Pedro Martinez meets with Omar Minaya in Dominican Republic
 

http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_n...Mets&league=mlb

Martinez meets with Mets GM in Dominican Republic

Nov 27, 2004

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Free agent Pedro Martinez met with the general manager of the New York Mets in his home country, a month after helping the Boston Red Sox win their first World Series title since 1918, a baseball source told The Associated Press.

The star pitcher had dinner with Omar Minaya in Santo Domingo on Thursday night, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Reached Saturday in the Dominican Republic, Minaya declined comment. Minaya, who like Martinez is Dominican, arrived on Wednesday with his wife to spend the holiday weekend with friends and family.

The meeting is the second time this offseason that the free-agent pitcher has met with an official from a New York team. Earlier this month, Martinez and his agents met with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and several other team officials at the club's spring training complex in Tampa, Fla.

Martinez met with Boston Red Sox officials the next day in Fort Myers, Fla.

Martinez has gone 117-37 for Boston from 1998-2004, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 1999 and 2000. After beating St. Louis in Game 3 of the World Series, he acknowledged it could have been his final appearance for Boston.

Martinez is 182-76 with a 2.76 ERA in 13 seasons with Los Angeles, Montreal and Boston.

Last season, Boston general manager Theo Epstein had Thanksgiving dinner at Curt Schilling's home outside Phoenix while trying to persuade the pitcher to accept a trade to the Red Sox.

I don't want Martinez, Sosa, or anyone else who is in the twilight of their career. I don't want Randy Johnson either.


We always seem to pick up players like these who just want to make their last big splash in the free agent market, get the big bucks, do nothing and retire with us.

We need more Beltran and Benson players to build on, not has beens.

If you replaced Benson with Pavano I'd agree.

But Benson is a never-was, and hardly a step in the right direction.

Benson is the ACE of this staff right now.....that's if you call it a staff.

I wish they would update their baseball news. How many times do we have to hear and read that Minaya had dinner with Martinez in Santo Domingo? I mean who gives a flying shit?? He's not coming to the Mets anyway, and he's a has been.

ESPNews just reported that Mets plan on being agressive in pursuing Pedro which could mean a three year offer which is what the pitcher is looking for. Boston has offered 2 years 25 mil.

has been with 3.90 era and 227 ks in 217 innings. A lot of guys in their prime would kill for those #s. I am not saying it is not a drop of for PMart but those are still good #s in this day and age.

I would rather pay Pedro than a 39 yr old Leiter.

Sorry, I do not want to waste money on Pedro. He has been known to be a whiner who gets injured frequently. Not the way I want to see them spend money.

And I'd rather pay Leiter 5 mill for one year than Pedro 30-something for 3--and that's what it will take to get him. Minimum.

It's probably going to take 12-14 million for 3 years to get Pedro.

We shouldn't make that kind of investment, wait for next year. Tim Hudson will be a free agent.

Puh-leeeze no.

Nice to see the Mets have not learned their lesson about overpaying to get name players who are on the decline (see Alomar, Roberto and Glavine, Tom).

2005 Team Motto: Live and Don't Learn

Leiter vs. Pedro? Pedro in a heartbeat, salary be damned.

Although to tell the truth, I'd rather get Derek Lowe. He'll come cheaper, he's a sinkerball pitcher who would be playing in a pitcher's park, and he doesn't have the emotional makeup of a six-year-old.

Plus, we'd avoid all that "Who's your daddy" bullshit during the Subway Series.

Pavano: doesn't do it for me.
Millwood: no.
Radke: maybe.

But like it or not, the best FA pitcher out there is Pedro, and he doesn't cost anything but money (unlike a trade for Zito, Hudson, et. al.).

Don't be too sure about DLowe's emotional makeup. He's had a couple of "crises of confidence" that wouldn't go over well at Shea.

The problem with Pedro is the number of years he wants. I absoulutely agree that Pedro in year 1 and possibly year 2 is a vast improvement over the rest of the rotation put together. It's years 3 and 4 that present a huge problem...and a huge risk. Theo and the Trio have proven to be very shrewd. Would that our GM and owners were half as shrewd, but I digress. If they don't want to go more than 2 guaranteed, there's a reason why. Still, he'd be worth the price of admission every 5th day. And it would be nice to see a pitcher who actually had the balls to protect his hitters on the mound.

but Leiter won't take 5 mil...would rather pay Pedro 13 mil than Leiter 8

it's not 13 you're paying Pedro, it's 35-40. Al will sign for one year, Pedro won't.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/30/s...all/30mets.html

Mets offered 3 years guaranteed for 38 million.
With an option for a 4th.

