PETEY Comes Back To NY

I have always loved Pedro Martinez, well, almost always. When he left Boston I had moments of, ah, dislike, but all in all, I like the man and I admire his talent and ability. After spending time in his native Dominican Republic and fielding many offers from many MLB teams, apparently none near the five million dollar per year salary he desired, he decided to join the Philadelphia Phillies for roughly one million dollars. He picked the right year and the correct team, that's for sure. He'll be one of the four Philadelphia starters in the 2009 World Series. On October 16th, he pitched one run, two hit, no walk baseball for seven wonderful innings before his bullpen imploded and Philadelphia lost the game. He didn't have his blazing fastball...that's a thing of the past. He used guile and deception to confound the Dodgers and the world champion Phillies hope he has one (or two) more magic starts in him. I'd love to see it and he'll be going against the team he loves to hate (me too), the New York Yankees. Here he is...

“I knew there were doubts in me,’’ Martinez said. “But I did not doubt myself. I knew I could still pitch. But I was willing to wait for the right situation.’’

He found it, that's for sure. Ex-Red Sox teammate and now Yankee Johnny Damon had this to say recently...

“I’m happy for Pedro,’’ said Yankees left fielder Johnny Damon, Martinez’s teammate for four years with the Red Sox. “Not too many teams bid on him to pick him up during the offseason. But he waited, picked the right team, and now he’s back in the World Series. It’s a strange thing, facing guys from that team because we were like brothers,’’ Damon said. “But I’ll always hope the best for Pedro. What a great teammate. I was fortunate to play with him and against him for all these years.’’

I'll always hope the best for him, too. Petey will be just one part of what is shaping up to be an unforgettable series. Both teams know that their opponent is far better than the two teams they previously faced. So tomorrow, it's WORLD SERIES TIME! Bring it on. It'll be televised by Fox and Fox HD.

Click on this post's title for more World Series coverage ala Sports Illustrated and as always, BE WELL. I'll be back first thing in the morning with a more detailed look at the Series itself. See ya.