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| BEN BADLER |
Alright, pop quiz hot shot: In his 12-year career in Major League Baseball, how many times has Ramon Martinez had an ERA above 4.00?
Your time’s up. The answer is zero. Martinez has never had an ERA above 4.00, and has only once reached that number (in 1992).
Martinez goes into spring training with the label of, “number two starter” upon him. Though his Cy Young award-winning brother Pedro gets all of the fame, Ramon is a vital part of the Red Sox rotation. And, if he stays healthy, he just might put up some Cy Young numbers himself.
Ramon Martinez has a .616 lifetime winning percentage -- 1 point less than Tom Glavine, and 24 points higher than Kevin Brown. Yet Ramon Martinez is not viewed as highly as the other two pitchers, even though they have played on winning ball clubs for most of their careers and Martinez has not. Martinez also threw a perfect game once (July 14, 1995, vs. Florida), and struck out 18 batters in another game (June 4, 1990, vs. Atlanta). Still, Martinez hasn’t gotten the respect he much deserves.
Things could change for Martinez this year though. Will he win at least 15 games this year, as he has done four other times in his career? Yes.
Can Martinez win at least 17 games, like he has done three other times in his career? Yes, he certainly can.
Martinez has one of the best changeups in baseball, but he plans to change nothing about his winning ways.
“It's (my health situation) a world of difference from last year," Martinez said. “It's (my pitching ability is) not any different (than before the surgery). This is a year where I worked all winter to be healthy and I'm very positive to have a healthy season."
Martinez then shut down the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALCS before allowing a double to Chuck Knoblauch in the seventh inning with two outs on his 120th pitch. The game was tied at the time, and manager Jimy Williams opted to bring Tom Gordon out of the pen. The rest is history. Gordon came in and walked Derek Jeter. Exit Gordon, enter lefty Rheal Cormier to pitch to lefty Paul O'Neill. The strategy backfired as O'Neill singled in the winning run and Martinez was credited with the loss, despite his exceptional performance.
Martinez heads into 2000 with 6 games in the majors under his belt since he had surgery on his arm after the 1998 season. He says he is ready to go, and to do all he can to help the team win. And boy, will he ever.
If Martinez can stay healthy, and he and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan have said that he will, there is no reason to believe that Martinez isn’t capable of winning 18 games and having an ERA around 3.44, his career ERA. Just last year Martinez pitched for 20 innings with the Red Sox during the regular season, striking out 15, acquiring a 3.05 ERA and a 2-1 record. Martinez didn’t slow down in the playoffs either. With the Red Sox down two games to none heading into Game 3 of the ALDS, Martinez turned in a gem for the Sox. Though he didn’t officially get the win, he pitched a great game, lasting 5 2/3 innings and allowing only two runs against a powerful Cleveland lineup.
| IAN SUGAR |
As the regular season approaches, Minnesota ace Brad Radke is the most sought after pitcher in baseball. At just 28 years-old, Radke is one of only a handful of aces in the American League. Last year with an atrocious Twins ball club, Radke posted very respectable numbers. He ended the season with 12 wins and a 3.75 ERA. In the age of home run balls that will go down in history, the price for a specimen like Radke is incredibly high.
Prospects that would need to be given up by Duquette to acquire Radke would almost certainly include one or more of the following prospects: Dernell Stenson, Jin Ho Cho, Brian Rose, Sun Woo Kim, Donnie Sadler, and backup catcher Scott Hatteberg.
Many think that Halama is just a soft-tossing lefty that hitters caught up to the second time around. Others think, that much like Brian Rose, he became fatigued like many rookie pitchers do. Seattle needs another outfielder and the Red Sox need another starter, preferably a lefty. The Red Sox also have a surplus of outfielders that could step in for O’Leary, including Michael Coleman and Marty Cordova.
Seattle seems obsessive about acquiring another outfielder to make up for the loss of Ken Griffey Jr. A name most prominently mentioned is Angels outfielder Jim Edmonds, who Seattle almost aquired in the Griffey deal.
Donovan Osborne is still unsigned, but should be signed soon, likely to a minor league deal.
Front-runners for this young star are the Mets, Reds, Devil Rays, Indians, and the Red Sox, though the Mets appear to have made the biggest charge at Radke thus far. The price for Radke will be high, and the Twins may want more young talent than any team is willing to give up. The other option for the Twins is to keep him until the trading deadline and then deal Radke. He recently turned down a three year, $21 million contract because he wanted to be able to demand a trade after one year. If he wants to demand a trade after one year, then what is his definition of a contract?
Another rumor spreading feverishly around and much to the dismay of many Red Sox fans is a proposed deal that sends Troy O’Leary to Seattle for Seattle lefty John Halama. Halama had a brilliant first half of the season, compiling a record and ERA comparable in the AL only to Pedro Martinezand David Cone. Halama slowed down the rest of the season, and finished with a 11-10 record with a 4.22 ERA.
To make up for the lack of left-handed pitching, the Red Sox are still pursuing the seemingly elusive Sterling Hitchcock. It appears the Padres want more young talent than any team would give up for this talented lefty.