Proud of Petey

I was really proud to watch Pedro Martinez pitch in Yankee Stadium last night. I wasn't at the game, but at the next best place to watch a game from that place: Professor Thom's. And the bar was 80% Phillies Fans/Red Sox Fans/Yankee Haters. It was a joy to be rooting for one of my all-time favorite Red Sox players once again, and on the big stage of the World Series. (And it was the first time we did the strikeout clap during a non-Red Sox game too.)

Pedro went 6+ innings, allowed three runs, walked two and struck out eight. (Including Jesus Christ, er, Derek Jeter, twice. And why the hell was he bunting into a strike out in his last at-bat?) He allowed just a cheap-ass Yankee Stadium homer to Hideki Matsui, and a real one to Mark Teixiera. He put the first two on in the seventh and was yanked, and one scored to complete the New York scoring.

Amidst all the infantile cretins with their outdated chants, Pedro brought back some fond memories for me, including the greatest game I have ever seen pitched: September 10, 1999, when he dominated New York, striking out 17 and allowed just a Chili Davis home run in winning, 3-1. Tonight's performance was anywhere near as dominating, but Pedro was on his game tonight. A.J. Burnett was just a bit better in getting the win.

I envisioned a scenario of Pedro getting the win tonight, the Phillies getting him another ring and seeing him retire off into the sunset, and entering the Hall of Fame in 2015. Well, he didn't win tonight, but the rest is still very much a possibility.

No matter what happens the rest of this series, I am still proud of Pedro Martinez and the job he did on Thursday night.

Thanks Pedro. Red Sox Nation salutes you.