Pedro's toe giving Mets fans discomfort

Mets ace Pedro Martinez has yet to throw off a mound this spring and is still ailing from chronic pain in his right foot.

Those who have followed the career of Pedro Martinez know the outstanding right-hander is no stranger to wear and tear. It's something the Mets were willing to gamble on when they signed the right-hander last season to a three-year, $38 million contract.

But at 34, there's increasing concern over his big right toe, which is preventing him from fully pushing off the pitching rubber. According to a story on ESPN.com, the front office has been nervously monitoring the situation since September, when his fastball was down to 86 mph. Described as "background pain," he's dealt with the discomfort for two years, but it finally caught up with him in 2005 when it cut his season short in September.

Five months, a cortisone shot and a special shoe by Nike later, the pain still lingers. And now there's a new pain: headaches among Mets nation.

"I think I speak for most Mets fans when I say that yes, the pitching rotation is a big concern right now," said Ryan McConnell of Always Amazin' Mets blog in an e-mail to Beerleaguer. "Just the possibility of Jose Lima replacing Pedro Martinez in the rotation keeps me up at night."

Pedro was supposed to pitch for the Dominicans in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, but it's highly possible he could miss the entire tournament. He will miss the opening round for sure and his chances of pitching in the tournament hang at 50-50, an official from the player’s association said.

The Mets would rather he didn't and continue to work out with the team in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where they can keep an eye on perhaps their most important piece in a season of high expectations. They had the deepest pockets in baseball this winter, acquiring closer Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado and also catcher Paul LoDuca, to go with Carlos Beltran, the prize of last season’s free agent class. They are expected to be serious contenders for the division title, perhaps more.

But for all the high-profile moves, the team is still weak with back-end starting pitching, and is getting long of tooth at the top. GM Omar Minaya traded both Jae Seo and Kris Benson this offseason, moves that have been criticized among Internet circles for leaving the pitching staff too thin.

“If you wanted to be pessimistic – something a lot of Phillies and Mets fans can relate to - you'd see a Mets starting rotation featuring a brittle Pedro Martinez, an old Tom Glavine, an unproven Aaron Heilman, a mediocre Steve Trachsel, and an erratic Victor Zambrano," said McConnell. "If/when one of their starters goes down, the Mets have uninspiring/ unproven choices like Jose Lima, Darren Oliver, Alay Soler, Brian Bannister, and John Maine waiting in the wings."

Like the Phillies, the Mets should have little problem putting up run support. Along with the Braves, who are defending the division title for a 14th-consecutive time, the Mets are viewed as the team to beat, balanced by an upgraded bullpen and offense.

"Their hitting, which ranked seventh in the league last year, should be markedly better with Carlos Delgado replacing Mientikiewicz, a healthy Beltran (hopefully) rebounding, and both Wright and Reyes maturing," McConnell said. "And their bullpen, anchored by your Judas, Billy Wagner, and featuring a collection of solid arms (Sanchez, Bradford, Julio), should be very solid."

However, the reality of Pedro's health, the uncertainty of an aging staff and loss of two key pitchers, has dampened the state of Mets euphoria ... but only slightly. After all, it seems as if the baseball world has waited an eternity for Pedro to truly break down. We're still waiting.

"So, like always, injuries will likely be what determines the Mets success this year," McConnell said. "But considering Mazzone and Furcal's departure from the Braves, I'm as optimistic as I've been in quite some time about the Mets chances of actually taking the division this year."

Comments

[gr]

crash and burn, mets!

[That Dude]

To me the Mets seem to be a 2006 version of the mid 80's yankees.

[hotcorner5]

i'm sure you guys would like to believe that. but hey, maybe the phillies can keep themselves in it and then make one of their legendary season changing trades like acquiring cory lidle or the longball killer ugeth urbina. that's what happens when the phils look to go on the cheap all the time and hire guys like charlie manuel and pat gillick instead of getting something worth a damn.

it's pretty pathetic when you guys are down to hoping pedro gets hurt to damage our playoff chances. good luck this years filthies.

[jon]

aah good 'ol Shae Stadium, the place where talent goes to die.

[pawnking]

And Bill Simmons smiled.

[Tom G]

Wow, what side of the bed did hotcorner5 get up on today?

[Tom G]

By the way, I almost forgot, fun post Jason.

[Mike H.]

He probably got up on the Queens side of the bed...

[Phillies3rd]

DOn't worry Phillies' fans. Your team will finish .500 this year and probably in third place.

[Ed]

Heh, it kinda sounds like this post touched a nerve with some Mets fans.

[gr]

i love how the Always Amazin blog directs readers to come to this site and pick a fight with us. kind of like the old days in the upper deck of the Vet.

[Craig]

Who needs to pick a fight with you? You're Phillies fans.

[IUP Phillies Fan]

haha how can anyone who is a mets fan even talk crap? the mets have had like 10x the talent the phillies have had over the past few years, and yet the phillies have still finished higher then them. who did that team have last year? piazza, beltran, martinez? and they STILL had a horrible year. the phillies lost their prize player in jim thome and t hey still finished a game within the wild card. gotta love the mets. they are the new york yankees' annoying, troublesome younger brother (see: vince coleman)

oh yeah, and the mets will still suck because wagner doesn't seem to perform to the best of his ability until the final year of his contract.

[hotcorner5]

10x the talent? i don't know about you, but some of those met teams were pretty woeful. i recall the phillies being very highly touted recently and failing to meet any expectations. they fire wade and bowa and fail to address the real problem... a line up with too many Ks!

by the way, my first post was intended to be highly antagonistic. i am a met fan from south jersey and all my friends are filthies fans. i hate the filthies. and also, don't invoke the "yankees are better than the mets" b/c i know for a fact phillies fans hate the yanks just as much as mets fans do.

[IUP Phillies Fan]

haha few years implies recent memory. you're right that the phillies haven't lived up to their expectations, but neither have the mets. if the mets even make the playoffs this year i'd be surprised. you're right, phillies fans do hate the yankees, you knwo why? because EVERYONE HATES THE YANKEES

[RickSchuBlues]

Wow, never expected the discourse to fall this low on this site...being totally objective, I can't take the Mets very seriously. They may well finish higher than the Phillies, but how could anyone with half a brain cell say they are the 'team to beat'? Has no lesson been learned with the great-on-paper Phillies of the past three seasons? Where did all those acquisitions get them? Not past the Braves. Go ahead and rationalize they're suddenly vulnerable because they've lost Leo Mazzone...right, just the way they just laid down and died after Maddux, Glavine, Wright, Millwood, etc. etc. left the team. Come on. I'm certainly no Braves fan, but they've earned the right not to be discounted by also-ran teams who suddenly spend a lot of money. Organizations win divisions and pennants - not franchises with free-spending GMs. Even Yankees fans will tell you that.

And Pedro? Gee, couldn't happen to a greater guy.

[That Dude]

Why event talk trash with mets fans? F NY. Their basically just like Yankees fans, but with no lineage.

[IUP Phillies Fan]

exactly. until the braves find a way to lose/everyone else in the NL finds a way to take over the NL east, the braves are the team to beat. which is a shame, because i hate the braves as much as i hate the yankees and mets.

[Craig]

"because EVERYONE HATES THE YANKEES"

Kinda like the way everyone hates people from Philly?

[gr]

craig, you sound like a real cool guy to hang with.

[Craig]

Thanks.