3B David Wright, who sat out last night’s 5-1 loss with back spasms, had a pair of doubles, two singles and two runs scored in this afternoon’s Mets win over the Marlins, a game that solidified Tom Glavine’s candidacy to start for the Senior Circuit in the All-Star Game.
It was also a contest that solidified Lou Piniella’s status as one of the most ill-prepared, uninteresting “color” men to have worked a game for Fox or any other broadcaster. Among Lou’s astonishing observations :
a) Tom Glavine doesn’t look 40 years old. (buy that man a pair of binoculars)
b) It’s tough for Joe Girardi to win with young pitching (though getting older is no guarantee of success, as Dontrelle could surely attest).
c) Is it true that no Mets pitcher has ever thrown a no-hitter? (yes).
ESPN Deportes’ Enrique Rojas reports the Mets’ inability to help Pedro Martinez win his 6th game of 2006 is pushing their ace towards an earlier retirement. Well, that and his aching foot.
“I’ve sacrificed my life, my good years, to baseball. I want to go home while I still have the energy to spend time with my family,” Martinez told ESPNdeportes.com. Work is good and it dignifies men, but I want to enjoy the fruits of my efforts. I plan to enjoy a nice retirement and a healthy life after baseball.
“I don’t want to leave the game on crutches or in a wheelchair without having dedicated myself to my children and my family,” he added.
“I’ve done a lot in a short period of time, and now my body must pay the price. A lot of people get startled by the fact that I’m 34, but the thing is that in seven years I worked more than 95 percent of the pitchers in MLB,” Martinez said.
“In order to achieve 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts, you not only need to pitch in 200 games and 1,000 innings, but you must also count your losses, indecisions, and all the work at the bullpen,” said Martinez, who has pitched 2,580 innings in his career.
“I’ll most likely retire after this contract, but it’ll depend on how I’m feeling at the time, and if I’m feeling then like I am now, my Dominican fans and my family wouldn’t forgive me if I don’t retire.”
Between the restraining orders and the narrow minds of the local constabulary, I don’t get to watch nearly as much college softball in person as I’d like. But even with the mere glow of the idiot box as my consolation this weekend, I doubt I will see a pitching performance…nay, two pitching performances as dominant as those supplied by Texas’ Cat Osterman. Last night, Osterman blew away 16 University Of Washington hitters in the Longhorns’ 1-0 Super Regional win. This afternoon, she’s allowed a mere two hits and one run while striking out 8 in her first 4 innings, as Texas holds a commanding 5-1 advantage over the Huskies.
I know what you’re saying — she’s only a few miles per hour faster than Chad Bradford. Regardless, she’s a talismanic figure in her sport, one whose propensity for putting her team on her back on the biggest of stages compares pretty favorably to any collegiate athlete you’d care to cite, even those with allegedly crappy Wonderlic scores.