It's Gotta Be The Shoes

Pedro Martinez, fresh from his afternoon nap under the mango tree, is getting a new shoe. The shoe, manufactured by Nike, is specifically designed to help Pedro rehab his injured right toe. He'll likely need to wear the shoe for the remainder of his career, and so long as his shoulder holds up, it looks like that could be for quite some time. With the new shoe in tow, Pedro will likely participate in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Good news for the Dominican Republic, bad news for everyone else.
Going back to his rookie season , Pedro is arguably the most dominant pitcher in baseball. A career ERA of 2.72. He's held opponents to a batting average just over .200. The guy's just an awesome pitcher! This should be a landmark season for Pedro as he's 139 Ks shy of becoming the 14th pitcher to strikeout 3000. And considering that 1993, his second season in the majors, was the last time he struck out less than 139, it's pretty safe to assume that he'll easily surpass the total, if he stays healthy. For those that don't know, in 1993 Pedro was a reliever with the Dodgers and even then he struck out 119 in 107 IPs. I liked Pedro back when he was in Montreal. I obviously didn't like him as much when he was in Boston, especially when he threw Yankee coach Don Zimmer to the ground. And now that's he back with the Mets, it's okay to like him again. Pedro and I once had a brief conversation. It was at Camden Yards in 2004 when the Red Sox were playing the Orioles. He started signing autographs and I was right against the rail and he was coming in my direction. I asked him if I could please have his autograph. He said "Sorry, but I only sign for the children." As nice as it would have been to get his autograph on a ball, I can respect that. But what are we older fans to do? For those that are wondering, to get his autograph at a show would cost about $200. And that's just for him to sign a baseball.
I wonder if the Red Sox have any regrets about not giving Pedro the 4th year and letting him walk? I can see it now. Pedro will go on to pitch another 10 years, win 3 Cy Young awards, pick up a few more World Series rings, and earn his 300th career win and 4000th career strikeout. Wait a second? That sounds familiar, doesn't it? I think i've heard that story before. Wouldn't you think that the Red Sox would learn from their mistakes? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. In light of the recent events in Boston, I don't think Yankee fans have anything to worry about for a long time. In 85 years, we should start to worry.
J-Boogie