See Ya, Greedy Petey!
June 29, 2006
The big homecoming of Pedro Martinez was undoutedbly a rude one. Well, maybe not as rude as Johnny Damon's, but at least from the on-field perspecitve, the Red Sox made Pedro their bitch.In winning 11 in a row, that's what is happening to a lot of the Sox's opposition lately.
Me and the boys made the trip to Fenway last night to see the big showdown between the former Sox icon and our beloved team. As a fan being fortunate enough to see Johnny Damon's return back on May 1st, I can honestly say this one lacked the same energy. I guess that's what happens when the returning "hero" gets run in 3 innings.
Sure, prior to the first pitch as Pedro made his way to the Mets' dugout, the Fenway "faithful" (can you call it faithful if you're cheering for the other team's starting pitcher), stood and gave a long standing ovation. Still, it lacked the passion of the booing that transpired that night Damon stepped into the batter's box. Must have been that Yankees uni. Pedro raised his fist, wrapped in a towel, to acknowledge the cheers. Then it was time for baseball.
The Sox gave us plenty of reasons to cheer as they absolutely clobbered Greedy Petey. While I opted not to cheer on Pedro with the rest of the fans around me before the game, I gave him his standing O on his final trip to the dugout after 8 runs in 3 innings. I loved every minute of the spanking he took. I took great pleasure in the fact that I predicted his stat line for the game: 6 earned runs. My only blemish was I thought it would be in 4 innings, and "Big Papi" would take him for a ride to the right field bleachers. I'll take the W regardless.
My buddy The Attorney, a huge Pedro schill, was noticably quiet the rest of the night once his hero departed. I got a great laugh in the men's room just after the third inning ended when Sox fans taunted the Mets fans with comments like,"Uh oh; Pedro isn't hitting 90 on the radar gun!" and "Just like when he was here before--can't step up in the big game!"
What can I say. Call me a jaded Sox fan for not giving the once-great Pedro his due, but his constant whining about "getting respect" (aka getting paid big bucks) over the last 3 years of his contract turned my stomach. Those fans who stood and applauded the guy last night must have forgotten Pedro constantly reminded the loyal fans he was prepared to walk when his contract ended in 2004. They must have forgotten how he never could stop the Yankees, outside of that phenomenal performance in Yankee Stadium in 1999 when he piled up 17 K's on the pinstripes. 7 years ago is an awful long time ago.
Oh well. See ya later Pedro. Hopefully we'll meet again in the World Series in October.
posted by That 30's Guy @ 12:41 PM,
