I hope that fifth sense isn't smell because that would make that subject line a tough start to make my argument. But my point of this post is, am I the only one left who still wants Pedro Martinez back for another season with the Mets?
The Mets have added payroll to the bullpen, a much-needed improvement to try to avoid another collapse. And they are beginning the flirtation with Derek Lowe - which either will end with an expensive deal for a 36-year-old pitcher who the Mets passed on four years ago when he was young and viable or will send the Mets looking for the likes of inconsistent Oliver Perez or mediocre Randy Wolf to fill the fourth spot in the starting rotation behind Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey and John Maine.
That's all fine. But then there is the fifth spot.
The Mets have openly stated since the season ended that their plans call for inexpensive and young Jon Niese to get the spot as long as he doesn't choke it away. Ask a little deeper and they say Bobby Parnell, who was a starter all through his minor league career until late last season, will compete for it. And they confess they will likely bring in a couple of minor-league contract type veterans to come to camp and push Niese.
And they say quietly that Pedro Martinez won't be there.
And I think sometimes I'm the only one who thinks that is a mistake. I have spoken with Omar Minaya, Jerry Manuel and a number of team insiders and while they all say the polite thing on the record, when you speak to organization sources off the record, it sounds less and less likely that Martinez will return.
Understandable, given that Martinez has been a health hazard for the last two seasons - starting just five games in 2007 at the end of the season and then making 20 erratic starts last year. His agent, Fern Cuza, claims he is healthier than ever, strong again and ready to go at 37 years old, and that's the sort of thing an agent would say.
But I believe him, at least a little bit. While 2007 was lost to rehabilitating from surgery, 2008 never seemed right either. He was either still working his way back into form or losing time with his father's deteriorating health and eventual passing. Minor nagging injuries kept him from ever getting steady enough work to work his way into form, a necessity for a finesse pitcher, which Martinez has certainly become.
And maybe he's done, maybe he'll never be healthy again. And maybe those low 80's radar readings are all he's got left.
But here's the thing that I think. Bring him back. Give him the ball and find out what he's got left. If he takes 10 starts and he doesn't have it - consider that he's doing it in the fifth spot in the rotation now, not the first. And those 10 starts give Niese more time to learn, more time to grow, more time to overcome his own inconsistencies.
Or maybe Martinez does have enough left to be a very good No. 5 starter. The numbers may tell you one thing. His walks were up, an indication of how he was either losing command or trying desperately to pitch around the hitters he could not handle. But he did still strike out 87 in just 109 innings. But if you're around Martinez you know it's more than numbers. He is the smartest pitcher I've seen - in the same class or probably above what Tom Glavine could do. Okay, I'm sorry to bring up Glavine and the memories of how he aged.
But remember, the uses for Glavine and Martinez were never for the back of the rotation before. Now you're talking about the fifth spot and you're asking yourself, would you rather send out Martinez - the smartest pitcher you've ever seen, a craftsman who can work his way around hitters with almost nothing in his arsenal - or would you rather have an uncertain rookie? Or a journeyman like Nelson Figueroa? Or some other reclamation project?
If you're talking Randy Wolf for the fourth spot in the rotation, what exactly do you think you're going to get on a minor league contract for the fifth spot? I'll take the hall-of-famer, especially since the Mets now do have prospects waiting in the wings in Niese and Parnell.
And speaking of Niese and Parnell, it can't hurt to have Martinez around. He is a master of pitching, even if he can't do much of it anymore, and shares with his teammates. Some in the organization aren't thrilled with his solo rehab projects, but few say he didn't work. There is something he brings to the clubhouse though that seems to bring the differing groups together.
He wants to return, claiming to owe something to the Mets' organization that waited for him through his injuries and to the fans who have supported him. He was near tears talking about the way he had been treated during his four years in New York as he finished off the 2008 season.
Maybe he can make ammends and maybe he can't. All told, I'd take a chance. If he really wants to be a part of it, he can take an incentive-laden contract, maybe a $5 million base - or even the $6.5 the Mets wasted on Orlando Hernandez last season - with the possibility to bring it up to double that with the requisite starts, innings and wins.
All I know is I'd feel better with Pedro out there than the usual choice of No. 5 starters. And I feel like I'm alone there.
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