Pedro's Back

The Mets are getting a big shot in the arm today as Pedro Martinez (shown here with his good buddy Mr. Ortiz) will make his first start of the 2007 season, and first in over a year, as the Mets take on the Reds in Cincinnati. (It is also where he made his Mets debut in 2005.)

The Mets are just coming off a sweep in Atlanta over the Braves, a nice bounceback from the four-game disaster in Philadelphia. Just Pedro's mere presence back on the pitching staff should be enough push for the rest of the club to keep it going and get to the playoffs.

Originally it looked like Pedro was going to make a rehab start with the Brooklyn Cyclones today, but the Mets decided that Pedro was ready to go with the big club. (That's a shame, as I would love to have seen him pitch at KeySpan Park.) I heard over the weekend that the Mets have Pedro on a pitch count of about 75 pitches today, but if all goes well, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go a little bit longer.

Good luck Pedro. Nice to see you back. You were definitely missed.