If nothing else, Pedro Martinez would bring his ability to fight old men to Toronto
14-6 — A major league-best 14-6, for that matter! Too early to crown Toronto the World Series Champs? Yeah, definitely. Case in point: Six days ago, the Florida Marlins were well on their way to late-October baseball with an 11-1 mark, now they’re 11-7. Still, it’s hard not to get excited about what the Jays are doing this April.
So what’s next? Do the Jays’ brass sit on their hands and hope Brian Burres and co. keep it up, or do they go out and look for a starting pitcher? Here’s what I do if I’m J.P. Ricciardi — I go get Pedro Martinez. After a strong showing at the World Baseball Classic, Martinez is apparently holding out for $5 million, and with no takers yet, the Jays have a chance to move in. Really, what’s there to lose? It would be $5 million they didn’t spend on any major league free agent this off-season. Besides, for these big-name companies, $5 million is nothing more than a write-off. And no, I don’t know what a write-off is, but they do, and they’re the ones writing it off.
If the Jays aren’t interested in Pedro, other veteran options not named Tomokazu Ohka, Victor Zambrano or Matt Clement remain, one of which is Kelsey Grammer-lookalike Paul Byrd. Byrd pitched decently last season with Cleveland and Boston and is a bit of an upgrade over a certain Baltimore outcast that got the ball for Toronto two nights ago.
It’s early, and I’m probably a bit too excited about the Jays’ fast start, but with all the injuries in the rotation and with Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum not returning anytime soon (if at all), I don’t think it would a bad idea to bring in a veteran arm. After all, there have been worse investments (apologies to Frank Thomas)…
