GaryMrMets
12-17-2004, 06:02 PM
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20041216&content_id=923392&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp
12/16/2004 7:29 PM ET
Martinez brings the circus to town
Mets already overturning "other team in NY" label
NEW YORK -- On Thursday, the Mets "introduced" a pitcher who truly needs no introduction. A recurring reaction to the arrival of Pedro Martinez -- jheri curls, bitter-beer mug, international following, little friend Nelson de la Rosa -- is: The circus is in town. Maybe not. But the tent was definitely up Thursday.
Shea Stadium's jammed Diamond Club crackled with electricity. Media attending the first day of the rest of the Mets' life spilled out into the foyer. Banks of cameras and lights ringed the seats facing the makeshift podium. Numerous sports radio field teams were plugged in and doing their live remotes.
You never before heard such gripping play-by-play:
"Jay Horwitz is now going to the elevator door ... "
Then that door parted and Pedro Martinez stepped off, followed by his entourage.
Radio man: "He got a haircut!"
There was barely time to calm down from that revelation before Omar Minaya stepped up to the microphone. This was a familiar move for the Mets general manager; he had stepped up to corral Pedro. Now he greeted all to a new Mets era.
"This isn't only about signing one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball," Minaya told the gathered. "This is about bringing a player into the system who establishes the Mets as a force in the marketplace. This is about that little kid in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic who I know today is saying, 'I want to be a Met.'
"That's the value of Pedro Martinez. It transcends wins and losses."
Not able to wholly share that view was Willie Randolph, the incoming rookie manager who will not be judged by how many Latin American blue-chippers sign with the Mets in 2018.
But Randolph's smile seemed to be frozen on, too.
"I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for how Pedro competes. He's a great pitcher," Randolph said, "the kind who makes managers like me smarter."
And then Pedro stepped between the men, slipped on a black No. 45 Mets jersey, and the cameras went bonkers. So many strobes popped for so long, one expected John Travolta to come out in his white suit, swivel his hips and point to the ceiling.
Thursday Afternoon Fever gripped the Diamond Club. The phalanx of photographers kept shouting directions and requests to the trio -- "This way!" "Over here!" "Give us a thumbs up!" -- and vitriol at each other -- "Hey, I've been waiting here for a half hour!"
Noticeably, and very significantly, many of the requests were shouted in Spanish. The Mets, not even New York's Team in the shadow of the Yankees, had suddenly been transformed into The World's Team.
There, basking in the strobes, was the Mets' new leadership, front office to clubhouse to field. Left to right, Minaya and Martinez from the Dominican Republic, Randolph from Brooklyn.
In four months, Pedro will start winning for the Mets on the mound. But, already, he is winning the team attention, which in New York is an invaluable currency.
Representatives of Hispanic media were walking up to Jay Horwitz and asking, "Are you with the Mets?" Horwitz has been the club's public relations director since Joe Torre was its manager, so you know new tracks are being made to Shea Stadium.
The cameramen got the "Cut" sign. The bulbs stopped flashing, and Martinez stood alone at the lectern, squinting.
"I'm a little blind," he said. "I hope I'll be able to see where I'm throwing the ball.
"This represents a new challenge," Martinez went on. "I'm thankful for Mets management. But I know it'll be tough. I hope to give [club principal owner Fred] Mr. Wilpon what they expect. I can say proudly that I helped Boston win for the first time in 86 years, and we'll do the same thing here, pull one out."
With that, Pedro got things rolling with the New York press. He was asked the reason so many people seem concerned with the health of his shoulder.
"Because," he said, "of all the crap you guys always want to talk about. Next question."
He said it with a smile, and drew laughs, and that's the way it's going to be. Most want Martinez to win because that would be great for the Mets. Some others want him to win because that would keep him topical and what he says important, and few athletes are as worthwhile to listen to.
He is candid, frank, quotable, thoughtful and extremely intelligent. He is also an expert manipulator, but you have to be smart to be able to make that work.
His response to the notion that, for all the rhetoric about turning around the Mets, he simply liked their $53 million, was pure Pedro.
"I've been a millionare since I was 24," said Martinez, now 33. "You didn't pick a bum off the street here.
"I made a commitment to this team. Omar said I could help change the tradition here. I won't do it alone; if that's what you expect, it's not gonna happen. But we had a bunch of idiots win in Boston, and you know why? We stuck together, and that's how we overcame all the negativity around us."
If the Mets are interested in adopting an irreverent label similar to the Sox's "bunch of idiots," here's one suggestion: Punk Pack. In a long, strained relationship with him, Pedro was reminded, New York has occasionally regarded him as a "punk."
Before Minaya could come to his defense on that one, Martinez inadvertently paraphrased one of The Big Apple's pet boasts: If you can make it in Boston, you can make it anywhere.
"Boston is such a small city. You can't run, you can't hide," Martinez said. "So I should be able to make it here."
"It's not true that you're hated by New York," Minaya said. "A lot of people in this city love you. One of the beautiful things about this city is that we have two Major League teams, not one."
As of now, Martinez is accountable for the city's "other" team. That's the challenge he sought, and the burden he has. He stayed in Boston long enough to help the Red Sox overcome the Yankees. If he can help the Mets do the same, there will be no more questions about the investment they have made in him.
"That's the big picture," said Minaya, looking far beyond 2005. "I'm trying to think outside the box. I will not be in that box."
"It would be great if we can pull it out," Martinez said simply.
Eventually, the spots left by the strobes will clear from his eyes. And Pedro will go about the task of trying to put a twinkle in the eyes of Mets fans. If he pitches the ball well, he can also keep pitching tents.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/12/16/Umallf5S.jpg
Pedro Martinez is swarmed by TV and radio reporters after his press conference at Shea Stadium on Thursday. (Marc S. Levine/NY Mets)
12/16/2004 7:29 PM ET
Martinez brings the circus to town
Mets already overturning "other team in NY" label
NEW YORK -- On Thursday, the Mets "introduced" a pitcher who truly needs no introduction. A recurring reaction to the arrival of Pedro Martinez -- jheri curls, bitter-beer mug, international following, little friend Nelson de la Rosa -- is: The circus is in town. Maybe not. But the tent was definitely up Thursday.
Shea Stadium's jammed Diamond Club crackled with electricity. Media attending the first day of the rest of the Mets' life spilled out into the foyer. Banks of cameras and lights ringed the seats facing the makeshift podium. Numerous sports radio field teams were plugged in and doing their live remotes.
You never before heard such gripping play-by-play:
"Jay Horwitz is now going to the elevator door ... "
Then that door parted and Pedro Martinez stepped off, followed by his entourage.
Radio man: "He got a haircut!"
There was barely time to calm down from that revelation before Omar Minaya stepped up to the microphone. This was a familiar move for the Mets general manager; he had stepped up to corral Pedro. Now he greeted all to a new Mets era.
"This isn't only about signing one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball," Minaya told the gathered. "This is about bringing a player into the system who establishes the Mets as a force in the marketplace. This is about that little kid in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic who I know today is saying, 'I want to be a Met.'
"That's the value of Pedro Martinez. It transcends wins and losses."
Not able to wholly share that view was Willie Randolph, the incoming rookie manager who will not be judged by how many Latin American blue-chippers sign with the Mets in 2018.
But Randolph's smile seemed to be frozen on, too.
"I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for how Pedro competes. He's a great pitcher," Randolph said, "the kind who makes managers like me smarter."
And then Pedro stepped between the men, slipped on a black No. 45 Mets jersey, and the cameras went bonkers. So many strobes popped for so long, one expected John Travolta to come out in his white suit, swivel his hips and point to the ceiling.
Thursday Afternoon Fever gripped the Diamond Club. The phalanx of photographers kept shouting directions and requests to the trio -- "This way!" "Over here!" "Give us a thumbs up!" -- and vitriol at each other -- "Hey, I've been waiting here for a half hour!"
Noticeably, and very significantly, many of the requests were shouted in Spanish. The Mets, not even New York's Team in the shadow of the Yankees, had suddenly been transformed into The World's Team.
There, basking in the strobes, was the Mets' new leadership, front office to clubhouse to field. Left to right, Minaya and Martinez from the Dominican Republic, Randolph from Brooklyn.
In four months, Pedro will start winning for the Mets on the mound. But, already, he is winning the team attention, which in New York is an invaluable currency.
Representatives of Hispanic media were walking up to Jay Horwitz and asking, "Are you with the Mets?" Horwitz has been the club's public relations director since Joe Torre was its manager, so you know new tracks are being made to Shea Stadium.
The cameramen got the "Cut" sign. The bulbs stopped flashing, and Martinez stood alone at the lectern, squinting.
"I'm a little blind," he said. "I hope I'll be able to see where I'm throwing the ball.
"This represents a new challenge," Martinez went on. "I'm thankful for Mets management. But I know it'll be tough. I hope to give [club principal owner Fred] Mr. Wilpon what they expect. I can say proudly that I helped Boston win for the first time in 86 years, and we'll do the same thing here, pull one out."
With that, Pedro got things rolling with the New York press. He was asked the reason so many people seem concerned with the health of his shoulder.
"Because," he said, "of all the crap you guys always want to talk about. Next question."
He said it with a smile, and drew laughs, and that's the way it's going to be. Most want Martinez to win because that would be great for the Mets. Some others want him to win because that would keep him topical and what he says important, and few athletes are as worthwhile to listen to.
He is candid, frank, quotable, thoughtful and extremely intelligent. He is also an expert manipulator, but you have to be smart to be able to make that work.
His response to the notion that, for all the rhetoric about turning around the Mets, he simply liked their $53 million, was pure Pedro.
"I've been a millionare since I was 24," said Martinez, now 33. "You didn't pick a bum off the street here.
"I made a commitment to this team. Omar said I could help change the tradition here. I won't do it alone; if that's what you expect, it's not gonna happen. But we had a bunch of idiots win in Boston, and you know why? We stuck together, and that's how we overcame all the negativity around us."
If the Mets are interested in adopting an irreverent label similar to the Sox's "bunch of idiots," here's one suggestion: Punk Pack. In a long, strained relationship with him, Pedro was reminded, New York has occasionally regarded him as a "punk."
Before Minaya could come to his defense on that one, Martinez inadvertently paraphrased one of The Big Apple's pet boasts: If you can make it in Boston, you can make it anywhere.
"Boston is such a small city. You can't run, you can't hide," Martinez said. "So I should be able to make it here."
"It's not true that you're hated by New York," Minaya said. "A lot of people in this city love you. One of the beautiful things about this city is that we have two Major League teams, not one."
As of now, Martinez is accountable for the city's "other" team. That's the challenge he sought, and the burden he has. He stayed in Boston long enough to help the Red Sox overcome the Yankees. If he can help the Mets do the same, there will be no more questions about the investment they have made in him.
"That's the big picture," said Minaya, looking far beyond 2005. "I'm trying to think outside the box. I will not be in that box."
"It would be great if we can pull it out," Martinez said simply.
Eventually, the spots left by the strobes will clear from his eyes. And Pedro will go about the task of trying to put a twinkle in the eyes of Mets fans. If he pitches the ball well, he can also keep pitching tents.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2004/12/16/Umallf5S.jpg
Pedro Martinez is swarmed by TV and radio reporters after his press conference at Shea Stadium on Thursday. (Marc S. Levine/NY Mets)