By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

Forgive me for a hint of self-indulgence that I take some pride in saying in a previous column that Pedro Martinez would not make a mid-August start, being pushed back to September. And do forgive those that doubted me as well; all is forgiven and no ill will is held on my part. Despite what many Met fans have to say, raving about his outing against the Reds on Monday, Pedro is not the pitcher of old. This is of course, not a bad thing -- he can still get batters out, can still win a game when his team needs him to win.

 

What is a bad thing -- or at least of concern -- was not how well he did during his first outing of the year, but his second game coming this Sunday against the Astros (and the reason I'm writing on this topic today rather than Monday). Depending on which radar gun you were using, Pedro topped out at about 88-90 mph, while walking three and fanning four, and allowing three runs. As I have previously written, I still maintain that the month of September will be like Spring Training for Martinez, a tune up before the season (or in this case the post-season) begins, needing about six starts to be truly effective.

 

I do not expect to get the Pedro of old -- the Pedro of Boston -- to ever appear in Shea; that Pedro is long gone, never to be heard from again. What remains, at least in the 2007 incarnation, is yet to fully be revealed. The Mets consider Pedro to be their lucky charm, a substitute mascot if you will, a role reversal from his days in Beantown I'm sure isn't lost on the right hander. It's dangerous though to throw Pedro into the playoffs without more starts under his freshly notched 3,000 K belt, so I guess the only question the Mets have to ask themselves is do they feel lucky?

 

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