Mets face postseason without Pedro

ATLANTA (AP) - The New York Mets managed to win their first NL East title since 1988 with Pedro Martinez battling injuries all season.

They will have to show that same resiliency in the postseason.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner seems in no shape to pitch in next week's NL division series after getting knocked around badly in his final start of the regular season. The Mets had hoped to go with Martinez in Game 1, but it seems more likely that Orlando Hernandez or Tom Glavine will get the honor.

In fact, Martinez wonders if he'll be able to pitch at all with an ailing right calf that has transformed his pitches into batting-practice fodder.

"It's taken a lot away from me: my confidence and the location of my pitches," he said. "When you don't have the legs to push off and create velocity and locate your pitches, you're in trouble. And I can't locate right now."

Martinez (9-8) has lost four straight starts - the first when his calf began hurting, the last three since coming off a monthlong stint on the disabled list. He looked downright awful against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, giving up eight hits, seven runs and two homers in a 2 2-3 innings.

"He couldn't command his pitches," said Atlanta catcher Brian McCann, who hit the first of back-to-back homers off Martinez in the third. "He was getting behind in the count."

Martinez conceded that it would be tougher for the Mets to advance in the playoffs without him, though they've made it this far without a big contribution from their ace. He was bothered in spring training by a sore toe, went on the DL at midseason with an ailing hip and fell short of 10 wins for only the second time in his 14-year career.

"When I'm out or hurting, obviously we're not going to do as good," Martinez said. "Anytime you lose a No. 1 pitcher, one of your five starters, it's going to hurt you a little bit. But these guys are professionals. They know how to do things. They've done really, really well without me. I hope they can do that again and pick me up during the time I'm limited or away."

The Mets wrapped up the NL East title with nearly two weeks left in the regular season and looked to be a strong favorite to reach the World Series from a league that will have no other playoff team with 90 wins.

But, if Martinez is unable to go, New York would appear to have one glaring weakness: starting pitching. Beyond Glavine (14-7) and Hernandez (10-11 going into a start Thursday night), the other potential starters are Steve Trachsel, whose 15 wins are mitigated by an ERA of nearly 5.00, and six-game winner John Maine.

Martinez's teammates aren't giving up on their ace making a sudden recovery in time for the playoffs, though they're also preparing for the alternative.

"If something crazy happens and we're minus Pedro, somebody else will step up and get the job done," David Wright said. "We've been doing it all year. Somebody has always stepped up and filled the shoes."

Manager Willie Randolph reserved judgment on how he might use Martinez in the playoffs.

"Obviously, he didn't pitch too well," Randolph said. "We'll have to wait and see."

Martinez figures the manager has seen enough - a 16.97 ERA over his last four starts, giving up 22 hits and 20 earned runs in 11 2-3 innings.

"The way it's looking right now, Willie will not have a tough decision about who should pitch Game 1," Martinez said. "Obviously, the other guys are in better shape than I am right now. Everybody can see that. I think it would be a bad decision for Willie to put me out there the way I look now."

When Martinez first strained his calf muscle, he didn't think it was that big a deal. Now he knows better.

"It affects my shoulder, it affects my legs, it affects my back. It affects everything really," he said. "Those legs are everything. Without them, it's impossible to get the result you want."

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6011940

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I don't know how far the Mets will go with no Pedro in the post season, especially if they get to the NLCS.....can they win a 7-game series without him?

maybe its a good thing, he may be hurting the team if he pitches

Who will take his place though? Glavine? then who will take Glavines spot? etc

Couldn't have happened to a better guy, lol. Maybe he needs some relaxation, the Mets could plant some mango trees in the bullpen for him to sit under, lol.


I think he is done, as far as effective pitching this year. He is injured, and when he goes out there, there is a Beckett Alert in the area. I think the Mets have to go with a rotation of El Duque, Glavine, Trachsel, and Maine. Not exactly what you call great, but then again who is facing them in the NL? Other than the Astros, no one really has great pitching.

The Padres have great pitching.

No where near as good as a bullpen

They don't have GREAT pitching, they have good pitching. Its Peavy and Young, thats all. And Hoffman, even with his numbers, you can't trust him in a big spot.

They have good pitching, they don't have great pitching. They have a better rotation than the Mets, but the Mets have the better bullpen.

The Mets will start El Duque for game 1

^ I actually feel really confident with El Duque going first. He has pitched some TERRIFIC games this year.

lol

Peavy-Young-Hensley-Williams

That's a great rotation for the playoffs...not good, great

plus linebrink in the pen.




i am extremely confident in el duque, hes been amazing since he joined the mets, and has a phenomonal postseason rcord. Trachsel has been consistent the last 5 years except for the injury season.. Glavine has good post season experience. Maine has had good starts and bad starts. Maybe we can bring pelfrey up. Because el duque and glavine are too old to go on 3 maybe even 4 days rest, and trachsel too.

Looks like we have to rely on our O and bullpen.

The second best ERA and only 1 of 3 under 4 is relatively great. They have the NL best ERA.

And they have an awesome bullpen too. They have Cla Meredith with an ERA under one, a shaky but usually good Linebrink, and Hoffman one of the best there ever is. (who converts 90% of the time over his career)

El Duque's gonna pitch a gem tonight

I think they said he has a torn muscle in his left calf? I don't remember exactly, it came by really quickly. Either way he's out for the season. Booooo.

El Duque is pitching well tonight :D Eases the pain a bit.

No, you have a good rotation.

