"He did everything but sing along with Sinatra after the game."
- Gerry Callahan, Boston Herald

"I can't do anything if we don't score runs." -- Pedro Marteamez

"If we score one, I can't give up any." -- Curt Schilling circa May 2004

"It actually took the pressure off (starting Game 2), watching Schilling go out there... I appreciate that." -- Pedro Martinez

Pedro May Take Lucky Charmer on the Road

"...And his entourage has taken on Fellini-esque proportions -- his guests over the weekend was a 29-inch Dominican performer. I'm told that Pedro plans to take him on the road, too, as a good-luck charm. I'll find out this week if that's the case."-- Gordon Edes mailbag on boston.com

"I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy. I can't find a way to beat them at this point. You just have to give them credit and say, 'Hey, you guys beat me, not my team.' I wish they would [expletive] disappear and never come back. "-- Former Ace Pedro "Sonny" Martinez

"I don't know how people are going to have the guts to come and tell me they're going to push me back. But if they did it, I wouldn't argue. I'm only an employee here that does his job." -- Pedro Martinez

9.23.04: Fox 25's Butch Stearns (BS) was back calling into WEEI's Big Show today. Butch started yapping about how he doesn't "make stuff up!" and said "I have a tape of several players saying what I said yesterday" which he will play on the FOX-25 News. He said this is a story because "it will affect whether or not Pedro re-signs in Boston." Butch is angry with people at WEEI (read: Dennis, Callahan, Meter) today and said they questioned his credibility. He said he received threatening messages at FOX-25 and added "If you're gonna call my line at least have the balls to leave a name and number!"

9.23.04: Fox 25's Butch Stearns (BS) was on WEEI's Big Show today. Butch started yapping about how he had some information that the relationship was not great between Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez adding "How do you think Pedro feels when he sees Schilling pitch a game like last night?" and "go look at the tapes (of past games) you never see Schilling and Pedro embrace after a win." (oops, see above from July)

"Next we have Curt in the car up next here on the Big Show (sans Ordway again when Curt calls, must kill him, Pete Sheppard, Steve Burton and Butch Stearns)"

Schilling: "How you doin' guys... (hey we got Schilling! How ya' doin' Curt?), hey listen I'm not going to be long but I'm gonna say one thing, I don't know who it was that just said something regarding Pedro and I... (that was Butch Stearns -- that was me Curt) Don't be stupid enough to think you can make something out of nothing. That's how dumb idiotic rumors get started by those who don't know the game. I have (well we're glad you calle...) I HAVE nothing but the utmost respect for Pedro. I think he's probably one of the best pitchers I've ever pitched with. He's a great guy. We get along awesome. Because you don't see us playing grab-ass on the field doesn't mean a thing. Don't say something stupid and something ignorant like that. (BS: Alright Curt, I understand, and I'll apologize for that, but can I ask you a question?) No. Here's my problem. If I don't call up you don't apologize for it, you don't retract it, and somebody calls and you make it a bigger deal than it is (BS: I'm not trying to make it...) It's a stupid idiotic comment to make. It's irresponsible. And you know what it's ignorant, because you don't know, obviously you just made it up (BS: I didn't make anything up) Sure you did. Sure you did. I've hugged Pedro on the field this year, after we've won a game, that's a stupid thing to say... isn't there some other controversy you can go to? Because you had some valid points, but don't make up stupid stuff."

BS: "Alright fair enough Curt. Can I ask you a question? (CS: shoo) What do you care to offer us about your relationship with Pedro? That's all."

CS: "But... how... I love him. Pedro's an awesome guy. And he's arguably one of the best pitchers I've ever pitched with. He's a fantastic human being."
BS: "Do you feel like you guys have pushed each other in a good way, for the good of the team?"

