Biggest save of the year

By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Staff, 10/1/2003

The Pedro blueprint was drawn up last January, without specifics or reams of crunched numbers. It came down to simple, old-fashioned common sense.

"It wasn't a bunch of charts," explained Red Sox manager Grady Little. "It was more of a feeling thing. We decided to watch each inning, to see how much intensity he'd have to come up with, and go from there.

"We all agreed we didn't want to give up an opportunity for him to be this pitcher -- the one he is right now -- by trying to win one game in May or June."

The blueprint for Pedro Martinez, who will pitch Game 1 for Boston tonight in its best-of-five playoff series against the Oakland A's, was sound in theory. But it wasn't always easy to implement, particularly when the ace wanted to go deeper into the game, and his manager, mindful of the master plan, asked for the ball anyway. The ground rules were established on Opening Day, when Martinez had given up just one run through seven innings in Tampa Bay but still was given the hook.

"What makes it tough is he's such a fiery competitor," Little said. "If you catch him coming off the mound, right after he's done a tough tour of duty, it's not always pleasant. But he knows we had to do it. And after he's sat there, and taken a deep breath, more often than not he comes over and shakes our hand."

Although the front office, manager, and pitching coaches Tony Cloninger and Dave Wallace may have been miserly with Pedro's innings earlier in the season, they are now prepared to demand more from their ace because, according to the plan, he has built up the stamina and arm strength to withstand it.

His numbers in September support this theory of durability: a 4-0 record with an ERA of 0.82, and an average outing of 6 2/3 innings.

Asked late last week if he would pitch Pedro on three days' rest for a Game 4 of this series, Little answered, "We'll consider it, yes. But his health remains my No. 1 concern."

If the Red Sox are to advance deep into the postseason, they must have automatic wins from their diminutive Dominican leader. Pedro Martinez is the best pitcher in baseball, no matter how the Cy Young Award voting goes. He finished second in the American League in strikeouts (206). He posted the lowest ERA (2.22). The only thing that will keep him from claiming the award is his 14-4 record. The voters prefer 20-game winners, such as Toronto's Roy Halladay. But whom would you want pitching the biggest game of the year?

Part of Pedro's evolution, said Little, is his ability to wear down batters without relying on his fastball, then uncorking the heat in late innings.

"Like the game in Cleveland [Sept. 21]," Little said. "He pitched six innings of about the lowest intensity I've ever seen him pitch. They were six really easy ones. But all of a sudden in the seventh inning, he's got to get out of a bases-loaded jam, and he has this incredible intensity. He had to use some of his best pitches all year to get out of it. After that, you can't ask any more of him. We know that, and he knows that."

The blueprint of restraint is necessary because of seasons like 2001, when Martinez spent nearly two months on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Perhaps you have forgotten that Pedro missed four weeks this year, from May 16 to June 11, with a strained right latissimus. His tenuous condition -- Pedro admitted early in 2002 that any pitch could be his last, because his shoulder was so fragile -- was the reason so many were stunned when the Red Sox exercised their club option on Martinez (which guaranteed the pitcher more than $17 million in 2004) before the 2003 season was even a month old.

"We did it because what we thought would happen has transpired," said team CEO Larry Lucchino. "We would pace him early. Grady and the pitching coaches would monitor him, and he'd be well enough so [picking up the option] would be a no-brainer by the end of the season. All we did by signing him was accelerate the inevitable.

"Yes, there was some percentage of the possibility of a career-ending injury, but I learned a long time ago not to bet against superstars."

Martinez, maintaining his code of silence, would not comment directly on his season, but was willing to say he's felt the best he has in years. He has gained 10 pounds since his bout of pharyngitis, a severe inflammation of the throat that also caused him severe abdominal distress in late August. Martinez was so ill he had to be fed intravenously until his symptoms subsided.

"That thing really wiped him out," confirmed Wallace. "He's not a real big guy. We've seen what a big heart he has, but he was really sick. You don't realize how important your legs are to the strength of your body when you're a pitcher."

Shortly after Martinez was knocked out of the lineup, Sox slugger Manny Ramirez fell ill and was given a similar diagnosis. Yet the severity of his illness came into question when he was unable to play against New York but was seen fraternizing in the Ritz-Carlton. As talk-show callers teed off on Ramirez, who later declined to pinch hit in a key game in Philadelphia (leading to a benching the following night), a smattering of the Fellowship of the Miserable also wondered whether Pedro was as sick as the Red Sox had indicated.

Martinez, who lost 13 pounds during his illness, was outraged that his commitment was being questioned, and vowed to remain mum the rest of the year.

"He was pretty frustrated," said fellow pitcher Todd Jones. "I don't think he liked to be put in the Manny category."

Martinez couldn't resume his regular strength-and- conditioning program for almost two weeks. It has been only in the past 15 days that the pitcher has returned to full strength.

"The life in his fastball has increased," observed pitcher John Burkett. "His breaking pitch has been a lot sharper. He's been really good all year, but now he's been unbelievable at exactly the right time."

The fact that it won't translate into his fourth Cy Young is irritating to him, say his teammates, but no longer an overriding factor. Martinez felt he was robbed last season, when he was 20-4 with a 2.26 ERA, but lost out to Barry Zito, Oakland's Game 2 starter in this series. It galls Martinez, say his friends, because he believes he is the best. Always has, always will.

"We both came up about the same time," said Jones. "I hated him in the National League. He would hit people. He threw at their heads. I'd be sitting there going, `Who is this young guy?' He got a lot of guys ticked off.

"But he had a plan, I think. He thought, `I'm going to do whatever I need to do to establish myself.' He'd drill you in a heartbeat if you even looked at him. When that plan was being set in motion, you're looking at it as, `This kid is crazy. Who the hell does he think he is?' But now, here we are.

"At this point, you wonder how many K's he gets with his arm, and how many he gets from the back of his jersey. He's inside their head."

"He has an intimidation factor working for him," agreed catcher Jason Varitek. "Batters know not to get too comfortable in the box, not because he'll hit you, but because he'll come awfully close."

Sox pitcher Jeff Suppan, who marveled at Martinez from afar, is now in the same clubhouse, and is even more impressed.

"You always knew he had unbelievable stuff, but to see how he actually pitches, how he sets up hitters, how he doesn't use his best fastball all the time is amazing," said Suppan. "He can throw 88 miles per hour in the eighth, then come out and throw 95 miles per hour in the ninth. Not just anyone can do that."

Not just anyone can pitch two playoff games with three days' rest, but Martinez, who is 3-0 lifetime in the postseason, is willing to try. Not just anyone has come in as a closer in Game 7 of a World Series (though Randy Johnson did for Arizona), but Martinez is ready.

"Well, now you're getting way ahead of things," said Little, "but I'd think about that. Why wouldn't I?"

There is no mention of such a scenario in the Pedro blueprint. But, like the pitcher, the master plan is evolving every day.