Petey

I have been trying to avoid the World Series like the plague. For a Met fan, the 2009 season has been a pile of shit and this series is akin to vomiting on that pile of shit. I can’t stand it. I don’t have a fucking side. I don’t hate one worse than the other. I hate them both. Last night, I spent my time watching the Islanders beat the Rangers, Modern Family on the DVR and South Park. I checked into the game to see, and I shit you not, Two Chase Utley homers, Cliff Lee’s fuck you catch, Lee’s back handed catch and Raul Ibanez’s 2 run single. I turned off the TV after that. No need to watch more. So, I guess I didn’t miss much.

Tonight is different for me. Pedro Martinez is pitching. Please understand, even in that hideous Phillies uniform, I don’t hate Petey. I will never hate Petey. When he threw 8 dominant innings against the Mets this season, I laughed. Typical Pedro. Big moment Pedro. His win in the playoffs against the Dodgers was brilliant. I am enjoying the renaissance. That is not saying the Mets needed to bring him back last year. They did not. The Mets spent 2 and a half years waiting for Pedro to get healthy. It killed the organization. It caused them not to make major in-season moves for a pitcher. It caused them to mix and match AAA pitchers in hopes of his return. But Pedro meant a lot to Met fans. He still does.

Pedro’s signing in 2005 was huge. The Mets were in abyss, the organization was a mess (sort of like now) and no one wanted to sign there. Unless they were overpaid. We capitalized on the Red Sox callousness and foresight and gave Petey 4 years. As soon as he signed he worked on Carlos Beltran. He was a beacon to the rest of baseball that it was OK to be a Met. He embraced Met fans and our passion and outrageousness and we loved him. He performed. He had great moments, one of which was a pitchers duel with Brandon Webb in May 2006 which was his last great moment as a Met. He wasn’t the Pedro in Boston who was a mean, machine like operator on the mound. This Pedro was funny, and passionate, and picked up his teammates after mistakes. When he was pulled he would receive his standing ovation and point to the sky and to the crowd. He made us feel wanted because we made him feel wanted.

We spent way too much time hearing about Pedro’s ailments. His toe. His shoulder. His Quad. His calf. His Hamstring. His Rotator Cuff. Special shoes and different training regiments. When he tried to clinch the 2006 NL East and got pummeled in Pittsburgh by the Pirates everyone knew something was wrong. He went back to the dugout and cried. He couldn’t stop. The Mets were up by a million games but he knew he was done. Next thing we know he is getting Rotator cuff surgery and would miss the playoffs. It was devastating for everyone. This was the reason he was here and all of a sudden he was gone.

After all that time trying to get back, he finally did at the end of 2007. He wasn’t ready. He pitched OK but he couldn’t pitch on regular rest and he couldn’t go more than 5 innings. In 2008, he was supposed to be a great 2 starter after Johan. He started the season horribly hurting his hamstring in the first game. He kept coming back and getting hurt. His father died. He was lost for the summer. When he did comeback, the Mets were surging and trying to make the playoffs.  To say he was mediocre would be being polite. He was terrible. The Mets could not use him down the stretch of another collapse. He was done.

Pedro kept asking the Mets to comeback, but he wanted his money. For obvious reasons, the Mets didn’t want to give $5 million on the hope of Pedro being OK. He hadn’t proved to be in 2 years. But Pedro waited and waited. He got his money and he landed with the Phillies. I can’t be mad at that. It’s not like he left us high and dry. He was dumped. He went to the best possible spot. Unfortunately, it’s in Philly. Every time Pedro speaks, you hear how much he loves the Mets fans and how he wanted to do what he is doing with the Mets. I appreciate that. He doesn’t say it condescendingly. He doesn’t say it knocking his new team.  He is just being honest. He is being Petey.

So tonight I will watch. I will root for Pedro to do well. If he doesn’t, well I can’t say I will hurt. I won’t. If he is great, I won’t gloat. He is not mine and it isn’t my postseason moment. Maybe 8 great innings of Pedro and a Lidge blown save would be nice and funny. If the Yankees are down 2-0, well fuck them too. I could care less. But that is all about two other teams and two other fanbases. My point is I love Pedro and I will always love Pedro. Not in the revered way the Red Sox fan or the 8 Expos fans do. We love him as a buddy, a friend, a believer in us. A guy that gave us hope even though his body let us down. If Pedro walks off the Yankee Stadium mound to absolute silence, I will smile. That means Pedro will have done some more of his magic. I can’t want him to win a World Series. I can root for him to have one last big moment. Good luck, Petey.