Come to Papa

Just Think of Yankee Fans as Your Weird Uncle, Pedro
'Cause You Ain't Heard Nothin' 'Til You Meet Your Real Daddy

WHO'S YOUR DA-DDY... WHO'S YOUR DA-DDY...

" '[The New York Mets] have shown more respect in days than Boston did in seven years'... They will field the best bad team in baseball history... They'll be stupid not to do Varitek. Varitek is the next one gone. Theo's going to have the biggest problem with him. ... I hope 'Tek is on my team... Theo got really arrogant on Fernando [Cuza, his agent] and I didn't appreciate it... Francona had no say, like he didn't have any say in managing the team. He was manipulated [by the front office]." -- 12.18.04, Pedro Martinez talking about the Boston Red Sox, the team that made him the highest paid player in the game

WHO'S YOUR DA-DDY... WHO'S YOUR DA-DDY...

"...In the end, they [Red Sox front office] scraped and bowed and gave him the perks he requested, all proof he is different from the other players on the Red Sox... In Boston, Pedro was allowed to do whatever he wanted -- show up whenever and take vacations. The Boston media were easy on him for what he had done. They gave him a mulligan for not attending Game 6 in New York..." -- 12.14.04, Hall-of-Famer Peter Gammons, ESPN.com

WHO'S YOUR DA-DDY... WHO'S YOUR DA-DDY...

Back in Boston: Disingenuous Diva Eyes Fenway Return | Photos: Prima Goner with Sox
NESN: What If Grady Had Pulled Him? | Martinez to Mets: How Quickly We Forget
Ryan: Pedro Shows True Colors | Shaughnessy: Words Speak for Themselves
If Pedro Loved Boston Fans So Much, Why Didn't He Take Out an Ad Like Johnny?
NY Post: Gammons: 'There Will Be A Lot of Booing'

'I Was Pretty Much Let Go'
More Revisionist History from Pedro Metinez

"Does he expect to be booed? 'I hope not, but there are some people... I don't know how they feel,' Martinez told Newsday yesterday. 'Knowing my fans and the relationship I had and how much I expressed how I wanted to stay... it wasn't my choice. I wasn't given the choice to actually think about, I was pretty much let go.' " -- 5.3.06, Pedro Martinez: New York Newsday

Gammons on Martinez and Damon Returning to Boston

Comments from Gammons on WEEI's Big Show, May 4, 2006 (Audio Here):

On the Damon reaction at Fenway:

“I thought it went a little bit over the top. I don’t understand the mentality of someone spending hours at home making up some obscene sign. It wasn’t like he was an electric personality here… he was very popular here but it wasn’t like Pedro or Clemens, he didn’t depart simply because of money. It was a prolonged kind of a mixed-up negotiation. And the one thing about him, he always played hard, he played hurt, and he was always accountable. I don’t know, I just didn’t think it needed to be quite so insane.

"I sit down there and I listen to people stand up there with their kids on either side of them scream obscenities at Derek Jeter like their big people because they’ve got a fence in between them and the field so, I guess if that’s what makes people happy… I think sports can be fun too. There are a lot of people that don’t think it’s fun… I just thought that, in Damon’s case, one thing about him… I like Roger a lot, but he did say that, he did complain about things like carrying his bags, and he did go to Toronto and say that he loved it because it was so much like Houston, and Pedro left town with guns blazing because of his relationship with Schilling. But I just thought that the way Damon was always very respectful of the fans… I did not think taking out that ad in the Globe was phony in the least, I think Johnny’s pretty genuine, but that’s it, he’s moved on and I’ll say this, I found this really interesting, Don Mattingly made, and this surprised me, he said to me ‘you know, Damon has really changed our team’… this team had become so businesslike, and so uptight the last three years, Damon is sort of goofy, he comes in everyday with a big smile on his face, he’s up to something, he’s always accountable to the media. He said ‘he’s really changed our personality for the better.’ And if that’s true, and I believe Mattingly’s got a pretty good finger on that team as hitting coach and future manager, then I think that’s pretty interesting. I think the Yankees got more than they thought they got when they signed him."

On Pedro coming back to Fenway:

"I think there’s more hostility towards Pedro [than Damon]. And it’s partly because he’s an electric personality. I think that Pedro will get a pretty rough [reception]. Now he’s not pitching for the Yankees, and that’s a big difference. They won’t have people standing there with their kids and screaming obscenities at Jose Reyes, but I think Pedro will take a lot of heat here. I’ll be interested to see how he is. I think he’s gonna be a little testy when he comes back here."

Are the Sox Really Going to Fire Up New York's Ace with Highlight Clips
Or Will They Keep the Heat on Pete and Keep the Streak Alive?