After his mastery against the Mets last night, Pedro Martinez's numbers are officially ridiculous. In seven starts with the Phillies, Pedro is 5-0 with a phenomenal 2.87 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.Hey Pedro, this isn't 1999!
But in all honesty, I did not think that Pedro had much left in the tank. After watching his gut through the 2008 season with the Mets where he was nothing more than a bad 5th starter, I believed that the dominant Pedro was long gone...the very good Pedro was no more...and the sometimes ok Pedro was here to stay.
But as they say, that's why they play the games! I don't think anyone in their wildest imagination could have imagined that Pedro was going to be this good with the Phillies. For God's sake, Pedro (in a admittedly limited sample size) is striking out almost a batter an inning (34 K in 37 innings)!
So what does this all mean for Pedro Martinez as we look towards 2010? Well, I can tell you one thing, Pedro will not have to wait until July to find work. It's become clear that Pedro still has the ability to be an effective starting pitcher...especially in the National League. I know it's easy for us to get ahead of ourselves here because the sample size is so small, but Pedro's stuff looks very, very sharp right now.
At this point, would it be naive to think that Pedro could actually get more than a one year deal on the open market? Probably. But if Pedro finishes out the season strong and has a dynamite postseason, then maybe, just maybe, the idea of giving a 38year old Pedro Martinez a two year deal might not sound so stupid and crazy.
Thoughts? How much can Pedro get on the open market?
