuries are behind him:

“He’s definitely coming back,” Cuza said. “He’s got all the baggage behind him. He’s ready to go get it. It’ll be fun to see the old Pedro again.”

Like I wrote in a post last week I hope to see Pedro back in a Mets uniform next season. Pedro is a prideful athlete and I think he would retire if he had nothing left. The Mets
invested a lot in him and it would hurt to see him pitching elsewhere next season. I think he’s worth a shot. Expectations would not be high and he may surprise some.

WFAN’s Mike Francesa says he spoke with Mets GM Omar Minaya this morning. When Mike asked about Manny Ramirez Omar responded pitching, pitching, pitching:

• The Mets will make Oliver Perez an offer but the Mets fear Carlos Silva’s contract may hurt negotiations.

• The Mets will make an offer to Pedro Martinez.

• The Mets do have interest in Derek Lowe and AJ Burnett.

• The Mets do have interest in relievers K-Rod, Fuentes, Wood, Putz, Jenks and Street.

• No interest in Ben Sheets.

• Not sure if Easley will be back.

• Castillo will be the second baseman.

• There are no plans to replace Schneider/Castro behind the plate.

• Omar loves Murphy, sees him in the Pedroia/Youkillis mold. A hard nose leader type.

I’m probably alone here but I am happy to hear that they are going to try to sign Pedro. Watching him consistently reach the low 90’s on the gun makes me believe he has something left and more importantly, something to prove.

Dear Pedro Martinez,

It would be difficult to argue with somebody that said, “Pedro Martinez was the most dominant pitcher in baseball during his prime.”

But it should be obvious to anybody that has been watching you this season, that those days are long gone.  It has almost reached the point where you are almost a liability in the rotation, and it is time that you do something about it. 

It is one thing for a pitcher to dominate hitters and win games while he is in the prime of his career with all the talent in the world, but it is a new level of success when he can re-invent himself into a new pitcher that can still win games without that blazing fastball and perfect control he used to have.  Pedro, you haven’t reached that point yet where you have figured out how to beat hitters without your best stuff, and it’s starting to hurt the team. 

Before your start tonight, try and figure out a new strategy with which to approach hitters.  Throw pitches in spots that you’ve been afraid to before, just to keep hitters off balance.  Most days you still have high quality off-speed stuff, but figure out how best to mix it and where best to place it.  Naturally this is all easier said than done, but it has been done and more than once. 

Your former teammate Tom Glavine re-invented himself right in front of your eyes with the aid of Rick Peterson.  Glavine’s two biggest changes were incorporating a breaking ball more often and not being afraid to throw his changeup inside.  Trevor Hoffman has transformed in front of baseball’s eyes from a fireballing young pitcher to a crafty veteran who beats people with a deceiving changeup. 

Do these changes inspire you to do anything? Do they give you any ideas?  I hope so, because you have a pretty important start tonight, and the way you have pitched lately won’t cut it. 

Pedro - dig up that crafty ole veteran that’s inside you so you are a useful pitcher for the Mets down the stretch.  Plus, if you find a new way to present yourself and a different way to get batters out, you can probably extend your career by a year or two.  Don’t be afraid of change, especially when you need to realize it is necessary to win. 

Since being signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2006, Pedro P. Martinez has yet to rise above class A ball for the Mets.  However, the 23 year old righty is certainly picking things up for the class A Brooklyn Cyclones. 

So far this season Martinez is 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 12 starts.  In his last three starts, he has tossed 17 innings while allowing just two runs and striking out 20.  He has won all of these starts, for his only three wins of the season.   

Wait, there’s another Pedro Martinez on the Mets?

Pedro E. Martinez of the Gulf Coast League Mets?  In one appearance for the GCL Mets, Pedro E. has allowed one run in an inning and a third.  Earlier in the year, Pedro E. pitched for the Dominican League Mets, where as a reliever he had a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings.  Still, unlike Pedro P. Martinez, Pedro E. Martinez has not quite picked up his game.

Is there still another Pedro Martinez?  A more important Pedro Martinez?  

Pedro J. Martinez of the New York Mets has been pitching very well lately.  In his last four starts, Pedro has allowed seven earned runs in 24.1 innings of work, totalling a 2.59 ERA.  In his most recent start, he showed some endurance and efficiency that has been lacking the entire season.  In seven innings of work, he threw only 96 pitches while allowing only one run. 

In summation, Pedro P. Martinez is heating up and surging.  So is Pedro J. Martinez.

Now how about you do the same Mr. Pedro E. Martinez!  Until you prove yourself, you are a disgrace to your name.    

According to John Delcos of The Journal Pedro Martinez will pitch in Houston on Friday night.

Pedro Martinez will throw a bullpen session tomorrow afternoon…Manager Jerry Manuel said Martinez will face hitters during tomorrow’s workout and be held to 80 pitches against the Astros.

Delcos also added that Jerry Manuel said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets made a trade before the deadline.

With the Mets playing well I still miss Pedro. Even the shots of him in the dugout are entertaining. Welcome back Pedro, hope your heart is not too heavy.

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.

There stands to be excitement and intrigue surrounding tonight’s Mets vs. Giants game, the kind that reverberated around Labor Day 2007’s Mets vs. Reds match up.

In that Labor Day game, Pedro Martinez returned from injury. He did not have his most dynamic outing, allowing five hits, three walks and two earned runs, but ultimately, he pitched well enough to win and left unscathed. The Mets can only hope for similar results tonight.

Martinez’s rash of injuries since mid-season 2006 have severely put in question the merits of Omar Minaya’s four-year, $53 million dollar signing. With the ace right-hander making only five starts in 2007, the team needs Martinez to shoulder more of the pitching duties in 2008, or plainly, half the pitcher’s contract will prove fruitless for the Mets.

Perhaps it is a different kind of excitement that centers around New York tonight. On this year’s Opening Day, Mets fans seemed eager to see Johan Santana in action. That same anticipation tonight may be replaced by anxious onlookers, disturbed by every odd move of Martinez on the mound.

In the past, the national media has made hasty generalizations, saying the Mets have absolutely no pitching and without Martinez, the team is doomed. The team may not be doomed, but a healthy Martinez need not be dominating on the mound to have an impact in 2008. His clubhouse presence alone, as well as his Hall of Fame-caliber stuff, would quickly pay dividends.

Over in the Bronx, the Yankees are reacting to both the echoing demands of Hank Steinbrenner and the disabled list trips of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

To say Hughes and Kennedy have been underwhelming thus far would be understatement. Hughes went 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA and 2.14 WHIP before landing on the disabled list on April 30. Ian Kennedy was 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA and 1.75 WHIP before being placed on the D.L. on May 28.

It’s far too early to pass judgment on Hughes and Kennedy. New York fans are notoriously reactionary, and the pitchers are young yet. What stood questioning was the continuing use of Joba Chamberlain this season in the set-up role. Perhaps the best of the three, Chamberlain was wasted in the bullpen while Kei Igawa received an opportunity to throw live, in-game batting practice. Pigeonholing a quality starting pitcher into a bullpen role, much less a middle relief role, is mind-boggling and only minimizes the contributions the pitcher can have for the team. Finally Chamberlain gets his starting opportunity tonight, and with solid outings from him, better sense may prevail.

Who has the better chance of winning tonight — Martinez or Chamberlain? The nod goes to Martinez, who faces a slowly recovering Barry Zito and the Giants. While only collecting one win in five starts since returning from the bullpen, Zito put up adequate numbers in every game. He’s still walking too many batters, but he’s found ways to minimize the damage.

As for Chamberlain, he goes head-to-head against Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays. A man with a handful of complete games under his belt this season, Halladay is coming off two brilliant starts against the A’s and Royals. Halladay’s ace card is a tough draw, indeed, for Chamberlain’s first start. Tonight’s Yankees vs. Blue Jays game should be a highly interesting and entertaining contest.