CS: "I don't know if we push each other, I've learned a ton from watching the guy pitch this year. A ton. (BS: Same or different than relationship with Randy as players?) No it's different because RJ and I lived right down the street from each other. We both have four kids. Our wives are very close. So there's a lot of different... it was different. As teammates and as friends, Pedro has my utmost respect and he's a guy I'd kill for, absolutely."
Steve Burton: "Hey Curt, in all fairness to Butch, I'm the one who brought up the subject and what I said was 'how do you think... Pedro's used to being the ace of the staff. Here you come in..."

CS: "No, no you didn't preface it with that, you just said 'how do you think Pedro feels when Schilling pitches well?'"

SB: "Right, and I think that's a fair question. I think..."

CS: "Wait, wait, wait, why is that a fair question? Because in that situation you'd be jealous? (SB: what's that?) Given a similar situation, you'd have problems with it?"

SB: "I think some people would, yes. I think that's a very fair question."

CS: "You're assuming Pedro is 'some people.' Pedro is not 'some people' Pedro's one of the five best people on the planet at what he does. People like that tick differently than people like you. You have to. The top five in the world at anything they do and they're going to be so vastly different people than you are, or that most normal people are. Yeah, they're human. They have emotions, but you know what? You get here doing things differently than most people do. I gotta go guys, I just wanted to make sure that people understood that that's not a top subject."

SB, BS, PS: "Curt? Curt? I think he had to go..."

7.21.04

Pedro Gets Shelled

Who is Miguel Tejada?: Well-rested Martinez is all smiles and giggles after loss, tips hat to O's, says he took one for the team.

7.16.04

"Why do I have to pitch against the Yankees all the time?" -- Pedro Martinez

6.30.04

"I'm watching YES....I actually do not mind Jim Kaat... he was talking about Pedro clowning around with the fans in the middle of an ass whooping... he said that most managers would not allow that.. he said it is one thing to be loose, but it looks like you don't care about the team." - Scott Cooper, SoSH

Yankee fan emails us: "WTF is Pedro doing? Joking with the fans, flashing his tetas at them, smiling with an 11-3 deficit? Some leadership."

6.1.04:

- Pedro on NESN whining about having to pitch in some drizzle this year

Pedro, Pedro, Pedro

Teammate questions his stuff. "More than one person from management and at least one person in uniform questioned his stuff... That Martinez would speak about the closing of the talks, even in the midst of a wonderful winning streak by the Red Sox, should shock no one. Since last winter, he has maintained that he would enter free agency if he did not have a long-term deal by the start of the regular season. Did anyone think that the media would not remember this and ask him about it?" - Silverman, Boston Herald

How about his comments a month ago Michael? "When my agent has a deal for me to sign, he'll tell me. Otherwise, I'm not worrying about it... And that's business, and that's why we pay agents and a nice 5% to just yap, yap with the owners and the GMs. So we're gonna let them take care of that and we'll take care of business in the field."
- Pedro Martinez on not talking or worrying about his next contract

Boston.com Paydro poll. "If you were the Red Sox, would you give Pedro Martinez a multiyear deal worth at least $15 million a year if insurance companies refuse to offer disability coverage for him?"

No way : 84.4%
Yes, his talent is worth the risk: 15.6%

Cutting room floor. "Most involved the Sox players interacting in the clubhouse or elsewhere off the field, though one took place during the climactic playoff game, when a fan made an uncharitable remark about Pedro Martinez. Doyle dropped the (Red Sox Movie) scene not because Lucchino objected to it but because he thought it played against the fan's true nature, "and that bothered me," he says (So New Yorkers know our "true nature" now, puhleeze).- Joseph Kahn, Boston Globe

And in case you don't know the drill by now... "Martinez, dismayed by the backlash against him after he cut off contract talks, does not plan to speak publicly again this season to the Boston media. He kept a promise to a number of reporters to share his feelings about the negotiations once they ended, and he felt blindsided by the reaction." - Bob Hohler, Boston Globe

"He misfired with his fastball in a lot of instances,'' manager Terry Francona said. ``It just never allowed him to get in any kind of rhythm. Pretty obvious, it was a battle for him right form the get-go. He wasn't hitting his target.''