You have 4 good pitchers and 1 average, instead of 2 great pitchers, and 3 average pitchers. Thats why your overall numbers would be good, but not individual numbers.

A great pitching rotation? Last year's WhiteSox or even Astros. All had 3 starters that were GREAT. Or Schilling and Johnson. Santana And if healhty Liriano. The Big 3 in Oakland a couple years ago.
Those were great rotations, you have a good rotation. Your rotation can keep the score low, while a great rotation can possibly shut you out 3 days in a row.

I'm not taking anything away from the Padres, I just don't think they have a great rotation, but rather a good one. The only possible great one I see is the Astros, but their bullpen is very shaky.

Ok, it's official, Pedro is done for the year....

Pedro out for the postseason

ATLANTA (AP) - Pedro Martinez's injury plagued season came to an end - less than a week short of the playoffs.

The New York Mets learned Thursday that their ace pitcher is done for the year with a torn tendon in his left calf muscle.

Instead of pitching Game 1 in next week's NL division series, Martinez will be in the early stages of a four- to six-week recovery period. While surgery won't be necessary, there's no chance of the three-time Cy Young Award winner pitching again in 2006, even if the Mets make it all the way to the World Series.

"The bottom line is he's not going to be available," general manager Omar Minaya said Thursday night during the Mets' 7-4 victory over Atlanta that snapped a four-game losing streak.

Martinez returned to New York after getting knocked around badly in his final start of the regular season Wednesday night, a 13-1 loss to the Braves. An MRI showed a tear in the left calf - different from the right calf injury that recently put him on the disabled list for a month and was thought to be his major concern.

"He did mention (Wednesday) that he felt some pain in the other leg," Minaya said.

The Mets managed to win their first NL East title since 1988 with Martinez (9-8) battling injuries most of the season. He was bothered in spring training by a sore toe, went on the DL at midseason with an ailing hip and fell short of 10 wins for only the second time in his 14-year career.

"We've had a little bit of a cloud of uncertainty wondering: Is he healthy? What's the rotation? Who's pitching?" left-hander Tom Glavine said. "A lot of that stuff goes away now. We can start focusing on who the guys are who are here, who are going to be able to pitch, who are going to try to help us win. That is going to be helpful for us mentally."

Orlando Hernandez will start Game 1 in the best-of-five division series, the slot that was supposed to go to Martinez. Glavine will go in Game 2.

The Mets wrapped up the division title with nearly two weeks left in the regular season and looked to be a strong favorite to reach the World Series from a league that will have no other playoff team with 90 wins.

But, with Martinez out, New York would appear to have one glaring weakness: starting pitching. Beyond Hernandez (11-11) and Glavine (14-7), the other potential playoff starters are Steve Trachsel, whose 15 wins are mitigated by an ERA of nearly 5.00, and six-game winner John Maine, a rookie.

Martinez lost his last four starts - the first when his right calf began hurting, the last three after coming off the DL. He looked downright awful against the Braves on Wednesday night, giving up eight hits, seven runs and two homers in 2 2-3 innings.

"It's taken a lot away from me: my confidence and the location of my pitches," Martinez said before leaving Atlanta. "When you don't have the legs to push off and create velocity and locate your pitches, you're in trouble. And I can't locate right now."

Martinez conceded that it would be tougher for the Mets to advance in the playoffs without him, though they've made it this far without a big contribution from their top starter.

"When I'm out or hurting, obviously we're not going to do as good," Martinez said. "Anytime you lose a No. 1 pitcher, one of your five starters, it's going to hurt you a little bit. But these guys are professionals. They know how to do things. They've done really, really well without me. I hope they can do that again and pick me up during the time I'm limited or away."

Martinez posted a 16.97 ERA over his last four starts, giving up 22 hits and 20 earned runs in 11 2-3 innings.

"Obviously, the other guys are in better shape than I am right now," he said. "Everybody can see that. I think it would be a bad decision for Willie to put me out there the way I look now."

When Martinez first strained his calf muscle, he didn't think it was that big a deal. Now he knows better.

"It affects my shoulder, it affects my legs, it affects my back. It affects everything, really," he said. "Those legs are everything. Without them, it's impossible to get the result you want."

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6011954

No way Mets win now, either Astros (if they get in), Padres, or Dodgers will win NL. If Astros get in nobody will beat them.

Uhhh no. Doubt it.

No way. Pedro had a bad season, but the Mets still ran way the division.

Exactly. Pedro barely played.

postseason is all about the pitching. if the astros get in i really wouldn't be that surprised if they knock out the mets in the first round.

I saw this a couple days ago...pretty big loss for the Mets.

Pedro will not pitch until atleast the All Star break next season.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...t=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The club announced Saturday that Martinez has a tear in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder and will require surgery to repair it. The prognosis is that he could be pitching again in eight months, meaning he is lost to the Mets until after the All-Star break next season.

yeah rotator cuff's are bad.. 8 months...

bet bostons laughing in our fACES NOW..

Now we NEED Zito

Wow, now this is a total surprise. I guess he tried to compensate for his leg injury by putting more pressure on the arm, and that led to the shoulder problems. But wow, I guess Zito's price just went up considerably because the Mets desperately need a starter now.

And with Trachsel going home for family reasons, his head might not be in the game either, in the playoffs.

Pretty much have to rely on Glavine to be light out, but in the playoffs, the pitchers get squeezed because the strike zone is more scrutinized, and that never works for Glavine, who has a poor record in the playoffs.

All I have to say is that the Mets better bring their bats.