CHAMPS ROMP BEHIND PEDRO

by Max Blue
http://maxblue3.tripod.com

                                    Pedro was good but not great,
                                    no sweat with 12 runs on his plate.
                                    Fourteen hits, eight extra base for the Champs,
                                    a welcome relief from recent batting cramps
                                    that have plagued this great team as of late.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009, Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois.
Philadelphia – 12, Chicago Cubs – 5.
WP – Pedro Martinez (1-0), LP – Jeff Samardzija (1-2)
HR – Victorino (9), 3^rd, 1 on; Rollins (15), 4^th, 2 on; Ibañez (27), 4^th, 2 on.

The month-long drumbeat and drama of The Philadelphia Coming of Pedro, played out this night in the Friendly Confines of ancient and hallowed Wrigley Field on the north side of Chicago before a howling and beer-tossing sellout of 41,133 people, to say nothing of the countless roof sitters across the street, and the counted millions looking at their flat and curved screens all over the central and eastern part of Pennsylvania and Delaware, and the southern part of New Jersey.

Pedro was cool; he said all the right things – he was not here to take Jamie Moyer’s place (which he was), Jamie was his friend. He said he was humbled by the whole experience, and that he intended to savor every moment of this god-given opportunity. Then he took the mound, said his prayer, and threw an 87 m.p.h. cutter to Cubs’ leadoff man Ryan Theriot, aka The Riot. After 5 innings and 99 pitches, with a 12-3 lead, Pedro sat down in the dugout, took off his game face, and accepted congratulations from his teammates and coaches. Manager Charlie Manuel was seen walking over to pat his man on the shoulder. Well done, Pedro.

So what are we looking at here? Pedro Martinez is a Philly, we saw it with our own eyes. We have seen this guy before …On September 24, 1996, Pedro was a 24 year-old 98 m.p.h. take-no-prisoners flamethrower for the Montreal Expos. Max Blue was a rookie writer, so to speak, and had this to say about what happened at Veterans Stadium in south Philadelphia that night :

            It was a good fight but we lost. Wait til next year. New York beat Houston and Philadelphia lost to Montreal 6-2 to leave the Phillies six games behind the Mets with five games to play. The home team will finish last. It is a certainty.
            But let it be said the Phillies did not go down without a fight. It came in the 5^th inning, with the Phillies trailing 2-0, when Mike Williams, ignoring plate umpire Frank Pulli’s theatrical warning after aiming a pitch at opposing pitcher Pedro Martinez’ belt buckle, decked Martinez with a well-designed throw at his butt. It was a night when Mike had his control. Martinez picked himself up off the muddy turf and charged the mound swinging his batting helmet like a mace. Williams, five inches taller and 30 pounds heavier, ducked the flailing weapon and took Pedro to the ground in a headlock.
            The benches emptied, the bullpens emptied, and a couple of tons of high-priced ballplayers piled on. It was a prototype baseball fight; nobody got hurt. The hurt had come in the 3^rd inning when Martinez, in a scoreless game with two outs and nobody on base, apparently with cool calculation, took dead aim at Greg Jeffries’ gut and nailed him square on the crazy bone with a 90 plus mile an hour fastball. Jeffries had to leave the game and go to a hospital for X-rays. (Jeffries was replaced by current Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro, Junior).
            The unwritten rules of baseball are clear: an eye for an eye. It was only a matter of time.

            So here we are, 13 years later, Pedro has added three Cy Young Awards to his resume, along with 108 hit batters, and a bagful of achievements that most people believe will make him a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And he is proud to be a Phillie.