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Suspension
won't stop Pedro Martinez from pitching inside.
Written by Ozzie Gonzalez
What is the best way to stop Pedro Martinez? Suspend him.
 That's
what his American League opponents thought when Major League Baseball
suspended the two-time Cy Young Award winner for five days after he
"intentionally" hitting Cleveland Indians second baseman Roberto Alomar on the backside with a pitch.
Of course, Martinez treated the suspension like another flailing hitter, finessing it to the point where
he would be pushed back just one day in the Red Sox rotation.
Bad news for the Baltimore Orioles.
He originally figured to start the opener of the four-game series against the Orioles at
Camden Yards. Instead, he will start the second game Friday night, 5/12, on five days rest, which -- according
to manager Jimmy Williams -- is the best way to pitch Martinez anyway.
Loopholes in Major League Baseball's front office and a savvy Pedro
Martinez found a way to minimize the official suspension to almost
nothing. Martinez delayed his suspension long enough to make his scheduled start at
Fenway Park on Saturday 5/6, then dropped his appeal immediately after the game. Since a starting pitcher usually works once
every five days, a five-day suspension can be turned into a one-day suspension if the timing is right. The delay is unlikely to cost Martinez a single
start over the course of the season.
Martinez has been exercising the right of pitching
inside since he arrived in the major leagues, enough so that after the Montreal Expos turned him into an everyday starting
pitcher in 1994, he gained a reputation for being a "headhunter."
"He got that reputation in Montreal," said Devil Rays pitcher Dwight Gooden,
who in his prime was every bit as aggressive and overpowering as Martinez is
now, "but the type of pitcher he is . . . his presence . . . that's just part of the
game. You have to pitch in. That's the key to Pedro's game."
Martinez is not afraid to throw inside and will continue to knock batters off the plate the way Bob
Gibson and Don Drysdale did on the way to the Hall of Fame -- and that
clearly where Martinez is headed if he continues his dominance on the
mound.
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