Key points from Martinez press conference
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Key points from Martinez press conference
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
A quick run-down of some key points from the Pedro Martinez press conference that wrapped up about an hour ago.
1) General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. estimated that Martinez will be ready to join the rotation in two-to-three weeks. Best case scenario, he is ready by the time he is eligible to be activated from the disabled list, which is July 30. There is a good chance that Martinez isn't ready until after that. It's safe to say, though, that the Phillies are planning on having him ready to pitch for the bulk of August.
2) Martinez will not throw off a mound today as his shoulder continues to recover from the battery of medical tests the Phillies ran him through yesterday. The tests included dye being injected into his shoulder. Martinez said that the shoulder is still sore, but that he is hopeful he can resume throwing within the next couple of days.
3) Amaro said that there is no definite timeline yet for Martinez's rehab starts. He will travel with the team to Miami, where they open up a series against the Marlins tomorrow. It sounds like he will throw a side at some point this weekend, then will likely head to Clearwater to work at the team's minor league complex down there. In a previous post I outlined a hypothetical rehab plan. After listening to Amaro and Martinez at the press conference, I think that plan is a pretty accurate reflection of how the Phillies will proceed.
4) Amaro and Martinez both made it clear that the goal is to have Martinez pitching in the rotation. That said, Amaro conceded that Martinez could wind up with a bullpen role if the starting experiment fails. And Martinez said he would be open to such a role, and that as of today he is an "employee" of the Phillies, and will pitch in whatever role they ask of him. He mentioned his first year in the big leagues, when he was an electric reliever for the Dodgers, and his experience in the World Baseball Classic, when he pitched six innings of effective relief for the Dominican Republic. But again, right now everyone's focus is on Martinez being a starter.
5) Martinez said that once he did not sign with a team in time for the start of the season, he moved forward expecting to sign somewhere in July. Because of that, he did not throw much off the mound, hoping not to "waste any bullets" in vain. He has thrown three times since the World Baseball Classic, the final two under the watchful eye of Phillies personnel. Special assistant Charlie Kerfeld watched the first session, and was joined by assistant general manager Benny Looper for the second. Martinez said he threw about 60 pitches in his first session and 65 in his second. Amaro said the velocity on his fastball ranged from 86-91, a far cry from where it was in Martinez's prime, but impressive enough that the Phillies felt he could still be effective at the major league level.
6) Martinez says he feels completely healthy, much more so than he did last season, when groin and shoulder problems hampered him in his 20 starts with the Mets.
7) That's most of the important stuff for now.
You guys get a glimpse of greatness (although a shadow of his former self) so appreciate it. This guy was a rare mixture of power and pinpoint control. For a guy who spent the bulk of his career battling the AL East or the NL east to have a career ERA under 3.00 is unheard of and to do it at his size is unthinkable. He intimidated the massive hitters of the steriod era by assuring that crowding the plate meant putting their lives in the hands of a guy who hurls the rock at your head in the upper 90s. He has worn down late in his career probably further cementing him as a freak of nature who did it on God given ability. When he goes to Cooperstown he should get two asteriks and an exclamation point letting everyone know that he pitched in the steriod era and dominated.— jwood
Comment removed.- After seeing the picture of Pedro in a Phillie hat, I threw up in my mouth just a little. I hope none of the very cool and very professional Phillies join Pedro in any of the stupid dugout associated with Pedro. He's not "the man" anymore and this team isn't a collection of miscreants like Reyes, Ramon Castro, Delgado, ad nausem(o). It's almost ironic...Pedro is like the exact opposite of Chase, Werth, Moyer, Cole, et cetera. Him coming to the Phillies is like Mind Of Mencia playing on PBS. And I don't mean that in a good way.— hankOceann
- I too think it's lame to use Tug's number. That number ought to be retired.— 2stepbay
- who cares! put a big package together quickly and get the halladay deal done before the price escalates - whatever it takes. drabek, taylor, heck - give them US dollars and let them arbitrage the foreign exchange. just get it done. NOW! "The rest is just smoke-filled coffee-house craaaaaap!" Lt. Weinberg, A Few Good Men— bm2626
- The Phillies have nothing to lose with this move, but they may gain alot only time will tell.— Stanford
- The NL had better watch out because Pedro has that little boy look in his eyes again. I think his enjoyment of baseball is back. He has a lot wins left. I was worried that the Mets would have signed him but they have as usual have missed the boat. Their loss is the Phillies gain. Pedro will leave it all on the field.— jpelle36
- Probably worth a try. What can you lose but some $$.— smokehouse56
- First people complain that Pedro is a waste of money, then they say it makes sense if he replaces Happ. Happ is one of the best pitchers on our staff this year. So which is it, is Pedro good or bad! Can't have it both ways people. Personally, it's a good move. We lose nothing except $1 million, which is not a lot. And I don't think we should trade Happ for Halladay. I'd like Halladay, but not for Happ.— androoo
- I don't know how anyone can say this is bad. $1 million is monopoly money in baseball- if he can't pitch, let him go. My guess is he gets the #5 spot from Moyer, who cannot pitch anymore.— KMG
- All the commenters of "no risk" are forgetting something - the bullpen. Having Pedro pitching is like having a platoon on the mound - the man can't pitch past the 5th inning (check his recent history), which means Durbin/Eyre/Walker/Madson/etc. are going to be worked hard every time. Is that what no-risk means? Sure, $1 mil is chump change, but heading into October with a rag-armed pen seems like a big risk to me. Plus no matter what Amaro says, I think this signing is the end of serious pursuit of Halladay.— eaglesfan5
- Comment removed.
Uh, Big Earn, this article essentially explains why he was put on the DL. I'd re-explain it but I don't have time to teach 5th grade reading comprehension. So, no I don't find it completely "odd" that he is already on the DL based on the information that D-Murph provided.- Amen, ChrisInVT. This move is way more insignificant than people are making it out to be. We didn't give Pedro a 3-yr deal, so everyone can stop panicking. He basically has a 3 week tryout to see if he can be effective. If he can't then we move on to someone else in our system and we're out a mill, which is probably what The Bank collects in cotton candy sales every game anyway. If Pedro can somehow find some old magic, then we make out great. Win-win situation in my book.— toccheyhockey
- the thing I most love about this is if he is successful it makes the Mets front office look sooooooo bad...we got nothing to lose— philly56
