Say Hello To My Little Friend

"He ain't going to no Mets," former Red Sox teammmate David Ortiz assured The Boston Globe just days ago.

Just when it seemed like it was safe to conclude the winter meetings for the Mets were going nowhere further than the Rule V selection of Henry Owens from Pittsburgh's Altoona affiliate, along comes Pedro.

This is perhaps the biggest splash of the winter meetings. After days of laying the groundwork, as he called it, The Omar has finally spoken. Even at $52 million over four years, irrationally perhaps, I don't care what happens in the end, two years or two months down the road from now with Pedro. When you compare what the Mets got last season for their brightest young arm in Scott Kazmir, (answer to that punch like is a Zambrano full of holes), getting Pedro didn't cost a thing. Let the Wilpons spit money like blood, they've made us suffer long enough with their idiotic investment, year in and year out, of their opinions and their lack of baseball acumen.

And yes, you can play the role of sensible killjoy and wonder Why Pedro Was So Easy, but let's be honest with ourselves, had Omar come away empty-handed, had the starting rotation consisted solely of Tom Glavine and a sad accumulation of unfulfilled talent following closely behind, none of us would be happy with Omar, would we? It isn't difficult at to determine that Pedro in the rotation is a beeeeeeg improvement over Leiter in the rotation, no matter what happens a year down the road.

It didn't cost the Mets Hamstring Jose, as Tim Hudson, the only decent starter remaining, would have. It cost them an unknown draft pick and the risk of losing Wilpon's money. Bully for Omar. And of course, one supposes, by virtue of weakening the Red Sox rotation, unintentional bully for the Yankees.

As noted in the daily rags, the Mets are taking on one of the most talented and controversial pitchers of the last decade. Martinez owns a career record of 182-76 and a 2.71 ERA, and now he's headed to the easier National League. Martinez was 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances at Shea Stadium during his first five major-league seasons with the Dodgers and Expos.

How long Pedro stays healthy is another matter altogether but for one day at least, there is joy in Mudville.

As for poor little lost-in-the-Pedro-limelight Henry Owens, he went 3-4 with a 4.28 ERA with four saves in 39 games this season. He's a sinker/slider pitcher with a decent fastball.