Phillies Sign Pedro Martinez

wow this has been reported for like a hour or to that he passed 1st time ive ever seen this site late on a rumor like this

Can't complain about 1 million dollars

There is a risk. He may suck and get injured. Considering his recent history, I'd bet on it.

really no risk whatsoever. Like Phils07 said...if he sucks you cut him or put him in the bullpen. Still think there is another deal to be made by the Phils but I like this move a lot. There is always the possibility that Pedro was just never at full strength the last 2 years and the Phils could catch lightning in a bottle with him.

Love this move for my phillies. He wanted 5 million and we got him for at most 2.5 million. If hes bad then fine release him and if hes good then i will laugh at all the teams that passed on him.

Not a great move, but a solid one. He's coming in as the 5th starter - not the 2nd or 3rd. He potentially offers more than Rodrigo Lopez or Antonio Bastardo. And the price is the icing on the cake.

The best part is that this is a low risk, high reward scenario. If he pitches poorly, cut him and eat a mil. But if he can be effective - and I'm not expecting Pedro in his prime here - what a steal for a mil.

Anyone who complains about this deal is either a Mets fan or one of those people who would like the move if he signed with their team.

Given that they weren't ready to give Carrasco a crack for whatever reason, I like the gamble

1mm is about what they "saved" on the JC Romero suspension so it's very little money above their projected budget

Even if he's at 87 like in 2005, if he has his arm slot and curve back then he could definitely help and miss some bats out of the 5 spot....and if he does that, at the very least knock Moyer out of a playoff rotation, where he's destined to get pounded if he stays in the mix

Not a huge difference making move but a good calculated risk IMO

If hes really throwing 91-94, I see him having a great season.

"Anyone who complains about this deal is either a Mets fan or one of those people who would like the move if he signed with their team."

Did you see him pitch last year? He was absolute garbage. Good outings against the Netherlands (aka guys who couldn't make a AA bench) and some minor leaguers doesn't mean he's any better or healthier.

If you look at old posts from even before the season started, I wanted the Mets to resign Pedro. Only a handful of us actually wanted him back, with everyone else (maybe justifiably so) thinking he was finished. I felt that a future Hall of Famer, especially one with such an impact on the league in the past decade pitching-wise, wouldn't fade into oblivion.

Pedro struggled with injuries in '08, with his hamstring injury (which could linger for a whole season, as it affects your delivery), combined with his comeback from his major surgery. This, combined with his father's death and him going back and forth home during the season as a distraction, made '08 hell for him.

He will come back strong for the Phillies and give them quality innings - it is just a shame that he'll be doing it against the Mets' main rivals. I really feel he'll be big for Philly - maybe I'll be wrong, but I really feel this one.

Kind of a drastic reaction, dontcha think?

You don't want to know what I really think, if that's drastic

He hasn't exactly been wowing many teams. The Phils need help with their rotation so they signed a cheap arm, but plenty of other teams had a shot at him and left underwhelmed. It's not like the Phils won some race to sign Pedro, dude.

"There is always the possibility that Pedro was just never at full strength the last 2 years and the Phils could catch lightning in a bottle with him."

Yes, he was never even really healthy as a Met, ever. There were always rumors he had been throwing with a partially torn rotator cuff since back in his later Boston days. I don't even think of it as lighting in a bottle. I think of it as an awesome signing with no risk at all of one of the best pitchers the game has ever seen who is healthy for the first time in about 5 years. If his average fastball is 88 and he regains his old command (the only thing that was an issue last year), he will be just fine.

Not a great move, but a solid one. He's coming in as the 5th starter - not the 2nd or 3rd. He potentially offers more than Rodrigo Lopez or Antonio Bastardo. And the price is the icing on the cake.

The best part is that this is a low risk, high reward scenario. If he pitches poorly, cut him and eat a mil. But if he can be effective - and I'm not expecting Pedro in his prime here - what a steal for a mil.

Anyone who complains about this deal is either a Mets fan or one of those people who would like the move if he signed with their team.

