When the Phillies signed Pedro Martinez during the season, few saw it coming. Not many expected the Phillies to be interested in him, yet alone sign him. But, sign him they did.
Martinez, after a short stint on the disabled list to start his Phillies’ career, went out and performed much better than your typical 5th starter, which is where Martinez really slots in now. In his nine starts during the regular season, he had a record of 5-1, with the Phillies winning 8 of those 9 starts. He pitched 44.2 innings and had a 3.63 ERA. Much better results than the Phillies were getting from the likes of Rodrigo Lopez and other spot starters.
What the Phillies really signed him for however, was the postseason. Pedro has been one of the best postseason pitcher of this generation. He knows how to handle the pressure of a playoff start and actually relishes the spotlight.
He kind of hit a wall in the 2009 playoffs though. In his 3 starts for the Phillies in the playoffs, he had a record of 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA. Not a bad ERA, but the Phillies’ offense just couldn’t provide runs behind him. When you get to be Pedro’s age, you need the run support to be successful. Hell, every pitcher needs runs to be successful, but Pedro isn’t going to go out and throw 8 shutout innings every start anymore. In his three starts, the Phillies scored 1 run twice and 3 runs in the other.That’s not enough from this team.
Heading into the offseason, it seems as if Pedro has done enough to at least warrant a contract for next season. Whether it will be with the Phillies is another matter. At this point, the Phillies seem set in their rotation with Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, and most likely, J.A. Happ. There is still the possibility of Kyle Drabek making the big club out of spring training as well. There just doesn’t seem to be a fit for Pedro with the 2010 Phillies.
He also doesn’t seem to be able to pitch a full season, much like Roger Clemens in his last few years. Pedro will probably sit out the first half of the season and then sign with a contender in the later part of the summer, just as he did this season. He proved that he still had some gas left in the tank, just not enough to get through 30-something starts.
Pedro Martinez brought a circus atmosphere to Philadelphia and was immediately embraced by this town. It’s not often people get to see a first-ballot Hall of Famer pitch for your hometown club, and Philly definitely knows that.
He will be missed here, but in the best interests of both parties, Pedro won’t be pitching in Philadelphia next spring.
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