Clock about to start on Petey

[Frayed Knot]

Pedro is scheduled to make his first official rehab start at Pt St Lucie on Wednesday.
Because this is a real league game it's begins the max allowable 30-day rehab period.
So it's T - minus 30 until he'll have to be re-activated.

[TransMonk]

August 29th and 30th @ PHI
August 31st - September 2nd @ ATL

[Frayed Knot]

Of course it can also be shorter.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

We just have to hope that Pedro still has something left in the tank. Who knows how effective he is capable of being. He should definitely be an upgrade over Pelfrey/Sosa so anything he can provide down the stretch should be a plus. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect that Pedro's dominant days are now a distant memory.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I imagine that, if he can pitch without pain (relatively), he can be effective.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Really. We should only hope we still have a shot at the playoffs when PM returns.

[Frayed Knot]

]I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect that Pedro's dominant days are now a distant memory.

Dominant as in Pedro circa 1998-2001? No, we're not going to see that.
But, then again, stretches like that come along a handful of times per century.

But that doesn't mean he still can't be good - although we may see more of that next season than the remainder of this one.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Maybe dominant wasn't the proper phrase for me to use regarding Pedro. I agree the performance level he demonstrated during the decade of the early 1990's through the early 2000's is a thing of the past. I suspect we are likely to see a performance level more similar to what he displayed in 2006, rather than even his markedly better performance in 2005. Again, I definitely hope that I am wrong.

Either way, virtually anything that Pedro can provide down the stretch run should be a marked improvement over the performance level currently provided by the back end of the Mets rotation.

[Gwreck]

Pedro in the bullpen. I see him as either a setup man or perhaps a guy who can go 2-3 innings in a game twice a week.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think they'll go that way, but it could be a reasonable, if unconvenitional, plan for 2007.

[Willets Point]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Really. We should only hope we still have a shot at the playoffs when PM returns.

What's with the negativity about our first place, best in the NL team?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

]What's with the negativity about our first place, best in the NL team?

Well geez. I've been bearish on the quality of our offense since last September you may have noticed (specifically mentioning age/injury/bench around LF, 2B and 1B, and a falloff from LoDuca).

And I don't believe things are getting a whole lot better now that Beltran is out for a few weeks and the rivals below us we've been unable to beat consistently themselves are getting a little better, and the only offensive upgrade we're buying is a fat singles hitter.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Well, my feeling is that if Pedro comes back around September 1, the Mets will still be in the playoff hunt at that time.

They may not be 3 games into first place, but I suspect that they'll be no more than 3 games behind a playoff berth.

That's the worse (not worst, but worse) case scenario. It's also possible that they'll be 7 or 8 games up, but I think the division will tighten a bit during August.

[metsmarathon]

i'd almost like to see a 6-man rotation once petey comes back, giving him, glavine, and duque the rest they all could likely use.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm certainly not suggesting that this is bankable, but the Mets play a lot of second-division clubs from August 14 to the end of the season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's not a bad idea.

The other three would include Maine and Perez, of course. Pelfrey has been pitching better than Sosa lately. I hope to see him return and take away some of Sosa's starts.

[TransMonk]

From Metsblog.com:

RHP Pedro Martinez pitched to mixture of Gulf Coast League Mets and St. Lucie Mets this afternoon in a simulated game.

He threw 67 pitches over five and a third innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out three.

He did hit a batter, but 50 of his 67 pitches were thrown for strikes. He did not issue a walk.

The location of his next start is undetermined. Assuming there are no setbacks, it will be for either St. Lucie or Binghamton next week.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Sixty-seven is more pitches than I expected.

Binghamton is at home vs. Trenton Tuesday-Thursday next week.

[bmfc1]

An article says that he'll pitch Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm hoping Tuesday and then again next Sunday for Binghamton... because they'll be in Bowie on 8/12.

[Guest Edgy DC]

bmfc, I'll meet you up there.

[bmfc1]

Edgy--deal!

[Elster88]

CHICAGO -- Pedro Martinez remains prominent on the Mets horizon, though it now appears that horizon almost must be identified as September. The Mets don't say so. Indeed, they say little about him that is touched with certainty. And, increasingly, the words they use to characterize his progress and status are measured. Most statements are qualified as they were not in June.
It may be only corporate caution that has created the vagueness. And no one has said Martinez has taken a step in the wrong direction during his rehab. But the increasing lack of definition occasionally raises eyebrows, even those in the clubhouse.

"We don't know anything -- at least I don't," one player said Friday. "We just know what we read. And you know Pedro makes his own schedule. But it just seems like with what you hear now, it's harder to tell when he's coming back. I know they're saying we're not counting on him. But it seems like they were a little bit. But not now so much."

General manager Omar Minaya, who watched Martinez pitch in simulated game conditions in Port St. Lucie on Thursday, said Martinez's next activity -- the timing and the type -- is undetermined, though it is likely to be in a Minor League game. "But that can change," Minaya said.

He characterized Martinez's performance with these words: "He didn't feel too comfortable at first. He was a little apprehensive ... I want to say it was a positive outing." He said Martinez could pitch again in "five, six or seven days" and that Martinez's velocity was about 85-86 mph -- about where it was last season.