Pedro

He actually had a 1.40 ERA over his final 22 starts of the regular season. We never really got into this because it was in Pedro's farewell thread, but I believe he'll be just as hot next season and most definitely will top his overall 2004 numbers (2.61 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 10.5 K/9). This kid has been held in the pen and as a spot starter far too long... He had an 11.4 K/9 in 2002 and went something like 9-1 with a sub-3 ERA as a 2nd half starter for the Twins in 2003. Last season, he finally got a consistent spot in the rotation and he blossomed. There is no possible way to "figure out" that kind of arm action he has when he's mixing his 4-seamers and circle change-ups... ********. No way. Anyone who comes across him for the next four or five years (at least) will wish they hadn't. The scary part is that Santana OVERALL in 2004 was in some ways more or just as dominant as Pedro was in 1999. Not 2000, not yet.

No.

Dirt Dog promises that Schilling will break his silence in saturday's Boston Globe, but what I'd like to know is: When the hell has he ever stopped running his mouth? Pedro is going off on Schilling right now because he is being asked about Schilling's comments to WEEI for a "different set of rules".

Here's a pretty nice "Thanks Pedro" reply from BGrif21125 from SOSH:

Yeah, and the results were all pretty much the same. It isn't like Pedro didn't beat up on the likes of the weaker offensive teams. Who would you have him face? As for their match-up, here are the lines: Pedro: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K Johan: 8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K

DATE GAME IP H ER BB K 06/09/04 NYM 7.0 6 1 0 10 06/15/04 @MON 8.0 3 2 0 7 06/20/04 @MIL 8.0 4 2 2 12 06/25/04 MIL 7.0 4 1 0 10 07/01/04 CHW 8.0 3 2 2 12 07/06/04 KCR 9.0 3 0 2 13 07/11/04 DET 8.0 2 2 2 11 07/17/04 @KCR 8.0 1 1 4 9 07/22/04 TAM 7.0 3 1 3 10 07/27/04 CHW 6.0 2 1 2 6 08/01/04 BOS 8.0 2 2 1 12 08/07/04 OAK 6.1 7 3 1 10 08/12/04 @SEA 7.0 7 1 2 7 08/18/04 NYY 7.0 5 2 1 6 08/23/04 @TEX 8.0 4 1 1 11 08/28/04 @ANA 7.0 4 1 1 6 09/03/04 KCR 7.0 1 0 1 11 09/08/04 @BAL 7.0 5 0 0 9 09/14/04 CHW 7.0 2 0 1 7 09/19/04 BAL 8.0 7 0 0 14 09/24/04 @CLE 6.0 2 1 4 6 09/29/04 @NYY 5.0 3 1 1 5 Starts 22 Record 18-2 Innings Pitched 159.1 Earned Runs 25 Hits 80 Walks 31 Strikeouts 204 ERA 1.41 WHIP 0.70 BAA .147 K per 9 11.53 K to BB 6.58 H per 9 4.52 He's only going to turn 26 this spring training and he's already Pedro-like, whether you want to believe it or not. Not even Pedro was able to have 21 or 22 consecutive quality starts.

If you're one of those fans who knew Pedro was awesome but kind of took it for granted while he was in his prime and are now regretting it a bit, I'd turn you over to Minnesota Twins lefty Johan Santana for literally, probably the closest thing you'll ever see to what Pedro used to be. He may not throw 97 mph, but he's currently got the best change-up in baseball with a wicked slider to go with. No doubt everybody knows who he is, but I'd recommend watching a little closer if you own a Directv, he's going to be one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history. No joke.

I'd like to see a starting pitcher in the history of the game... who struck out 189 batters over a span of 15 consecutive regular-season starts as Pedro did from August '99 to May '00. You won't find one, because nobody ever had nastier stuff. Ever.

How about this surreal little run Pedro put on starting in late '99 into the 2000 season: (All are consecutive regular season starts) DATE OPP IP H ER BB K 08/19/99 OAK 7.0 7 3 0 11 08/24/99 @MIN 8.0 4 0 1 15 08/30/99 KCR 6.0 4 1 1 11 09/04/99 @SEA 8.0 2 0 3 15 09/10/99 @NYY 9.0 1 1 0 17 09/15/99 @CLE 7.0 8 2 1 14 09/21/99 TOR 9.0 3 0 2 12 09/27/99 BAL 8.0 6 2 0 12 04/04/00 @SEA 7.0 2 0 2 11 04/09/00 @ANA 7.1 5 1 1 12 04/15/00 OAK 7.0 5 2 1 9 04/25/00 @TEX 7.0 5 2 1 8 04/30/00 @CLE 7.0 5 0 3 10 05/06/00 TAM 9.0 6 1 1 17 05/12/00 @BAL 9.0 2 0 0 15 15 GS, 115.1 IP, 1.17 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 17 BB, 189 K's, 11.12 K/BB, 14.75 K/9

We were robbed... I never had so much fun in my life watching baseball than when I got to see Pedro in his prime. Totally overpowering and in command of each pitch. I would pay huge amounts of money for full recording of some of those old games... I mean I have the 17 strikeout vs. MFY, the '99 ALDS, the Pedro/Rocket duel... I just want some of those "regular" old starts where he struck out 15 against Seattle on a Tuesday night at Fenway.

If Pedro only had 1999-2000 in a Red Sox uniform, he already would've been half way to the Red Sox record for double-digit strikeout games that it took Clemens 13 seasons to accumulate. Just stupid. (Of course, he does hold the record now.)

Before the lovefest is over, I can't let this go unnoticed. They just showed Tim Kirkjian's piece on Pedro going to the Mets on ESPNews and showed a boatload of punchados dating back from 1998-2000... when you haven't watched the old stuff in awhile you kind of forget how cool he used to look when he'd smoke somebody. They'll most likely show it again throughout the night, watch it and you'll remember what I'm talking about. The arm angles he came at hitters with are just filthy... a real sicko to be sure. Any chance of this guy calling the Yankees his daddies?

Official Sox site already has.

Can you imagine if Pedro had been pitching in the NL during his prime? Holy s***. He had a 1.74 ERA in the AMERICAN LEAGUE where the average pitcher that particular year was around 4.92. Oh by the way, Pedro passed his physical today. Yup, the shoulder was so bad and the Sox were so tired of his "antics" that they threw 40.5 million dollars at him.

Sorry to dissapoint, but it is a pretty fair bet that Pedro will dominate the NL for at least the first couple seasons he's in a Mets uniform.