Familiar Face in Philly
Last night marked the return of one of the great pitchers of all time- Pedro Martinez. In an eventful game, he got the win vs. the Cubs in his first outing in nearly a year.
But first things first. The Red Sox beat the Tigers 8-2 to complete the sweep. Our ace Josh Beckett was on the mound and once again he delivered a strong performance, going 7 innings and allowing 2 runs. He’s become almost automatic when on the mound, as he has gone 7-1 in his last 10 starts and gone 7 or more innings in all but one of them. I think he is definitely in the top 4 pitchers in the AL right now, and possibly behind only Greinke and Halladay.
The other guy acquired in that trade with Florida back in 2006 also shined last night- Mike Lowell. He hit a homerun in the 2nd inning and didn’t look back from there, going 3-4.
We have made great progress in recovering from the Yankee series, almost completing a sweep of our own now! I have faith that we can ride this hot streak through this series and into what will be an important one against our wild card foes, the Rangers.
Now on to the Pedro news. Martinez started against the Cubs, throwing 5 good innings, with 3 runs and 7 hits allowed (in the same game, Shane Victorino was hit by a beer cup from an unruly fan, check out mlb.com for video) I, for one, am happy to see Pedro back in the game. Last year, before his father died, he asked Pedro to continue playing the game of baseball. It is heartwarming to see Pedro back in the game and still going strong because of this. I was always a big fan of him, even though he had his occasional issues.
Since Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, two other legends trying to return to the scene, have already made their sorry exits from this season (and probably the game), it is good to see that the one legend closest to Boston fans’ hearts still has a chance. And we had some good memories, didn’t we Pedro?
Thanks for reading.
Fenway Bleacher Creature 
Hi! It’s making me a bit nervous that the Sox are winning again. I knew this was going to happen, it was inevitable. But I HOPED that it wouldn’t. I don’t like Pedro. How could he push down Don Zimmer, such a cute old man? Whatever. That whole beer thing was ridiculous. Who would do such a stupid thing? I’m glad that fan got thrown out.
If I think of any more lookalikes, I’ll be sure to post them. I’m glad you are enjoying my blog. I’m enjoying yours as well. đ -Virginia
http://southernbelle.mlblogs.com
I bet the whole ESPN audience was tuned in for that one, Pedro Martinez pitching for the Phillies. He did good enough for the win, however pitching only five innings of work. I would like to see those Phils win more games under Pedro Martinez, but it came at the expense of the now bullpen pitcher Jaime Moyer.
The Red Sox are sure making up for being swept by the Yankees. It’s going to be an interesting month and a half for everyone.
Matthew Tang
http://matt7.mlblogs.com/
I was flipping from the Red Sox game to the Phillies game last night, and I was glad to see Pedro doing well. It’s good to see him pitching again as you said, and I will always be a fan of him. He did so much for the Red Sox, and I think you can even say while he was with us, he was one of best pitchers in the League.
Congrats Red Sox and Pedro. A good night for both!
–Melissa
http://redsox46.mlblogs.com/
Not a sweep yet! Don’t jinx us!! We play the Tigers today in an afternoon game!!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
It’s not a sweep quite yet because its a 4 game series but the way the tiggers are playing i wouldn’t doubt they get swept. And I agree Nice pic of pedro and nomar when was that anyways?
Great pic of Pedro and Nomar. LOL. It’s nice to have an ace like Beckett, who is pretty much an automatic win every time out. And Lowell seems to have really heated up. Good news for Sox fans.
– http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
You guys are probably hoing the Yankees lose a few on the road, hoefully they will, always makes September a fun month when the race is close… as for Pedro, I ‘m not sure it was that good of a return for him, if there werent 12 runs on the board he would have been pulled before he got an out in the 5th inning…
~peter
Outside the Phillies Looking In
http://devilabrit.mlblogs.com
Virginia- Well, the Don Zimmer incident was one of those issues I was talking about, but overall Pedro really helped our team so I do like him.
