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Jim Salisbury
10 years later, Martinez in spotlight again
ST. LOUIS - A decade later, we're still talking about Pedro Martinez on all-star night.
It was 10 years ago this week when Martinez stood on the mound at Fenway Park and blew away Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire on strikes for the first four outs of the 70th All-Star Game.
"He was dominating," American League manager Joe Torre said of Martinez that night. "That just proves good pitching stops good hitting."
Can Martinez still stop good hitting?
Or mediocre hitting?
We're about to find out. According to baseball sources, the previously out-of-work righthander passed a physical yesterday and signed with the Phillies.
Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has money in his budget and prospects in his minor-league system, but has been unable to find a trade partner in his search for pitching. The wild card has given so many teams hope that there's a fear of trading away talent, particularly pitching.
Hence Martinez.
Those who favor the Phils' protecting their minor-league prospects should like the Martinez signing because it only costs money, and the sellout-happy Phils have plenty of that.
The Phils are taking the chance that Martinez, 37, has two months' worth of bullets left in his right shoulder, and the roll of the dice is costing them only about $1 million, according to a baseball source. Martinez can make an additional $1.5 million in bonuses. If he reaches those incentives, it will be money well spent.
The Phils take this chance without giving up any players, and that's good because there was a man on the mound at Busch Stadium last night whom they covet very much. That man's name is Roy Halladay. He was the American League starter in the 80th All-Star Game. The Toronto Blue Jays will likely trade Halladay in the next 21/2 weeks. The Phils want him, and it will cost a significant amount of young talent to get him. Because, despite giving up three runs in two innings last night, Halladay, 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 17 starts for the Jays this season, remains one of the top starters in the game.
The signing of Martinez will not stop the Phillies from pursuing Halladay, but the two might be related.
To get Halladay, the Phils would likely have to part with lefty J.A. Happ and other promising talent. The Martinez signing could be a precursor to that. Happ is the type of inexpensive, under-control (he's five years away from free agency) pitcher that teams covet in this era of baseball on a budget. If Happ is dealt sometime over the next 21/2 weeks, Martinez would slip into his spot in the rotation. We are 21/2 weeks away from the non-waiver trade deadline. That's about the amount of time Martinez will need to get game-ready.
What will a game-ready Martinez look like?
Certainly he won't be the guy who complemented a mid-90s fastball with a dizzying change-up in his prime. (If he was, some other team would have already signed him.) Time and a series of shoulder woes have stripped Martinez of the quality of stuff that allowed him to win five ERA titles and three Cy Young Awards. He had a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts with the New York Mets last season. Martinez could even turn out to be a bullpen-straining liability if he can't pitch into the seventh inning. It could also get ugly if he gives up a lot of fly balls in Citizens Bank Park. (Last year broke a string of four straight seasons in which he allowed more fly balls than ground balls.)
But as long as this signing doesn't preclude a major run at Halladay - and Amaro promises it won't - why not bring Martinez aboard? If he's got two months left in that shoulder, the Phillies will get them. If not, turn to someone else - and what's a million bucks when you've had 37 sellouts?
Barring something unforeseen, Halladay, 32, has a lot more than two months left in his right arm. But mostly, the Phillies are concerned about the next 15 months or so. With the team they have, and the competition they face in a weak National League, the Phillies should hang their heads if they don't at least return to the postseason this year. Halladay, who has four top-five finishes in Cy Young voting, including a first and a second, is signed through 2010. He would help make the Phils lethal this October and next. He is not a two-month rental. He can help the Phils win multiple titles before their talented nucleus starts to show its age.
Getting Martinez is an interesting little news maker, a low-risk investment for someone who wants to help a winner and just might.
But Halladay is the guy Amaro has to get.
He is a difference-maker.
That's how he earned his way onto the Busch Stadium mound last night, just like Martinez did 10 years ago in Fenway Park.
Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.