Tim Bontemps of the NY Post’s Beating the Bushes blog will be live blogging Pedro Martinez start tonight for Single-A St. Lucie.

Update 8:35: Well, I assumed “live blogging” would mean more updates than just one after five innings but I guess this is better than nothing…

Tim Bontemps:

Thru five Pedro has allowed two runs (both earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Update 8:45: via Tim Bontemps of Beating the Bushes blog:

Pedro’s night is over. He went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out six and not walking a batter.

Via SNY: Pedro threw 82 pitches, 62 for strikes… Amazing.

Omar Minaya indicated that the Mets intend to have Pedro Martinez throw a rehab start in the minor leagues on Wednesday or Thursday, Bart Hubbuch reports on his blog for the New York Post.

The Mets are hopeful that Pedro will be ready to make his Major League return sometime during the series in San Francisco starting on June 2nd.

Roger Rubin of the Daily News is reporting that Pedro Martinez is on his way to Atlanta to meet the team. Martinez pitched in an extended spring training game tonight and all went well. Rubin reports from Port St. Lucie:

In pitching 4-1/3 innings against St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, he said he never felt pain or discomfort.

Afterward he spoke to GM Omar Minaya, who instructed him to fly to meet the team in Atlanta and throw a bullpen session there that day. A set plan has not been mapped out, but Martinez could be back in the majors before June (which is soon enough to make one’s head spin).

Funny how last night on ESPN Peter Gammons misspoke and said Pedro would be back before June. He meant to say July and corrected himself. It looks like (fingers crossed) Gammons may have been right in the first place.

In his Met Notes for the NY Post, Mike Puma provides an update on Pedro Martinez.

Pedro threw a 60 pitch session, part of which was a bullpen session and part was batting practice.  About the session Omar Minaya had to say, “It was a pretty good session. He threw all his pitches.”

According to Puma, Minaya refused to set a timetable for Pedro to throw in a simulated game, which presumably will be the next step.

According to Mike Nichols of Mets Blog, Ramon Castro has been activated and Raul Casanova has been DFA’d.

Also, WFAN has been in contact with the Mets and they said tonight’s game will be played despite the inclement weather.

Plus, LoHud Mets Blog has some Pedro Martinez info:

Martinez threw 60 pitches in a bullpen session at Port St. Lucie.

Said Omar Minaya: “We’re very encouraged by the progress that’s being made.”

Anthony Dicomo over at mlb.com is reporting that Pedro Martinez is making some progress, but is still at least one throwing session away from facing actual living hitters of any kind. According to DiComo, Pedro would face either hitters in a simulated game or participate in an extended Spring Training game. Pedro has not faced hitters since getting hurt in his sole appearance of the season.

Its good to see Pedro making progress, and realistically he’s probably closer to returning than Duq. Best case scenario, his next throwing session is good enough that the one after that is in a simulated game, that still puts him probably at least three more weeks away from coming back. He’s already missed the originally stated time he’d be out, but its Pedro. Its not like we didn’t know when he came to Shea he’d miss some time. Figgy is doing respectable, so we can’t complain. Pelf is…a fifth starter, and we’ll leave it at that. If the middle of the rotation can hold up a little better (you Ollie, you), then we can manage the few more weeks before Pedro returns.

On a side note, Delcos is reporting Duque is still wearing his boot, and will be ‘reevaluated’ soon. Which means pretty much its going to be awhile.

With Sammy Sosa sitting in the stands at Wrigley Field for today’s Mets-Cubs game it got both Bart Hubbach of the NY Post’s Mets Blog and Ed Ryan of Mets Fever wondering if he would be a good fit for the Mets. Both asked but neither had the answer to that all important question, Can Sammy Sosa play first base?

Also, Joel Sherman of the NY Post in his Blog Hardball wonders, injuries aside does Pedro Martinez have anything left?

Plus, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes about how the Second City teams always like to, as Cubs broadcaster said “Bite the Big Apple”.