That would be great, those look alikes are really cool!
Thanks!
Matt- It was only a decent outing, that is true. I would also like to see Pedro turn in some more good games along the road, it would make the signing very worth it for the Phillies.
Melissa- I was switching back and forth a little too! He was a real star when we had him, without a doubt he was one of the best during those years.
Julia- I hope I don’t! I always forget, LOL!
Yankeeboy- Yeah I know, almost a sweep. I think the picture was in ’03 but I’m not totally sure.
Jane- I love it too. I knew that if I was posting about Pedro, I would have to find it because I remember it as one of my favorite moments with him. We are really lucky to have him, but that is the kind of player C.C. was supposed to be for you guys, so I think we’ll see him develop into that more in the future.
Peter- I certainly am hoping the Yankees can lose a few, but we also need to win to make up any ground, so our next series vs. Texas is an important one. True, it wasn’t the greatest but I’d say getting the win (even with all that run support) is pretty good after a year out of the bigs.
Thanks everyone very much for commenting!
Hello, I just started blogging here at mlblogs and you have a great blog. Mine is called Tribe Talk With Ted. đ I love the Indians! Hey, I saw Pedro pitch a gem last night, and i gotta say that dude that dumped beer on Victorino is an imbosile I hate that guy. That is a disgrace to the city of Chicago.
http://tribewithted.mlblogs.com/
Just like my phils….going from getting swept to bringing out the brushes of our own. As for Pedro, its a long time from his days with the Beaners, but he looked great. I like the pic you have of him getting taped by Lowell. I hope he brings some of that fun goofiness to the Phils.
Adam
http://phanaticalramblings.mlblogs.com
Ted- Thanks for checking out my blog. I just looked at yours and it is really good too. I’ll stop back often. It was a dumb move by that guy. Wrigley has had its fan problems in the past though!
Adam- It feels pretty good doesn’t it! I hope you guys can make the best of him, he looks like he still has a little left in that arm. That’s actually Nomar, but I’m glad you liked it.
http://the3rs.mlblogs.com/
Thanks for commenting on my blog, and yes Masterson is from Jamaica. I just found that out myself. Well, he says he is happy to be an Indian. I hope so, I love him! đ
http://tribewithted.mlblogs.com/
I love the last picture with Pedro and Nomah! I miss Nomah! I wish he would have retired as a Dodger. Now, letting Pedro go was a big mistake by the Dodgers. I remember a picure of Tommy Lasorda back when he was the manager when. Tthe players taped his mouth and gave him a t-shirt that said “Please do not feed the manager.” He was on that slim fast diet.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Ted- No problem, it is a cool piece of info. We do miss him though!
Crzblue- I miss him too. Anyone that gets to have him when he retires is a lucky team. LOL! That is a great story, I wonder if anyone can find a picture of that?
http://the3rs.mlblogs.com/
Now, *this* is a Sox blog! That photo of Pedro and Nomar is classic!
OK, it was pointed out on my blog that the Pedro show was indeed the main attraction at Wrigley. As a side piece, Victorino got what hundreds of USA Soccer fans got in Mexico City on Wednesday: a beer shower. Not a lot of people caught that, but it was a side thing attempting to avert the focus from Pedro’s return to the MLB mound.
As for Pedro, not sure what to think since it was only one appearance. Perhaps if Moyer concentrates on his temporary role in the bullpen, the Phils just need to concentrate on the job at hand – regardless of who’s on the rotation.
The long-term issue remains on how durable Pedro will have to be come the next several weeks and into the Postseason. That is where it counts right now.
http://heirloom.mlblogs.com
Randy- Thanks! It was one of the great Pedro moments. I guess that is a similarity between soccer and baseball, interesting.
I think you are right about them getting their priorities straight and just concentrating. And I fully agree that how Pedro will do is still a wild card at this point. But who knows, he could turn into something big for the Phillies.
http://the3rs.mlblogs.com/