THIS was not on the mound, but rather in the clubhouse. Yet it made no difference. The delivery from Pedro Martinez was, as always, accompanied by a purpose.
The scene in the aftermath of the Mets’ 6-5 victory over the Braves at Shea yesterday afternoon resembled one of those Congressional hearings in which senators demand to know what (fill in the blank) knew and when he knew it, and the witnesses raise their right hands before testifying that they knew nothing . . . nothing!
We had a taste of Victorgate yesterday when Victor Zambrano sprinted off the mound after striking out Andruw Jones with a 74-mph change-up for the first out of the second inning. This was two pitches after Zambrano had sworn to Willie Randolph that the pitcher was perfectly fine during an extended meeting on the mound, prompted by Sandy Alomar telling the manager that he’d noticed Zambrano “grimacing.”
Zambrano, aka “The Dud the Mets Acquired from Tampa Bay for Scott Kazmir,” has had forearm and hamstring problems, and now he has an elbow problem that sounds ominous. And, to hear some of his teammates tell it, they knew before the game that Zambrano had issues, even if no one on the manager’s staff, front office or medical staff did.
Randolph said he knew nothing. GM Omar Minaya said he knew nothing. There’s no reason in the world not to believe them; no reason in the world to believe the Mets, already dealing with health issues in the rotation that mean a start this afternoon for Jose Lima, would have placed Zambrano in harm’s way – impossible.
The question, therefore, becomes not so much what the Mets knew, but what Zambrano knew. It becomes why would Zambrano have risked serious injury to start the 30th game of a 162-game season?
This is where Martinez enters the story. This is where Martinez supplies an interpretation of events as unique as his mixture of pitches. Only difference is, this came straight down the middle.
“You guys [in the press] put so much pressure on him, that’s why he pitched [even though he was hurt],” said Martinez, who is Zambrano’s closest friend on the team. “You ask for perfection and for velocity, you demand so many things.
“Nobody gives guys a chance. It’s totally unfair. Some handle it better than others. Before you hurt a guy, you should do a little research. We’re human beings.
“Have a little more respect.”
Martinez said he was unaware that Zambrano’s elbow was hurting before he took the mound (“Had I known, I would have stopped him from pitching”), but some Mets sure did. Darren Oliver, who relieved Zambrano under emergency conditions, said he wasn’t surprised to enter the game under those circumstances, then gave only cryptic responses to follow-up questions.
Martinez himself said, “Some guys after warm-up said that he should come out,” but Ramon Castro, who caught the game and Zambrano’s warm-up, said he hadn’t noticed anything amiss, except that the pitcher didn’t use his slider during the bullpen session.
It seems Zambrano is always auditioning to hold his spot in the rotation. It seems he’s always fighting the ghost of Kazmir.
That doesn’t excuse yesterday. That doesn’t excuse him from taking the mound with pain in his elbow and rocks in his head.
That doesn’t excuse foolishness that, at the risk of digging in against Martinez, sure wasn’t my fault . . . or the fault of anyone who earns a living typing.
