A few weeks ago, Met bullpen coach Guy Conti wanted Pedro Martinez to get an MRI on what turned out to be an inflamed right hip.
Eventually, Martinez consented to get one, and the inflammation meant the Met ace had to be pushed back two days in the rotation and couldn’t open the Yankee series at Shea.
“My contention was, ‘Petey, we need you for five months. We don’t need you for the Yankee series,’ ” Conti recalled.
” ‘We need you for five months because you’re the man, and you just change the whole atmosphere of everything.’ ”
With those words, Conti couldn’t have summed up Martinez’ impact on the Mets any better.
You knew when the Mets signed Martinez for four years and $53 million this offseason – a steal, as it’s turned out so far – that they were getting a great pitcher, a Hall of Famer.
But it would have been hard to foresee his being this dominant, this magical or this much of a franchise transformer.
Martinez takes the mound tonight for the Mets to open their series against the Astros, and there is every reason to believe he’ll continue his superb 2005. In his first season at Shea, Martinez has had a greater impact than the Mets could have possibly dreamed.
Martinez is 6-1 with a 2.62 ERA through his 11 starts, but it is two other numbers that have truly proved his excellence — he ranks first in the National League with 92 strikeouts (in only 79 innings, mind you) and first in the majors with a .159 batting average against.
The next closest? Roger Clemens – a full 26 points behind (.185).
Martinez’ heroics transcend the stats, though. It was the way he started the season on Opening Day, striking out 12 of 14 Reds at one point in a scary demonstration. It was the way he outdueled John Smoltz in Atlanta when the Mets were desperate for an ace’s performance – and desperate not to start the season 0-6.
Martinez answered with nine innings of two-hit, one-run ball as the Mets got their first win of the year.
“He is borderline genius when it comes to pitching,” Conti said. “Not just my words. [Red Sox pitching coach] Dave Wallace, who had him in Boston, is my best friend, described him that way: he’s borderline genius. And he is. He understands what the hitter is trying to do, he understands what he has to do. And it’s just not the physical stuff; it’s the mental stuff. It’s the mental side of pitching, and the heart of a lion.”
Now Martinez faces the Astros, which may be rather unfair. Houston is 5-22 on the road, is missing Jeff Bagwell and has scored the fewest runs in the National League.
“Pedro’s been lights out for us, and we always feel good when Pedro’s throwing,” manager Willie Randolph said. “But [Houston righty Roy] Oswalt is a tough pitcher also, so we have our work cut out for us.”
True, Oswalt is excellent. But the Mets are enjoying a fine run here, having won three straight series and seven of their last 10 games to climb to within a game of first place (though it should be noted that they’re also a half-game out of last in the NL East).
“We’re starting to play up to our capabilities and we’re starting to pull it all together,” David Wright.
“If our offense is struggling, our pitching and defense picks us up – and vice versa. When everything clicks, it’s fun to watch this team.”
Additional reporting by Michael Morrissey
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ASTROS at METS – Tonight – 7:10MSG; WFAN (660 AM)