Francona said Martinez just had an off night, and that it was not related to the pitcher's decision to have no more talks during the season with the Red Sox about a new contract.

"I'm just really sad for the fans in New England who had high hopes that at this time I could say, truly, that I was going to stay in Boston, but now they're going to have to compete with the rest of the league. It's not going to be (a distraction) because I'm not going to allow it. It's over with and I'm just going to continue to play baseball like I would normally do. I was just wasting time, having something else on my mind. So now I get rid of one and concentrate on baseball and that's it. It's just business... I don't know - I'm going to have to wait and see, I gave them every single chance I could. That's from the bottom of my heart. The fans in Boston, I know they don't understand what's going on, but I really mean it from my heart - I gave them every opportunity, every discount I could give them to actually stay in Boston and they never took advantage of it. Didn't even give me an offer. They never gave me one number, never gave me anything. They said, `We're going to try with the insurance company, we're going to try whatever. Mr. Henry said he was going to talk to the insurance companies and stuff like that, and I waited longer, one more month after the season began. But no, sorry, didn't work out to this point and we're going to see what we can do next year.'' - Boston Herald,

5.1.04

"This is spot on and why some fans, unlike most here, are sick and tired of this "clown" opening his big trap time and time again. He talks to the media when its convenient to him. "Hey don't you dare ask me about my velocity being down, but wait til I have a couple of good starts and I'll bash management for not showing me the money". It grows tiresome and old and takes the focus off what has been a most encouraging start to the season. That said, the Sox have him over a barrel and he now has no choice but to prove to the baseball world that he's worth the millions he wants. A good situation for the Sox for sure." - Rocco Graziosa, longtime member, SoSH

---

"We've been talking to him for some time, we have a lot of respect for Pedro and we're going to show that respect by showing some respectful silence here." - Larry Lucchino

We respect our players. We tell our players the truth. We listen to our players. We protect our players. We negotiate with our players in good faith, and we make every effort not to discuss these negotiations in public. We want our players to succeed, and we do everything we can to help them win.

Sometimes, however, our commitment to building winning teams, every year, means that we will have disagreements with our players about the length and precise value of their next contracts. These disagreements are unfortunate but they are inevitable. They will be resolved in time. In the meantime, we continue to focus on our most important mission: winning." - Statement from Red Sox Sr. Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein 05/01/2004 4:13 PM ET

4.25.04:

4.04.04:

4.04.04

3.30.04:

Pete Greeted Us with a Different Message

Agent was going to yap, yap. He was going to focus on the field.

"And that's business, and that's why we pay agents and a nice 5% to just yap, yap with the owners and the GMs. So we're gonna let them take care of that and we'll take care of business in the field."

12.1.03: CS: "He sounded as excited as I am about this, um, we talked a little bit about this next season, and uh the next couple of years and I made sure that he understood that his future in Boston was very important to me during this whole process.

I think it's important that you understand one thing, you don't... I'll tell you right now I have a huge ego with a ball in my hand. And that's one of the reasons why Pedro is as good as he is. You don't get to be a three-time Cy Young award winner, one of the most dominating pitchers in the history of the game, without feeling pretty good about yourself.

Pedro's a fantastic guy, I've known Pedro a long time, never in depth, and not to the extent that I'm going to get to know him, but the fact of the matter is, I think we're both as excited as each other to see what happens here. Pedro is the number one man on this staff and people tried to make that into a story before it was even a done deal and it's not. I didn't have a problem being behind RJ, who's got his share of Cy Young awards, and I'm not going to be... you know my goal now is to go out and try to take the Cy Young from Pedro... or Derek... or Tim, or whoever that ends up being this year.