Better than the current Red Sox offer, but he'll just use this contract to boost the ones from Boston/Yankees.

If he'd accept that'd be a good deal imo. Pedro coming back to the NL, and pitching in Shea could lower his ERA to at least 3.00 again. And who knows what Peterson could help him out with.

It's funny how this is a win-win situation for us....

+ Side) We sign Pedro and have a legitimate ace for the first time since...well, that's debatable...

- Side) Counter-proposals from Boston and maybe the Yanks pushed it above what he is worth. If it goes to 15 mil for 3 years with an easy to get 4th year...it isnt worth it. Look for alternatives like Clement and focus on the offense.

I was just gonna say- Where are the Yankees in all of this?

I don't think would want to go to a team that has no chance of making the playoffs- not as much fun.

He's just trying to squeeze that last year out of Boston, IMO. ;)

He is going to sign with Boston. WE are being used.

Unfortunately we never learn. Why aren't we trying to sign Beltran, Clement and Pavano?

Even better if we can throw in a Sexson.

I can't see Pedro doing that to Minaya. Say Boston refuses to give a third guaranteed year, maybe he asks for a slight yearly increase and then he comes?

I heard on the radio that the Mets offer was 3 years guaranteed, with a vesting option for a fourth. Boston might not be willing to match that.

I doubt they do. At this rate, I hope we ARE being used and the NYY end up guaranteeing 4 years at 13 - 15 per. Let them overpay for Pedro. If that's the end result, I don't mind the Mets driving George's payroll up.

I think that the Bosox will cut him loose, in the same way they ultimately did with Nomar. Out with the old and whiney.... But I'll take Pedro on the Mets, that's for damn sure. Shea is one of the best pitcher's parks in the Majors, while Boston is one of the best hitting parks. I also believe that, given the choice between the Mets and Yanks, Pedro may very well like to have a few more chances to pitch against the hated Skankees, his "daddy" or no.... Also, having a fellow countryman in Minaya as the GM may be a determinative factor as well.

Dear Omar,
Be my daddy
-Pedro

The mlb article about the Mets offer says there are unconfirmed reports that the Sawx have now guaranteed the third year but that may not mean much of anything.

The prospect of getting Pedro is not as scary to me as the prospect of getting Sosa, but it still makes me uneasy...

Considering the fact that Shea is a pitchers park and in the NL he won't be facing the DH, it's probable that his numbers can improve from '04 in the early going.

ya know if we do end up getting pedro, minaya could be using that as a sign to the other f.a. out their that we are serious about winning and that could send a ripple so that we can sign sexson, aswell as either beltran or ordonez. We may even get lucky and minaya trades stanton and we sign a couple of good rp's.

first of all Stanton has a no-trade clause :hammer: and second no team is desparate enough to take him OR his left-handed pal, Cap'n Johnny.

Real good point. It's all posturing at this point...but they are already sniffing around for Sexson and maybe Beltran?, so maybe this time we're going after a good mix of players.

hey now i was just saying that if we are lucky that doesn't mean that it will happen. But i would really like them to get a couple other rp's.

Bring on Pedro.

Found this on today's NY Post

http://www.nypost.com/delonas/delonas.htm

After today click December 1, 2004 to see cartoon. :)

The espn site says "rumor" has it that the Mets have offered a fourth year for Pedro Martinez. Booooooo.

I can't post the story since I'm not a paid subscriber for that feature so all I see is the headline.

I am a paid subscriber. Here's what they say:

Yes, Gammons just reported on the Dan Patrick show that the Mets offered Pedro 4-guaranteed years and that Pedro will most likely be at Shea next season. Still just a rumor, but it's worth mentioning.

Now my opinion: 4 guaranteed years!? Crazy.

I feel better about giving Pedro a contract like that than I did about Glavine.

At least Shea seems like a good fit for Pedro. And look how that bastard Clemens thrived when he went to the NL.

MLBRadio is reporting that Boston has backed out of the negotiation.

Holy crap, I thought Pedro and the Mets flirtation were done.

4 years seems a little much, but we can only get big names by overpaying anyway.

Go Pedro