"Lazzari's Sports Roundup" -- 04-23-05

AN OPEN LETTER TO PEDRO MARTINEZ

Dear Pedro,

You just couldn't do it--could you? You just couldn't take it upon yourself to join your ex-Red Sox teammates on Opening Day at Fenway--a very special day in Boston history--and receive your 2004 championship ring. Shame on you, Mr. Martinez. You're dead wrong; you should have been there--and I'll tell you why.

I'm not a Red Sox fan, Pedro, but I watched the majority of your starts over the years while you were in Beantown; you're one helluva pitcher. I watched you methodically mow batters down time after time as Red Sox fans showed their undying adoration for you; it was fun seeing those "K" placards being posted by fans after your many strikeouts of baffled opposing hitters. You truly took up the slack when one Rogers Clemens left town; at times, the fans loved you just as much--if not more--than "The Rocket." That wicked sneer you showed occasionally on the mound toward the opposition demonstrated your fierce competitiveness; in turn, your teammates respected your immense desire to win, played their butts off behind you, and endearingly called you "Pete." Yeah, those Sox teams seemed like family, and I thought you were all in this together, Mr. Martinez--all on the same page. You seemed to have a decent rapport with your comrades, Pedro, and shared the same ultimate goal--that is, to win it all. After all--besides the money--that's what's it's all about for an athlete who performs at a very high level--right, "Pete"? The grand prize--the RING, right?

Let me get this straight, Pedro. You spend seven years in Boston trying to help the team win a championship and then it FINALLY happens; you probably dreamed of it as a kid. I mean, IT HAPPENED, Pedro--no more talk of 1918, choking, not being able to win the big one, etc. You guys DID IT and you were a big part of it, Pedro; has it truly sunk in yet--one of the most memorable happenings in sports history? Maybe not; perhaps therein lies the problem. Anyway, the miracle of 2004 included that improbable, unforgettable comeback against the hated Yankees--that despised team that you always took such pleasure in beating/badmouthing; they were the Sox' longstanding nemesis, "Pete"--the obstacle to the elusive postseason success that even the most pessimistic Red Sox fans had always yearned for. The Yankees had RINGS, Pedro--many of them--but you finally earned one of your own; you disposed of them in speechless fashion and rolled over the Cardinals in the World Series to become world champions. The long-awaited acquisition of that ring was supposed to be the top prize in your sport, Pedro--the ultimate reward for years of hard work, past disappointment, and perseverance. They now call it "Red Sox Nation"--something you were a charter member of, Pedro; damn, you should have been there Opening Day--there is NO excuse. You know, now that I think of it, maybe you ARE the classless bum that many New Yorkers thought you were over the past seven years; yep, I guess they had you pegged correctly.

Yeah, "Pete," I've heard all the bull over the past few weeks--how the Sox can keep the ring, how you were supposedly "disrespected" in contract negotiations, etc. Quite frankly, your actions are beyond disgraceful, "Pete"--and I am sorry you feel "slighted" by the team that paid you a king's ransom over the past seven years--$90 million to be exact--including over $17 million last season. Geez, how dare they disrespect you like that, huh? How 'bout your ex-teammates, Pedro, who all congregated a couple of weeks ago (before playing the Yankees, in fact) to celebrate the immense camaraderie of that special 2004 season? Derek Lowe was there (though the Sox had little interest in re-signing him--remember, it's a business, "Pete"), as well as Dave Roberts; both wouldn't have missed it for the world even though they play on the West Coast now. I guess they just value the team concept more than you; is that it?

Oh, yes, I've heard the bunk that you're on a new team now--you're a Met and a New Yorker (gulp!) now, Pedro, and you have new loyalties, etc. Sorry, Pedro, that doesn't cut it. Even though you weren't pitching for the Mets that day, you decided to boycott an occasion that would have honored YOU as well as your former teammates for doing the impossible--perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Sorry, Pedro; the excuse that you were somehow "loyal" to the Mets that day is like saying Elizabeth Taylor was "loyal" to her wedding vows; it just doesn't wash, "Pete," and many of us know better. It's been hinted that your new manager, Willie Randolph, wanted you in New York that day instead; that's garbage, "Pete," and you know it. Who knows better about the value of a ring, the significance of teamwork, and the meaning of championships more than a former Yankee named Willie Randolph? At last look, you won 117 games in Boston and were vying for your second win in New York--but you were always a Met, correct? I guess the years in Boston meant nothing. Sorry, Pedro, but you thumbed your nose at the fans in Beantown that day--fans who have enabled you to become a filthy-rich man; extending a middle digit to them on your pitching hand would have been more manly and direct. Your ex-teammates? They ALL seem to know the importance/scope of what happened last year—even though they, too, know it's a business, Pedro. Looking back, it was THAT special, "Pete"--although you may not think so. This entire fiasco has NOTHING to do with you "turning over a new leaf," moving on, showing loyalty to new teammates, etc. In fact, that's laughable, "Pete;" the ironic thing is that even YOU like a good joke--and you may be laughing on the inside at this juncture. Regardless, if your problem was with Red Sox management, Pedro, then why would you let down the innocent Boston fans and your ex-mates that day? Yes, your former teammates playfully referred to themselves as "idiots" last season; you've now lived up to that moniker in an entirely different way.

Oh, one more thing, Pedro: how 'bout all the kids in attendance that day--the ones still donning the #45 jerseys who've grown up idolizing you/marveling at your pitching talents? Yes, Pedro, in the past, you've incorporated that overused term "disrespect" on so many occasions; somehow, I think those kids at Fenway’s Opening Day were "dissed" more than you'll ever know.

You should have been there, Pedro--no question about it. Perhaps you'll come back to an Old-Timers Day at Fenway years from now--still talking about "respect"--yet still clueless as to its true meaning. You're still a helluva pitcher, but it's become clear to many of us that one can continue to be a master of his craft and, at the same time, still be a misguided, selfish, arrogant dolt.

Shame on you; you should have been there, "Pete."

Bob Lazzari

Reprinted by permission of the Valley Times.