Hope Springs In Port St. Lucie

By John "Metstradamus" Coppinger
Posted Friday, August 3, 2007

Pedro Martinez threw five and one-third innings during a simulated game in Port St. Lucie yesterday. They say he looked pretty good. It doesn't matter...because all the Mets care about is whether his arm is still attached to his body. (By all accounts, it still is.)

The duality of Pedro's comeback mirrors the duality of the Mets this season. The Mets have the best record in the National League, yet there's ample evidence that they're not quite the same team that they were last season. Just like there's a duality with Pedro Martinez. We tell ourselves we're not counting on Pedro. In fact, many Met fans have been caught in front of their homes, clicking their heels and chanting "We don't need Pedro, we don't need Pedro."

We may very well not need Pedro. But we sure as heck need the idea of Pedro.

We've been trying to figure out all season what's not quite right with the Mets this season. The bullpen isn't what it was last season. The bench isn't what it was last year (or even in 2005, though Marlon Anderson is back). The Carloses have had various problems. David Wright isn't hitting home runs like he did last year (or yesterday). Look at the record with Endy Chavez, and without Endy Chavez. All valid.

But maybe what the Mets need is that little swagger that so obviously has been missing since the subtraction of Pedro from the Mets consciousness. For all the dancing and high-fiving and all of that swagger "in name only" that the Mets have had this season, it's really been all bark and no bite. Consider the small liberties that the Mets have had taken against them this season...from Hong Chi Kuo's bat flip, to Solomon Torres hitting Lastings Milledge on a 3-0 count. All small things that may not happen to a team that has the insurance policy of Pedro Martinez behind them.

Not necessarily that Pedro would be in the game to retaliate, but having Pedro Martinez on your team, through some sort of osmosis, rubs off on the rest of the team...makes them all feel a wee bit braver. Maybe with the news that Pedro is finally throwing pitches with a purpose, the rest of the team will pick up and go on that run we've all been waiting for. Maybe Pedro pitching provides that shot in the arm that some fans thought that the trade deadline would bring.

It sure as heck is going to start to give Met fans that hope. And while it may be odd to say that the team with the best record in the National League needs hope, for those who trust their eyes in regards to this team it's absolutely true...especially now that the Braves have gotten that hope with Mark Teixeira and Octavio Dotel. The Mets can use a little hope back.

Even if that hope comes only with an idea, and a simulated game.
 

Follow all of Pedro's exploits, along with those of the rest of the Mets at The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus.