November 4, 2009
The Power of Time I am in the midst of watching the best World Series in years and just have to express a few thoughts on Phillies starting pitcher Pedro Martinez. I have followed Pedro’s career since it began, as he has mostly played for some of my favourite teams, namely the Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox. I remember the young heat slinger who was the standout performer on a loaded Expos team. I remember the absolute dominance that Pedro demonstrated during 1998-02 with the Boston Red Sox. Finally I remember him slowly steering the ship toward disaster during game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, eventually being pulled after letting the Yankees inexplicably back into the game. What standouts though is the way Pedro used to pitch and the attitude he had to go along with it. In the year 2000 he was the only athlete on the planet who dominated in the same way Tiger Woods did. His ERA was less than half of that of Roger Clemens, his closest American League competitor. He struck out the side in an all star game which is an almost unheard of feat. The feat is made even more impressive when you consider the side consisted of Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire. To watch the 2009 Pedro is to see the relentless forces of age taking a toll. His fastball now tops out below 90 Mph and he is forced to be creative and wily in order to strike out the powerful Yankees lineup. He is chunkier and his face shows clearly his 38 years of life. He has given up four runs in four innings, and each time he gives up a hit you can tell from the expression on his face, that he can remember clearly when the game was much easier for him. His performances recently remind me of a certain scene in the movie Casino when it takes an aging Joe Pesci three punches to knock out a guy he is fighting. Keep in mind these are movie punches and it is almost unheard of for a guy to take three punches before falling down in a gangster movie. When he finally knocks the guy out Pesci stands there breathing hard and looking both tired and disappointed in himself. It is Pesci’s abilities as an actor that make me think of this scene whenever I see an old guy (Whether on the street or on TV) struggling to adjust to his newfound limits. Perhaps this is what makes today’s Pedro so intriguing to watch. The swagger and attitude are still there in spades but there are brief moments when you can see flashes of insecurity on his face. To see a once so dominant force adjust to his mortality is both interesting and humbling. In fact, as I write this he may have just thrown his last pitch in the major leagues. He goes out as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation and a shoo in for the hall of fame. Now lets just hope the Yankees find a way to blow this game!

The Power of Time

I am in the midst of watching the best World Series in years and just have to express a few thoughts on Phillies starting pitcher Pedro Martinez. I have followed Pedro’s career since it began, as he has mostly played for some of my favourite teams, namely the Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox. I remember the young heat slinger who was the standout performer on a loaded Expos team. I remember the absolute dominance that Pedro demonstrated during 1998-02 with the Boston Red Sox. Finally I remember him slowly steering the ship toward disaster during game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, eventually being pulled after letting the Yankees inexplicably back into the game.

What standouts though is the way Pedro used to pitch and the attitude he had to go along with it. In the year 2000 he was the only athlete on the planet who dominated in the same way Tiger Woods did. His ERA was less than half of that of Roger Clemens, his closest American League competitor. He struck out the side in an all star game which is an almost unheard of feat. The feat is made even more impressive when you consider the side consisted of Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire.

To watch the 2009 Pedro is to see the relentless forces of age taking a toll. His fastball now tops out below 90 Mph and he is forced to be creative and wily in order to strike out the powerful Yankees lineup. He is chunkier and his face shows clearly his 38 years of life. He has given up four runs in four innings, and each time he gives up a hit you can tell from the expression on his face, that he can remember clearly when the game was much easier for him.

His performances recently remind me of a certain scene in the movie Casino when it takes an aging Joe Pesci three punches to knock out a guy he is fighting. Keep in mind these are movie punches and it is almost unheard of for a guy to take three punches before falling down in a gangster movie. When he finally knocks the guy out Pesci stands there breathing hard and looking both tired and disappointed in himself. It is Pesci’s abilities as an actor that make me think of this scene whenever I see an old guy (Whether on the street or on TV) struggling to adjust to his newfound limits.

Perhaps this is what makes today’s Pedro so intriguing to watch. The swagger and attitude are still there in spades but there are brief moments when you can see flashes of insecurity on his face. To see a once so dominant force adjust to his mortality is both interesting and humbling. In fact, as I write this he may have just thrown his last pitch in the major leagues. He goes out as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation and a shoo in for the hall of fame.

Now lets just hope the Yankees find a way to blow this game!

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