October 26, 2004
Playoffs Today
The weather doesn't look too good for game 3 tonight in St. Louis. You can follow the radar here. But, if things dry out, Pedro Martinez will take the mound to face Jeff Suppan.
Suppan, like all the Cardinals starters, is an okay pitcher who strikes out just enough batters and walks few. Suppan has always had a tendancy to give up the long ball. He had a very interesting home/road split during the regular season. Despite giving up fewer HR, fewer walks and striking out more batters, Suppan's ERA was 1.2 runs higher in Busch. He allowed 40 more hits at home than on the road. Was it just his defense playing poorly behind him in those games? He did give up many more doubles at home, so it could be the long hits just stayed in the park in St. Louis. The Red Sox are good at getting the long hit; this should be a good matchup for the Sox.
Edward Cossette is giddy about Pedro pitching tonight.
I just had another ohmygaw thought: PEDRO MARTINEZ IS PITCHING IN HIS FIRST WORLD SERIES EVER. FOR THE BOSTON RED SOX. WHO ARE UP 2-0. IN THE WORLD SERIES!
The problem is that Pedro hasn't pitched like Pedro for a while. He's not the shut'em down lights out Pedro of 1998-2003. He's walked 11 in 20 post-season innings this year. He's given up 20 hits. He still strikes out batters, with 20 of those as well. He's still very good, but he's not so good that he's the automatic win anymore. And so people may be getting ahead of themselves when they start writing as if this is going to be
Pedro's last game in a Red Sox uniform:
One game to out-Curt Curt. One game to say goodbye. One game to say, "Pay me." One game to show off for his countrymen watching on TV down in the Dominican. One game to have people back home chanting "Pe-dro!" in the living rooms and bars of New England. One game to remind everyone that he still can pitch as well as anyone in the world. One game to put the Boston Red Sox up, 3-0.
If this post season has proved anything, it's that anything is possible.
Pedro is definitely not the pitcher he was, but he has been a very different pitcher with extra rest this year. 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 99.2 innings on extra rest. Only 8-5 with a 4.77 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 111.1 innings on normal rest. In the postseason, his ERA is 4.15 with extra rest compared to 6.00 in his one start with normal rest. Further, he has allowed 18 baserunners in 13 extra rest innings, compared to 14 in 6 innings on normal rest. Pedro may not be unhittable, but the Cardinals should be worried today, and the Red Sox should be worried if it goes to a Game 7.
Was not suggesting the Pedro is the old Pedro or even that he'll win or even that he'll avoid getting shelled and be removed in the 2nd.
I was only "giddy" over the excitement of it all. And I was feeling a voyeuristic fan joy in what Pedro must be feeling... I'm happy for him. He's waited a long time to be in a WS. We all have.
And I think you're incorrect, too, to assume that if we wonder if this might be Pedro's last start in a Boston uniform that it's because we assume he'll win. EVERY start for frail Pedro this time of year could be his last. At least that's the way I took Ryan.
