His Agent Must Have Had a Good Pitch

So we're back to sports. Pitcher Pedro Martinez is leaving Boston for the New York Mets; the Mets offerred him $52M and a four-year guaranteed contract; the Red Sox had three-year, $40.5M offer on the table. So he took the money and ran. Note: he's already made zillions in Boston.

Most Bostonians are over it already. (After all, it was Curt Schilling's sock that turned red.) For that matter, they got over the midseason trade of Nomah awfully quickly too, especially once the playoffs happened. In the cafes they've been speculating since the ALCS whether Pedro would be back next season. I though it was likely, but close to a 50-50 chance.

The Globe's Dan Shaughnessy--who thinks the Mets made a dumb offer--aptly describes Pedro's primma donna side. But he also waxes nostalgic with some amazing high praise about how great it was to have him in town:

He was smart, fun, and entertaining. He introduced us to a new culture. He made Boston a better place in which to live and he made Fenway a better place in which to play baseball. His talent was infinite. He was a delight. Pedro game days became Fenway festivals.

As for us, it took us a while to notice Pedro, partly because for some time Nomah had more celebrity and partly because we had not yet seen the light, regarding Red Sox Nation as some bizarre and irrational Cult of Depression, a mechanism that pretended to be spring and summer but really the wise could see it was only an extension of winter into an infinite loop. But he's a brilliant pitcher. But how long did it take to beat the curse? At any rate, the fact that Pedro can't exceed seven innings was so painfully obvious at the end of 2003, that we're all ready to move on.

Whether or not a 4-year deal was a smart idea, it seems that the National League game, which expects pinch-hitters after the stretch, will be more accomodating. Also, Pedro is the type of celebrity which New Yorkers are comfortable with. As Donald Trump shows, bigger cities can hold bigger egos.