Santana or Martinez?
Had an interesting conversation with Newsday colleague Ken Davidoff on the ride back from Wednesday's Johan Santana press conference at Shea. So who starts Opening Day in Miami -- Santana or Pedro Martinez?
Davidoff thought it was a no-brainer that Martinez gets the nod. I wasn't as sure. Could manager Willie Randolph really dis the Mets' new $137.5-million man for the sake of Pedro's pride? It could be a pretty big dilemma by the time the Grapefruit League schedule starts.
Santana, a two-time Cy Young winner, leads the majors in wins (90), ERA (2.89) and strikeouts (983) since 2004. Martinez is a three-time Cy winner, a Hall of Fame lock and personally responsible for rejuvenating the woeful Mets three years ago. He also is 5-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 10 career starts at Dolphin Stadium. If Martinez does pitch the season opener, that would set up Santana to start the Shea opener, so that could be a factor, too.
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Comments (4)
My money is on Santana. As much as I love Pedro, there is a new sheriff in town.
Actually, I think if David is right, then starting Pedro opening day in Florida is the better idea. Then, you've got Santana on opening day at Shea, which will make it an even bigger event, esp for those lucky enough to go to the game..(and no, I'm not one of them...not yet at least..hope to win that raffle)
Pedro should be the man on Opening Day, symbolic of all he's done for the Mets and by the way, can still pitch a little. Then with the extra days off early in the season, the rotation could be juggled to make Santana the "No.1."
I don't know what the right answer is. I love the scenario of Pedro opening
in Miami and Johan opening at Shea. Typically teams figure this out very early in spring training working backward from opening day, so even if they make no official announcement it will be fairly clear shortly after spring games begin. Whatever they decide impacts the entire rotation assuming they want to alternate righty/lefty or vice versa. If Johan is first, it logically unfolds as Pedro, Oliver and then John. Regardless of how this shakes out it's comforting to note that only 2/5 of the Mets rotation is considered old and an injury risk, unlike 5/5 of the Braves rotation.