Pedro will talk extension

PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla. - Pedro Martinez, indicating he feels as good now as he has since 1998 with a reconstructed right shoulder, said he would consider a contract extension from the New York Mets during the season, but only if the team approached him.

"I'm gonna have to prove that I'm healthy and that I'm worth another contract and that's being realistic. At the same time I feel I'm committed to pitching for this team because I wasn't here last year. They probably needed me more than I thought. Not only at the end of the year but during the season. Not only for what I can do for the team but the young kids who come up who really listen to me. When we were sinking last year there's nothing I could do. I'd only been there for a month so it wasn't reasonable for me to call a meeting or say hey let's stop this. I wasn't with the team the whole year," Martinez said.

Martinez, whose 4-year, $53 million deal expires after the season, said "they have my respect whether they offer me anything or not. Or if I have to go somewhere else. They will know if they want to do it and they will know when they want to do it. I'm gonna go fishing after the season and I'm not going to be sitting by the phone."

Martinez, 36, said he would like to continue pitching, but won't pitch until he's 40.