You get on the staff and you compete with each other in a friendly way. I want to pitch better than Pedro, but not because he pitches badly, but because he throws a gem and I throw a better gem. That's the way you push each other, and that's how you raise the bar. It's not about wanting to do better at someone's expense. And I made sure Pedro understood that again, his being here beyond this year was very, very important to me in all of this, as well as a couple of other guys on this team, and the Red Sox front office made it clear to me that this is a team that's gonna be put together to win it for the next four, five, six years and on."

2003: "There were groans about special treatment when Martinez left the team a day early to head home to the Domincan Republic, getting a head start on the All-Star break. Those groans resurfaced when Martinez was given permission to go home between starts to light the flame for the start of the Pan Am Games in early August." – Steve Krasner, Providence Journal

"I told them I was tired after the 7th, and to get the lefty ready and Timlin, and even Wakefield... of course I said I could pitch to Matsui, any pitcher will say yes, but he hit me (on the shoulder and went back to dugout) but after that moment, it was his decision." - Pedro

But then he hedges with "if Little took me out after the 7th, the question would have been 'Why did you take him out?' He's not guilty. I was the one throwing the pitches. I couldn't execute. I failed. Grady wasn't guilty and I wasn't guilty. I tried my best."

"I wasn't in good shape because of the travel... they told me not to run, but I always run before my starts. I failed. You can say that it was destiny."

He wants to leave while he's young, doesn't want to be an old pitcher.

Summer love-in with with John Henry has paid off for Sox. "Red Sox sent a message to the free agent market, not with any player (Manny)... I have to understand that if I don't put up the same numbers that I did in '99 and 2000, and from '97 on, I'll probably get a little bit of decrease in salary, but it's still pretty good money in the market (ya think it's still "pretty good money" Pedro, how will you survive on less than $17.5 million a year?)

Says media misunderstood his contract demands.
Claims he didn't leave Saturday before break.

The silent starter and former Red Sox ace will speak between 2:00-3:00pm from the Hotel Clarion in Santo Domingo. He is expected to talk about his future in Boston and the decision to put Manny Ramirez on waivers. It should be eventful.

Pedro is the One at Fault

Sox fans don't like to hear this, but Pedro was an embarrassment and a disgrace to baseball Saturday. He gets away with it because he's Pedro. And the Sox front office enables him, just as they do Manny Ramirez. Just as they did with Roger when he was here and Yaz when he was here and Ted when he was here." - Dan Shaugnessy, Boston Globe

"Yankee players vilified Martinez. "Guys in their bullpen were telling our guys that they can't stand it that when he starts getting beat. He throws at guys and everyone else gets hurt," said one Yankees star. And there wasn't, as the Boston Herald's Tony Massarotti pointed out, much support for Pedro in his own clubhouse, save that he "kept us in the game."
- Gammons on Game 3

9.2.03:

8.31.03

Gammons: Martinez is No Longer a #1 Starter

The Red Sox starting pitching is OK, but there isn't anybody that goes out and pitches eight innings and shuts the other team down, and they need a #1 starter, they don't have one here. Lowe comes the closest, but he can be inconsistent, but they don't have that guy who goes out and throws complete games and I think that's what's really strained the bullpen and they don't have a Mussina, or a Pettitte, they don't have people like that and that's what worried me most about them trying to win.

Where's the indication (that Pedro's a #1 starter)? Where's the 20 wins, and the 240 innings... he's a very good pitcher, but because of the injuries... he pitched as well as he could yesterday, he threw one pitch above 88, but the innings are not there, he's a very good pitcher, he pitches with a ton of heart, and a lot of things have happened to him, but the record wouldn't really indicate that. The last 17 starts against the Yankees, he's pitched very well, but the fact is he's won three of those 17 starts, and they don't have that big huge guy that throws all those innings. A number one starter in my mind is a guy that throws well over 200 innings. If you gave Pedro that compliment, I think that's one of the problems is that there's so much pressure on Pedro to be the guy who bails them out at different times, I don't it's really fair to him. If you had a guy who went out and threw 240 innings, and was out there every fifth day averaging about 7-1/3 innings a start, I think it would make Pedro that much greater a pitcher. He has to shoulder something right now that he really can't do.

(Why can't he perform at that level at such a relatively young age?) He doesn't let on much about his shoulder, he endures a lot more than he'll ever let on. He's so proud and so competitive, that he tries to do the mind over matter thing, he probably hasn't recovered from that flu he had, so physically, I'll grant that yesterday, but I think he's battled through an awful lot more than we know and he doesn't let on about it, but it's very clear, the three times that he's pitched 8 innings, in those three starts afterwards, he's 0-3 with a 10.79 ERA, tells you it's got to be more difficult for him to bounce back than we ever imagined.

I don't know in his mind what he thinks he should be getting. If he thinks he's going to be getting $17.5M after next year, he's not going to be here. They're not going to have Garciaparra, Ramirez, Martinez here after 2004, that's fairly well guaranteed. It's just a matter of which guy they get signed and how they go about doing it. As I said all along they'll go very hard after Nomar and try to get him wrapped up during the off-season.

08.25.03

(This is what he said, anything else is BS)

"The media and fans can (expletive) my f***ing (expletive). I'll make my $17.5 (million) next year and I'm outta here. They're criticizing me because I'm black and Dominican."

(Yeah right. Umm, and shouldn't we go out to dinner first Pete?)

"I can look myself in the mirror. I wasn't eavesdropping. I asked the Pedro about the criticism he received while being attacked by hosts and callers. I hope he isn't calling me a liar. I hope he just had second thoughts about what he said."
- Jon Miller, WBZ radio

"Already, some teammates silently seethe about the star treatment afforded Martinez." - Sean McAdam

8.21.03:

Larry Lucchino: "It's not too much to ask him to show up. Someone will talk to him, either the manager, or the GM, or me. He has a history of this... in six years, he's made two pictures. It's a little bit troublesome... the whole organization was there, it would have been nice... they'll be some kind of discipline."

8.4.03

Tim Kirkjian, ESPN: "He should have started the first day back from the All Star break, I don't get that one at all."

Where's Pedro?

PART-TIME PARTIES AT PAN-AM GAMES,
NOT BACK IN BOSTON UNTIL MONDAY

7.1.1.03

Grady Gets the Message

Part-Time Pedro's Not Hurt, Already Missed a Month,
But Needs More Rest.

6.15.03

"Let's put it this way: There can only be one Roger. That's the only one you're going to see. You're not going to see anyone else (like Clemens), so don't compare me to him. I don't belong in that category yet. I grew up watching Roger pitch. He was the talk of the town in the Dominican. People talked about Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan and Bret Saberhagen and Dwight Gooden. Those were the names you heard. Roger is the full package. He is what you want in a perfect pitcher. He's got the stuff, he's got the demeanor and he's got the body. He's got everything. I don't know. I want to answer that, but I don't think (I will win 300 games). If I do (pitch long enough), I don't know what kind of games are ahead of me. Amazing? It's incredible. Four thousand strikeouts. Three hundred wins. I was thinking they should rename the Cy Young Award the Cy Clemens. The Rocket Award.''
Mazz: Pedro's a real Rocket booster

6.10.03

"No Soup For You"

The Last Supper: Pedro the Talk Soup Nazi Won't Speak to Fans After Tonight's Talk

(unless a fellow Dominican gets caught cheating, then
he'll soap box about his personal persecution in America again)

It's a black and white matter for Martinez ''two innings,
forty or fifty pitches. That's all... After (tonight),
no more talking again, back to normal.''

