Duquette, of course, was under no obligation to refer to the prepared script, as any number of speechwriters in town this week who have been ignored by the candidates of their choice could attest. That he did bespoke an institutional myopia that caused Duquette no amount of pain thereafter, and led, in part, to an exile almost as complete as that of the Bay State's other Duke, Michael Dukakis.
(That should not be taken as a slam, incidentally, at the earnest lads who play for the Berkshire Dukes of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a team owned and named after the former Sox GM).
Martinez will be 33 Oct. 25, which will make him only one year younger than Clemens when the Rocket left for Toronto as a free agent devalued by the Sox (and in truth, by many media members and Sox followers).
There has been slippage, to be sure, on the Martinez market -- the panic sellers tend to surface after a game like Martinez's last start, when he was cuffed for a season-high eight runs by the Orioles last week in Fenway Park. But then comes an outing like last night here in Camden Yards, where Martinez coasted to his 11th win against four defeats, a 12-5 dismantling of Baltimore in which he had a three-hit shutout until his attention lagged with a 10-run lead in the sixth and he gave up a two-run home run to Miguel Tejada, king of the All-Star Home Run Derby, and some garbage-time runs in the seventh.
Martinez gave the club a bit of a scare in the seventh when he squatted at the mound in apparent discomfort, prompting a visit from manager Terry Francona and trainer Chris Correnti. Just "a little pinch" in his right hip, said Martinez, though he plans to test it this afternoon to make certain it's only a trifling concern.
