You have to be concerned about Pedro starting the playoffs.  He pitched well last night for four innings but then things fell apart in the fifth when the Marlins scored four runs.  What concerns me is that when Martinez takes the mound at Shea Stadium on either Tuesday or Wednesday during the first week of October, it’s not going to be against the Marlins.  Pedro will most likely be facing the Dodgers or Padres, teams that will have been fighting to reach the playoffs over the next two weeks and who could have momentum on their side.  You wonder if not giving the ball to Pedro for game one is a prudent thing to do.

The Mets should start the best pitchers they have in the playoffs.  Right now with only a couple of weeks to go, it’s hard to place Pedro in that list.  He simply is not ready.  The Mets seem more concerned with Pedro’s ego than they are with winning.  Who should they start in games one and two at Shea Stadium?  How about Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez?  Glavine has pitched well of late and appears to have put his medical issues behind him now.  Hernandez has been outstanding and would certainly benefit from Shea’s huge expanses.  In a short series, it is imperative that the Mets win one if not both of the opening games at Shea.  Even if the Mets split the first two games, the home field advantage shifts to their opponent since the next two games will be away.  At the very least, Randolph needs to have a short leash on Martinez.  If he gets into trouble early, Willie is going to have to go to the pen and bring in someone like John Maine to stem the tide.  

Pedro’s next start will be crucial in determining whether he is ready or not for the post season.  I’m not so sure why the Mets hierarchy seems to be so adamant in regards to Pedro starting.  The Mets have done quite well in the second half of the season without him.  Prior to last Friday night’s game against the Pirates, Pedro had not started a game since August 14 when he was pounded by the Phillies.  Between his start on August 14th and September 15th, the Mets posted a record of 19 and 9.  So it’s not as if the absence of Pedro has been a major hindrance to the Mets success.   Since July 28th, Pedro has made only six starts with a record of two and four.  And since July 28th, the Mets record has been 31 and 19 but yet management is indirectly saying that they can’t win without Pedro.  This is simply not the case.  Pitchers have stepped up.  John Maine for example has pitched wonderfully this year and personally I feel more confident with him on the mound right now then Pedro Martinez. 

I remember the 1973 World Series.  The Mets had a three games to two lead heading back to Oakland.  Yogi Berra started Tom Seaver on short rest when he had a healthy and well rested George Stone ready to go.  Stone pitched great for the Mets down the stretch and should have been given the start but the Mets went with their top name pitcher. Had they given Stone the ball and the Mets lost game six anyway, they would have had a fully rested Seaver to try and win game seven.  Well as it turned out, Seaver was beaten in game six and the Mets lost game seven too.  The point here is that sometimes a team chooses to pitch someone based on reputation over what makes sense to win.   I am fearful that the ’06 Mets may make a similar mistake with Pedro. 

Pedro Martinez is a wonderful pitcher.  He can be dominant; he has that intangible trait of being able to step it up even when he doesn’t have his best stuff.  He undoubtedly will be a first round Hall of Fame player.  Pedro has probably been the closest thing to Sandy Koufax since the sixties but right now he does not seem ready for prime time.  The Mets should slate him for game three; start Glavine then El-Duque.  The first round is dangerous.  Three wins and you go forward; three losses and you go home. 

Extra Innings:  Minor Problems...

So what happened within the Mets minor league hierarchy that their AAA affiliate is now the New Orleans Zephyrs?   Who dropped the ball here?  Norfolk has been the Mets AAA club since 1969 then known as Tidewater.  I realize that the owner of the Tides wanted to hook up with the Orioles because he owns other minor league franchises already affiliated with Baltimore but I have a hard time understanding why the Mets were not able to act sooner and either get a deal done with Norfolk or make ties with another triple A team in the northeast.   In selecting New Orleans, the Mets seem to be a victim of AAA franchise musical chairs.  New Orleans was the only seat available when the music stopped.

There are two problems with moving to New Orleans. One, it is a lot further away from New York than Virginia. And two, New Orleans plays in the Pacific coast league which means most of their road travel is going to be on the west coast.  That's a lot of travel for the triple A players and the Mets may often need to recall a player that's on the west coast.  Look for New Orleans to be a temporary home for the Mets AAA team.  In two years they will try to get closer to the northeast. 

The Mets have also lost their low A team in Hagerstown.  That club has now signed a two year agreement with the Nationals.  The Mets are unclear as to where they will land their low A team.

Next up...

The Mets finish their schedule against the Marlins with a record of 11 and 8.  Tonight the Mets take on the Nationals whom the Mets are 8 and 3 against.  El-Duque goes against ex-Met Pedro Astacio in the opener.  Washington is now completely eliminated from all races.  They are 5 and 5 in their last ten games which is a better mark than the Mets who are 4 and 6 in their last 10.  In fact, September has been the Mets worst month so far this season.  In twenty games played this month the Mets are at .500 with a 10 and 10 record.  Prior to this month the Mets worst was back in June when the Mets posted a 15 and 12 mark. 

The NL's Best...

With the Cardinals loss last night, the Mets quietly clinched the leagues best record.  They will have home field advantage till the World Series if they make it that far.  I think it is ridiculous that the World Series home field advantage is determined by the All Star game.  It should be based on the team with the best overall record.  Otherwise what is the point of having the best overall record?  Someday maybe baseball will figure this out. 

A first:

The Mets and Yankees have clinched their divisions and currently have identical records of 92 and 60. That has never occurred before.  You can look it up.