As a senior Red Sox official said a few weeks ago,
"Judging by his behavior, he's acting like a person who
doesn't want to be here." (Herald, Bryant, 6.9.03)

6.5.03

Ace a Disgrace

Sammy Shill Plays Race Card Again

Martinez Goes On 15-Minute Tirade on ESPN, Gammons, and Backs Canseco 100 percent

And It's Literally 'Turn Back the Clock Night' for The Dominican Diva as He Plays his Blame Game, Forgets American Fame. What a Shame. For Martinez Only: It Does Matter if You're Black or White

On Sosagate: Martinez goes after Gammons and calls ESPN "anti-Sosa" after Outside the Lines Doubleheader. (Ummm, did you see Gammons and Harold Reynolds make fools of themselves Tuesday night ballwashing Sammy senseless?) The Pete goes on "This wouldn't be as big a deal if a white player's bat was corked." (Pete Rose turning over on a shopping channel right now). "It would still be a big deal, but not as big, not like this."

Martinez remarks "If Roger Clemens would have had the year I had last year he would have won the Cy Young instead of that white guitar player." (Theo hides Stratocaster as we speak). Sorry my fragile friend the "Cry Young" chant has gotten Old.

Pedro Hosts His Annual Whine and Sleaze Party in Pittsburgh. Needs to Wash the
Soap Box Out of His Mouth

Pedro went on the Press Tour in Pittsburgh to get the word out: "I'm not defending Sammy because it's illegal, but I've never cheated and I've been robbed. We might be Latins and minorities, but we're not dumb." And cheaters... cheaters loving cheaters are the luckiest cheaters... "If I knew how to scuff a ball and nobody would find out, I would do it. Baseball is a tough game. I just don't know how to do it.'' So suddenly Paydro's all Talk, but now he's nearly a month out of Action. And he's still whining all the way to the bank in the Bad Old USA. I guess $17.5 million a year doesn't go a long way when you're constantly discriminated against in America right Mr. Media Manipulator? (How convenient he wants a mouthpiece and some Pedro Press now eh?) Bottom line: this is Deja vu Danny Almonte foot-in-mouth disease all over again). The boo birds are on the wire. Oh, and get well soon Pedro.

4.25.03:

Not Shoulder Soreness, but Pedro Has Nagging Lower-Back Knot

New Twist from Silent Starter: Pete's Peeved Again

Throw away one-liner from Harmless Bob Hohler sets him off

(and we thought Mazz was the culprit)

"Martinez offered his only public comments as reporters were interviewing
Lyon. Apparently alluding to his stance of silence, he said,

''Get your news while you can, you guys.""

Garciaparra has to step in between Martinez and Media

4.13.03:

Pedro Has "Heavy Arm"

Is the ink dry on the extension?

4.10.03

GO: You've obviously picked up the newspapers. You have read the comments by Pedro Martinez. You just exercised an option that gave him 17 and a half million dollars. And it's certainly, in the comments I've read here, doesn't seem to have brought you an awful lot of goodwill via this player that you just gave all this cash to.

JH: I would uh... I couldn't disagree with you. I could not disagree with that comment based on what I read today.

CC: Does that disappoint you?

JH: ......... um.... I don't know if I want to create any more quotes :-)... but I can't disagree with what you are saying.

GO: Well obviously when you exercise the option I would think you expected that this guy would at least say something more positive along the lines of "and now we can negotiate and work something out at the end of the season" instead he's coming out and basically saying that the deal that you had on the table, even though you've just given him $17.54 million John is off the table, and he's telling you his demands are going to be greater come November. Do you regret giving him the $17.5 million?

JH: .....well I don't know what to say other than uh hopefully we'll be able to make a deal, but I can't disagree with what you're saying.

17.5 million dollars for 30 games is not enough

4.7.03:

After two no-decisions, the $17.5 million one is official. Martinez gets his money seven months early.

Next Stop Wonderland? Wonderful? Or 2005 Walk?

