On Pedro, the Toe, and the WBC

Saturday's New York Mets news roundup offers a double dose of Joel Sherman, a feature on utility infielder Jose Valentin, and a nice piece from the Washington Post on how baseball helped the former American hostages in Iran upon their return.

New York Post: Omar: Pedro will only pitch in WBC if he is 100%
Joel Sherman quotes Mets GM Omar Minaya on Pedro Martinez' participation in the World Baseball Classic:

We sponsor the event, we believe in the event, but we have said all along the guys have to be 100 percent to play. We are not going to risk the season because of the event. If Pedro Martinez is not 100 percent, I don't think we want him risking pitching. But we have to have that conversation with Pedro in spring to find out where he is at.

Martinez, one of the most popular players in his country, is under a lot of pressure in the Dominican Republic to pitch in the classic. Most Mets fans, myself included, will be holding our breath any time he takes the rubber in that event.

MSG Network: NL East: Mets better, everyone else worse
Joel Sherman sounds off on the NL east, where the Mets have improved while all four other teams have not. Nothing really groundbreaking here, but he makes some interesting points. I found his comment on Tom Gordon somewhat questionable:

The Phillies replaced Wagner with Tom Gordon, who is very good, but also very fragile and very susceptible to home runs as he goes to a homer haven in Philadelphia.

Actually, as a relief pitcher, Gordon has been relatively stingy in giving up the longball. Two years ago in the Bronx he gave up 5 dingers in 89.2 innings, then last year 8 in 80.2. Even last year wasn't horrible, but Gordon does seem to have a knack for giving them up in big situations. I don't think Gordon is going to be terrible in Philadelphia, but if he gets off to a bad start the fans will probably get on him.

Sherman also offers this interesting tidbit regarding the Seo trade:

The Mets made the Jae Seo trade to the Dodgers because they were hungry to add Duaner Sanchez's power arm to their late-game bullpen mix. But don't diminish how much they wanted Steve Schmoll in the deal, as well. The Mets think Schmoll is intriguing. He throws right-handed and submarine style like Chad Bradford. But unlike Bradford, who deceives hitters by throwing slower than normal, Schmoll works at 90-92 mph.

It would certainly be unusual for a bullpen to feature two sidearm pitchers, much less three if LHP Mike Venafro somehow sticks. Willie would have all the funk he could hope for, while Mets fans would be ecstatic if they could actually get hitters out.

Mets.com: Jorge Julio signed to one-year deal
Marty Noble reports that the Mets and newly acquired reliever Jorge Julio avoided arbitration by negotiating a one-year, $2,525,000 contract. The number was $25,000 less than splitting the difference between the two sides' proposals. Once again the Mets have managed to avoid arbitration with all of their eligible players.

As a side note, for those that were complaining that Victor Zambrano got a salary bump up to $3 million, how does that look now after a reliever with a 5.90 ERA last season makes only $475k less?

NY Sports Day: Jose Valentin Interview
Joe McDonald profiles new Mets utility infielder Jose Valentin, who offers his thoughts on signing with the Mets:

The reason I signed here is that this team gives me the best chance to play in the World Series and that's what every player plays for. And I get to play with a lot of Latino players like Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. I also get to play a lot closer to my home [in Puerto Rico].

Valentin signed with the Dodgers last season after 5 seasons with the White Sox, just in time to watch his former team win the World Series. He had an awful year with the Dodgers, as injuries limited him to a .170 AVG in 147 ABs. Omar likes to point out that he had 30 HRs the years before. He doesn't mention that Valentin batted only .216 that season, while striking out 139 times in 450 ABs. In fairness, a one-year, $900K contract wasn't a huge gamble on Omar's part.

Washington Post: Lifetime Pass
Les Carpenter reports on a little-known benefit given to the 52 American hostages who were held captive for over a year in Iran back in 1980:

They returned to an adoring nation that gave them a ticker-tape parade and welcomed them as heroes. They were besieged with flags, yellow ribbons and countless gifts, among them the tiny box from Major League Baseball. Inside was a lifetime pass to any major or minor league game.

Among the former hostages receiving this was Barry Rosen, a New Yorker who had been the embassy's press attaché. When he returned home after the ordeal, it was to 2 young children who didn't know him:

My children were very fearful of me. It wasn't that I was an ogre, they didn't know who the hell I was. They were with their mother all the time and then this strange man walked in the house. I couldn't take them out of the house. They wouldn't go anywhere with me.

Rosen, who had grown up a Dodger fan in Brooklyn, loved NL baseball and decided to take his kids to see a Mets game:

Their first game, at Shea Stadium in New York, was so wonderful, he couldn't have drawn it better himself. The sky was clear, the sun sparkled on the grass. They arrived early to watch batting practice and then didn't want to leave.

...For the next several years, the family fractured by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's revolutionary leader, went to baseball games together, often as many as 10 times a season. The ritual was always the same, as soon as the coming year's Mets schedule came out, Alexander and Barry picked the games they wanted to see. Then Barry called the Mets and the tickets would be waiting.

For those of us old enough to remember it, the Iranian Hostage Crisis was as much of a defining moment in U.S. History as the events of September 11, 2001. Nice to hear that baseball played a role in helping some of the returning hostages to normalize their lives.

Mets Walkoffs: Mets Walkoffs is Back
After a brief hiatus due to the death of a laptop, Mark is back with a look at Jorge Julio. The feature is somewhat depressing for Mets fans, but the writing, as usual, is great.