Posted by: tolo316 | July 14, 2009 at 06:25 PM

If I was a team that could handle his personality, like Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Brewers, Angels, Marlins, Nationals, Indians, Royals, etc. Then sure I'd be all over this. Maybe even the Phillies turn out to be good for him. But you are dead wrong, in Seattle (my team) and San Francisco (my bro in-laws team), he would be a horrible fit chemistry wise. They are both quiet and hard working teams that do the best they can with a few good arms and a below average offense. I consider them both to be blue collar teams. Twins, Braves, Cardinals, Athletics, and Padres also off the top of my head seem to fit this mold. They don't make a spectacle of the sport, they do their work, they enjoy the game, but they don't turn everything into an end zone celebration. Dodgers would be a bad fit for Pedro because of "Manny being Manny" with "Pedro being Pedro", would be two "Dodgers being Encarcerated".

Brewers and Rangers were the best fit for him, but he wanted to come gunning for the mets, which I can understand.

The point is that I'm not a Mets fan, I don't wish the Mariners got him as other teams listed above like SF, MIN, OAK, SD, ATL, and STL, all would not want him even if they could have him, or he'd be getting more than $1MM, which he probably begged for saying that Pedro can't make league minimum, and feeling bad for the fallen star, they gave him the extra $600K. Just because yuo are excited, doesn't mean that everyone else would be if it was their team. It's not like you just got Pujols, you got a 37 year old egomaniac, who suffers from severe narcissism.

in Seattle (my team) and San Francisco (my bro in-laws team)

just referencing my knowledge of the team from when we talk. As a fan you are most aware of your own team, but if your best friend or someone close to you is a big fan of baseball and is a fan of another team, it gives you equal insight to some extent.

'Pedro said he wouldn't play for less than $5MM, now he's takinga HUGE paycut.'
Uh, Pedro was asking for 5Mil at the BEGINNING of the season. This is half way through so he lowered his asking price. No brainer.

'I think this was the worst place he could have signed.'
This was the only offer he received.

'you got a 37 year old egomaniac, who suffers from severe narcissism.'
WHAT??

Your tag says it all. You do know just a little something something and that something is baseball....

WS2009, you're an idiot.

They had plans a week ago to place Pedro on the 15 day DL so he can train in Clearwater and get some reps in at AA/AAA.

Do some research.

Theres no way the phillies lost on this move. It only cost them 1 million!!!! Pedro i think will pitch decent and will be a help to us phillies fans and for the team

So in September, do you expect the Mets to be within 10 games of the Phils? I don't. And oh yeah, who will you guys be throwing up against Pedro? Nieve? Hahahahaha... the Mets.. hahahaha. Oh man, the Mets are so laughable.

So in September, do you expect the Mets to be within 10 games of the Phils? I don't. And oh yeah, who will you guys be throwing up against Pedro? Nieve? Hahahahaha... the Mets.. hahahaha. Oh man, the Mets are so laughable.

Posted by: the_dizney_boy | July 15, 2009 at 09:47 AM

Haha. The Mets 10 games out in Sept? They have bats coming back soon. You signed Pedro Martinez because your staff is atrocious. This is the same guy that several teams said did not look good about a month ago. Face it the Phils the 3rd worst ERA in the NL and this move, albeit, does not involve a ton of money is a desperate one. I wouldn't be so worried about Nieve since he will eventually be replaced by Maine, but I'd be more concerned when the middle of your rotation will boast Moyer, Blanton, and Pedro for the rest of the season barring the inevitable Pedro injury.

Who will replace him? Antonio Bastardo? Chan Ho Park? Rodrigo Lopez? The Phils have a decent lead but if they continue to pitch terribly then any team other than the Nats can keep it competitive into Sept.

"If I were a Mets fan I'd look towards next year and not throw prospects at a problem that can't be fixed this year."

That is how most intelligent Met fans feel. A lot of us are counting down to July 31 praying no trades happen.

Personally its a good signing for how cheap but your not going to get much he can get throught the lineup once at best nd then gets knocked out
he needs to retire or bullpen

"I want the mets to beat him up in is first game against them. he should have retired. He is the next Moyer."

Do you mean the same Jamie Moyer that won 16 games last year and 9 already this year?

Damn, he's totally not worth 1 million bucks...haha typical Mets fan there.