John Henry: "Initially there was an issue of respect, but with the conversations we had, that faded away. I don’t think he believes that anymore. Then the issue of trust came up. A feeling on Pedro’s part that maybe we didn’t trust him that he’s healthy. By picking up the option now, we showed him that:

1. We trust you, you are healthy
2. We're committed to you

RESPECT by Pedro Martinez and John Henry

(oo) What you want
(oo) Baby, I got (my option)
(oo) What you need ($)
(oo) Do you know I got it?
(oo) All I'm askin' (pay me early)
(oo) Is for a little respect when I throw home (hurts just a little bit)
Hey Larry (hurts just a little bit) when I throw home
(hurts just a little bit) mister Henry (just a little bit)

I ain't gonna do you wrong but don't pay me, I'm gone
Ain't gonna do you wrong (oo) 'cause I don't wanna go John (oo)
All I'm askin' (oo pay me early)
Is for a little respect when I throw home (hurts just a little bit)
Larry (hurts a little bit) when I throw home (hurts just a little bit)
Ouch (just a little bit)

I'm about to give you all of my money
And all I'm askin' in return, Petey
Is to give me my profits
When you throw home (just a, just a, just a, just a)
Yeah Petey (just a, just a, just a, just a)
When you throw home (just a little bit)
Yeah (I just bit)

Ooo, your pitches (oo)
Sweeter than honey (oo)
And guess what? (oo)
So is my money (oo)
All I want you to do (oo) for me
Is give me nine when you're at home (re, re, re ,re)
Yeah Petey (re, re, re ,re)
Whip it to me (respect, just a little bit)
When you throw home, now (I just bit)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it costs for Pete
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, CHB

Oh (sox just paid me, sox just paid me,
sox just paid me, sox just paid me)
A little respect (sox just paid me, sox just paid me,
sox just paid me, sox just paid me)
Whoa, Babe (you never made this)
A little respect (just a little bitch)
When my arm gets tired (just a little bitch)
I'll keep on tryin' (just a little bitch)
I'm runnin' out of foolin' (just a little bitch)
And I ain't lyin' (just a little bitch)
(re, re, re, re) 'spect
When I throw home (re, re, re ,re)
Or the pen walks one in (respect, just a little bit)
And find out I'm gone to New York (just a little bitch)
I got to have (Sox just bit)
A little respect (Sox just bit)

4.1.03

3.26.03

Martinez Gets Back to Business

Petey Confident Sox Will Extend Him

"I would like to finish" with the Red Sox, Martinez said. "I like the challenge of spending so much time without winning it. I'd like to be part of the first team that's going to win it."

2/30/03

"I'm not saying they have to. No, I wouldn't guarantee I would walk (if the option isn't picked up by the end of the spring). I'd have to see why (it wasn't picked up) or if it's going to be worked out."

"I would like to just shut my mouth right now and let the Red Sox work. I'm here to work, I'm here to get ready. I'm not here to yap yap about my contract. I hope you guys let it go right now. I'm not going to talk about this any more. For my fans in Boston, I want to stay in Boston. That's all I said. And I want to know if I'm going to stay in Boston now. That's all I said. I'm not talking about this anymore." - 2.21 WEEI, Dennis & Callahan

(Sox have now lost 15 of 25 Yankee games Pedro starts)

June 8, 2002: "I am a rookie at this ... I don't really know what to expect and when to expect it," said Martinez, despite striking out 10 in six innings and throwing 75 of his 115 pitches for strikes. "The biggest adjustment I have to make is realizing that I have to deal with this for the rest of my career -- or for this year at least. After the season is over, I am not going to know what is going to happen. In reality I don't know if I am going to pick up velocity after [this year's] first half. I don't know if I am going to make it to the second half. I am wondering. I don't know. I don't know. I am lost." - Pedro's comments after 3-2 loss to Schill and Snakes.

Pedro says "it was a flat game, it will be different the next time out, health wise I'm fine. I just have to work on my mechanics. It will be fine. People in Boston: DON'T PANIC"

12/12/02

No Time Like the Present for this #%&?!

Pedro MarTEAMez?

Martinez Ready to Follow Ruth, Boggs, Clemens. Bad Sign? Pedro was at the China Club with David Wells and David Cone during Sox last trip to New York. It's only a matter of time.