Matthew Cerrone

News: Pedro Aims for April Return
By Matthew Cerrone - Apr 17, 2008 10:33 am

Earlier this week, Omar Minaya told reporters that his team will be ‘conservative’ with Pedro Martinez, meaning the pitcher may not return until June.

However, yesterday, Martinez told a Dominican TV station that he intends to be back before May, according to ESPN.

Martinez, as quoted by ESPN:

“I am surprised with the way I am recovering. It’s going much faster than I thought. Everything is moving smoothly.  The Mets know that I’m working and that I will not abandon them. I don’t want it to be a long wait like everybody thinks.”

…whatever…he’s back when he’s back…frankly, this is all babble until we get that first report about him throwing from flat ground, which always makes me laugh because it seems like so much hype for such a normal moment

added to by Brandon Eddy

…we should all know by now that pedro knows his body better than anyone…so if he says he can come back by the end of the month, then we shall believe…and hope…

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39 Comments »

Comment by kowalski69
2008-04-17 10:34:56

Tale of two bloggers…

 
Comment by bvaz
2008-04-17 10:42:31

I saw the headline and asked myself April of 2009?
you have to love hios work ethic but it is no use rushing so that he only lasts another 4 innings before getting hurt again.

Comment by mets6986
2008-04-17 11:16:50

Maybe Pedro doesn’t want to be the next Wally… ha ha… Go Figs and Pelfrey!!!

Seriously, I hope we get him back and healthy for at least 20-25 starts…

 
 
Comment by Gasface77
2008-04-17 10:43:23

We all know that Pedro is not what he was. I still think that this recent injury was a freak thing and could have happened to anyone. It is just exaggerated because he worked so hard to get back and then this happened in his first start. We saw at the end of last year that Pedro can still be a “very good” major league pitcher and I have no doubt that he will come back strong. I just hope it is sooner, rather than later. I hope he proves all the doubters wrong.

 
Comment by remaxajf
2008-04-17 10:44:47

2 posts on the same thing? Really?

Also, Eddy’s post beats Cerrone’s with a better graphic!

 
Comment by remaxajf
2008-04-17 10:47:39

And Eddy’s post is erased……show em who’s boss Matt.

Though, put up Eddy’s graphic!

 
Comment by Chris Jelic
2008-04-17 10:52:05

It’s April 17th. Two weeks from today is May 1. Less than two weeks for a guy who’s yet to throw off flat ground? Perhaps he’ll be going 100% by late April, but his return to rotation will probably take about 15-20 days, once he begins pitching.

I’m very glad he’s feeling good, and look forward to a May return.

Comment by metsfan227
2008-04-17 11:09:47

That’s how I see it too.

When I read this I almost wanted to ask, does he realize that there are only 13 days left in this month? I want him back as much as the next guy and I know that he wants to get back soon as well, but I really can’t see him being back in less than 2 weeks.

 
Comment by Xavier22
2008-04-17 13:46:32

Yeah but don’t forget, Pedro also said he felt he’d be back by June last year, and he was off by 3 months.

The last thing the Mets want is for Pedro to pitch 1 or 2 games and then re-injure his hammy. So they will almost certainly play it conservatively with him, regardless of what he says.

 
 
Comment by Constnza81V2.0
2008-04-17 10:53:48

Sigh. Just get healthy and pitch a big game for us Pedro. I’m tired of waiting to see how this guy will pitch in October.

 
Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 10:54:24

anyone know why hudson only went 3 Innings 58 pitches yesterday?

Comment by remaxajf
2008-04-17 10:56:10

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tim Hudson’s velocity was down about five miles per hour in Wednesday’s loss to the Marlins.

“I felt fine physically,” Hudson said. “Just one of those nights I went out there and just couldn’t get anything behind the ball. It was kind of a weird feeling. My heater is normally a lot better than that. Just wasn’t coming out of my hand good, for whatever reason.”

Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 11:05:00

yeah, I read that he felt like he had a dead arm, but that seems like a crazy drop. if he’s hurt…man.

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Comment by smgibbs
2008-04-17 11:56:08

his velocity was not as low as they were saying. look at the mlb gameday from yesterday. he was throwing 90+

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Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 11:58:59

if he was throwing 90+, why’d he say he had a dead arm? That’s his normal velocity, 90-92, occasionally 94-ish.

 
Comment by smgibbs
2008-04-17 12:35:16

who knows? I think his velocity was down some, but gameday had him hitting 90 numerous times and 91 once. the article had the jacobs HR being 85 mph fb and gameday had it as 88…. it could just be a difference in the guns, but gamedays is not normally fast….

 
 
 
 
Comment by remaxajf
2008-04-17 10:54:37

This just in…El Duque tripped walking on “flat ground” this morning. Broke his leg. You can add 6 more months to his DL stint.

Comment by Chris Jelic
2008-04-17 11:01:40

See I would almost believe that, but when elderly people fall, they tend to break their hip.

Comment by NYCESQ
2008-04-17 11:07:56

Haha, brilliant.

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Comment by darkstar73
2008-04-17 11:03:09

Pedro at this point is a bonus, I really think we’re fine without him, especially if Pelfrey can pitch like a #4 all season. Nelson may not be able to go all year at #5, but we’re got other options there, and if Pedro/ El Duque show up, it’ll be gravy. I still think Pedro will be back though, sometime mid-May, and he’ll be effective. Maybe not a #2, but who knows, I wouldn’t totally doubt it with Pedro. At this point, its not like last year, or the year before, when we absolutely needed a #2 because we didn’t even have a #1. Now we have a #1, makes things a lot easier.

Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 11:08:27

meehhh…I think I need to see a couple more starts from both Pelf and Figs before I’d call Pedro a bonus. I think we’ll need him, and the sooner he gets back, the better.

Comment by darkstar73
2008-04-17 11:28:06

i’m not sold on Figs by any means, Pelf I actually have some confidence in because he finally has some confidence in himself. Figs is replaceable though, he’s a 5th starter, we’ve survived before with a revolving door there, and we have decent enough replacements (compared to the Lima’s/Lawrences of the world). I think Pedro will be back though.

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Comment by Constnza81V2.0
2008-04-17 11:29:09

Yes, it’s early, but what Pelfrey has shown so far this year is exactly what we need out of the back-end of the rotation. Someone who will keep us in the games against the good teams, and shut down the bad teams. Fortunately, there are plenty of bad offensive teams in the NL. I still like our chances more with Pedro in the flock, but I think Tuesday was a huge step towards Mike Pelfrey finding getting “it.”

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Comment by Agbayanitodeepleftcenter
2008-04-17 11:42:49

I thought the exact same thing dude. During that game when he had the bases loaded my father turned to me and said “Here we go again”. However, after that inning you could see his face light up with delight as to getting out of that jam.

Hopefully he just feeds off of this and solidifies the fifth spot for us once Pedro gets back.

 
Comment by Constnza81V2.0
2008-04-17 11:58:26

Pelfrey looked like a totally diffeernt pitcher afterthe third inning. I’m sure he was helped by the Nats just not being good, but Pelfrey has faced them before, and has still struggled getting out of the 6th inning. He was on such cruise control I would have liked to see him pitch the 8th, even if he went over 100 pitches. He got stronger and it was far and away, Pelfrey’s most efficient performance, even surpassing his great start against Atlanta last year.

 
Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 12:08:39

totally agree that Pelf looks relatively great so far, and I’m a big fan of his possibilities. I just need to see it happen a couple more times before I believe wholeheartedly. But definitely on the right track. And darkstar, you’re right about Figs and the 5th spot…plenty of grist for that mill.

If pedro comes back sooner rather than later (assuming health, natch), and pelf is really who he’s looked like so far, it could really help us jump in front of the division by June.

 
Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 12:10:31

*sooner rather than later = 3-4 weeks rather than 6-8 weeks

 
Comment by Another Matt
2008-04-17 12:20:33

I like what I’ve seen from Pelfrey so far.

Even more, I like what he said after the last game. If he really believes what he said, he had the epiphany he needed: ‘hey, I’m a major-league pitcher trying to get outs, not a AAAA guy trying not to get hit’

If he makes like he says and pounds the zone, like he did Tuesday, we have ourselves a winner.

 
 
Comment by Chris Jelic
2008-04-17 12:22:36

I just realized that D’Backs have Owings and D.Davis as 4 and 5 when everybody’s healthy. You’re talking an ace who’s as good as Santana, the Unit (similar profile to Pedro), Haren (a bit better than Maine). With Pedro, we can almost match AZ, and I see that as a great goal.

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Comment by jamie
2008-04-17 12:34:17

I was skeptical about AZ’s hitting, but they’ve certainly gotten off to a nice start. If their offense can keep it up, they’re gonna be plenty tough.

 
Comment by smgibbs
2008-04-17 12:52:44

if wedd is as good as santana then maine is as good as haren

 
 
 
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