When Pedro Martinez was spotted wearing goggles during the sixth inning Monday night, it seemed as if the Mets ace would be the center of attention in a wet and wild division-clinching celebration.
But three innings later, as his teammates partied hearty after clinching the Mets’ first NL East title since 1988, Martinez was nearly impossible to find. When you considered he brought a midget to postseason celebrations with Boston in 2004, Monday seemed odd.
“It was a World Series that I won, this was just a clinching,” Martinez said yesterday. “I think that there’s a slight difference in the two of them.
“Anything [the other Mets] did, it was OK yesterday. Anything they did, they deserve it.”
With the National League Division Series about two weeks away, a sometimes subdued, sometimes defiant Martinez revealed he needs to regain confidence in his health, which of late included a strained right calf. But more importantly, he stressed neither he nor the Mets have reached their ultimate goal.
“Winning the division doesn’t do anything,” he said. “If at the end of the year our fans go home saying, ‘Oh, we did well in the regular season,’ [but] we’re home and looking at the teams playing in the World Series, that’s not good.
“This is just a ticket to the playoffs to see if you go to the World Series. [There’s] a lot to do still.”
If Martinez’s health is absent from the playoffs, even the three-time Cy Young winner knows it won’t be good. Asked what he wants to get out of the next two weeks, the 34-year-old repeated the word “health.”
“Nothing else,” he said. “Health and confidence. Confidence about your health, that would be the biggest key. Everything else just clicks, man.”
Martinez tossed a side session Monday in anticipation of tomorrow’s start against Florida, and he said everything was fine. He was asked if his teammates have confidence he’ll be healthy for Game 1 of the Division Series.
“They can’t have it if I don’t,” he answered. “It’s yet to be seen whether I’m going to be totally healthy at the end of this season and going into the playoffs.
“I’m optimistic I’m going to be healthy, and if I’m healthy I’m capable of doing a lot of things. I’m not saying I’m going to do it. There’s no guarantee on what you’re gonna do, but without a doubt I’m capable of it. I’ve done it before.”
Martinez doesn’t care if he doesn’t round into form by October as long as the Mets are triumphant.
“If we win, I don’t care how good or bad I pitch,” he said. “It’s winning. From now on, 11 games. Eleven wins, that’s all I care about now.”
Though Martinez said he’s seen his 2004 World Series ring twice – the day he received it and the day he sent it to a safe-deposit box – he spoke proudly about the chemistry the Red Sox had that year and the camaraderie the Mets have this year.
“If that’s the reason we’re going to win it, we’re going to win it again,” he said. “Because chemistry is not lacking in this locker room. I can say for sure we have it here, and you can see it every day.”
Martinez said pressure is lack of confidence, and he doesn’t have that.
“I’m confident that I’m healthy, I will do whatever possible to win,” he said. “If I have to kick you in the face to win, I’ll do that.”
