Pedro's shoulder 'hanging by thread'

[deranged2005]

http://www.sunspot.net/sports/baseba...ports-baseball

Martinez's shoulder 'hanging by thread'
Source: Sox exaggerated his pitch speed in Game 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Wire Reports
Originally published October 17, 2003


NEW YORK - Something hasn't seemed right lately with Pedro Martinez, and that's because something isn't right.
A source close to the Boston Red Sox's ace, who lost a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning of last night's American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, confirmed to Newsday that the right-hander's pitching shoulder is hurting him a great deal.

Martinez's shoulder "is hanging by a thread," the source said, and if the Red Sox hadn't been in the pennant race, he probably would have shut himself down a month ago.

When Martinez suffered a 4-3 loss to the Yankees in ALCS Game 3, making news by drilling Karim Garcia in the back and throwing a charging Don Zimmer to the ground, he pitched poorly, allowing four runs and six hits in seven innings.

The Fenway Park radar gun recorded Martinez's fastball as high as 91 mph. But a source with knowledge of the situation said the Red Sox jacked up that gun by 2 to 3 mph to keep the Yankees thinking that he was throwing harder than he actually was.

Martinez ran out of gas after 123 high-pressure pitches last night, allowing four consecutive hits as the Yankees scored three runs that inning to tie Game 7 of the ALCS and eventually won it, 6-5, in 11 innings.

The 31-year-old has a long history of shoulder problems, and he has gone on the disabled list in four of his six seasons with the Red Sox.

This season, he was inactive from May 25 to June 11 with a strain in the back of the shoulder. While compiling a 14-4 record and league-leading 2.22 ERA, he pitched just 186 2/3 innings over his 29 starts, an average of less than 6 2/3 innings a start.

He went 4-0 in his last five regular-season starts, providing hope that he would be prepared to lead his club to a World Series.

But he threw 130 pitches in AL Division Series Game 1 against Oakland and hasn't seemed the same since, even though he won the series-deciding Game 5 over the Athletics.

Martinez has one year left on his contract with the Red Sox, and he has been vocal about his desire to get an extension beyond 2004.

But his constant arm problems are exactly why Boston management has been reluctant to commit to that.



Interesting...Do other teams do that to play mind games with other teams? Like if Randy Johnson doesn't have his stuff and is throwing 94 consistently, think the DBacks might bump it up to 97-98 to get into the team's head.

[ACPS]

The Fox radar gun is not reliable.

[derekjeter916]

Originally posted by ACPS
The Fox radar gun is not reliable.

It was the Fenway Park radar gun.

[derekjeter916]

This is interesting. I had been wondering how Pedro got through a whole year without his arm hurting. I guess he didn't. What exactly is wrong with it this time?

[ACPS]

Originally posted by derekjeter916

It was the Fenway Park radar gun.

Oops. Yeah.

Anyway, he'll have time to rest it now.

[derekjeter916]

Originally posted by ACPS
Anyway, he'll have time to rest it now.

A very long, long time to rest it...

[Yanks21]

Originally posted by deranged2005
http://www.sunspot.net/sports/baseba...ports-baseball

Martinez's shoulder 'hanging by thread'
Source: Sox exaggerated his pitch speed in Game 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Wire Reports
Originally published October 17, 2003



The Fenway Park radar gun recorded Martinez's fastball as high as 91 mph. But a source with knowledge of the situation said the Red Sox jacked up that gun by 2 to 3 mph to keep the Yankees thinking that he was throwing harder than he actually was.

Andy Pettitte was quoted somewhere as saying that he could tell that Pedro wasn't throwing any harder than 88. So I don't think these "mind games" worked...

Pedro was still effective by mixing his pitches...

[djhitman01]

I don't buy this story one bit. Pedro Martinez was throwing 94-95 mph in the 8th inning at game 7 in new york. His hardest pitch of the night was his last pitch of the night, to posada, 95 mph, a pitch that posada jammed off for a hit. So I think this story might be a little overblown.

[NYYFAN]

Ok, who had October as the month Pedro's arm would fall off?

[Rich]

Karma.

[KC]

Originally posted by djhitman01
I don't buy this story one bit. Pedro Martinez was throwing 94-95 mph in the 8th inning at game 7 in new york. His hardest pitch of the night was his last pitch of the night, to posada, 95 mph, a pitch that posada jammed off for a hit. So I think this story might be a little overblown.

I think so, too.

[Rich]

Three points:

1) I don't think Pedro has a devastating injury, but I think he is injured or hurting in a significant way. His velocity was consistently down for over a month.

2) I think adrenaline enabled him to reach back and give everything he has left, at this time, in Game 7.

3) Unlike a couple of seasons ago, he can no longer reach the mid-90s on a consistent basis.

[Jersey Yankee]

Peedro usually shuts himself down 4 weeks ago from now. He's extended himself 4 weeks longer than expected. He doesn't have the capabilities to keep going that long, so that's why he wasn't able to keep it up.

He needs to work w/some personal trainer, since despite his size, he needs to be more of a marathon man.

Thx to Grady, it's not his shoulder that's messed up.

[Alex]

Pedro's arm is always "hanging by a thread" if he starts losing. :rolleyes:

[Yankchic22]

Originally posted by NYYFAN
Ok, who had October as the month Pedro's arm would fall off?

[WindRavenX]

Karma sure is a biatch...........

[25Giambi25]

Sounds like a whole bunch of excuses to me! :rolleyes: