All the New York papers this morning had Pedro Martinez’s quote to the AP:
"To go back, I have to recover. I have to be healthy. But if God doesn’t want that, then I would have to think about giving it all up."
Pedro also says the pain in his shoulder is the worst of his career. Whether he’s just talking out of frustration right now with the long recovery road ahead of him, it’s hard to say.
But what we know for sure is that the Mets won’t be entering 2007 relying on Pedro for much. While the Mets have put in a call to Mark Mulder’s people, I doubt Omar Minaya would see Mulder as compensation for Martinez.
The Mets hope to retain Tom Glavine on a two-year deal and would still figure to make a significant bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka. In recent days Mike Mussina’s name has come up as well. Right now the depth chart looks something like this without Pedro:
Tom Glavine
John Maine
Oliver Perez
Brian Bannister
Mike Pelfrey
Victor Zambrano
Dave Williams
Philip Humber
Alay Soler
That team can win, but it seems a lock that the Mets will bring in another guy at at least Glavine’s level. Maine’s not your #2 starter. The Mets have to end up with Matsuzaka, Mussina, Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, or Vicente Padilla. I think the second tier begins at Pettitte/Meche/Lilly. Honestly I’d put trade target Dontrelle Willis in that second tier.
