And to think if we'd just shown him a little more "respect," Pedro Martinez would be back pitching with the Red Sox for the next three years.
Maybe if we'd put his statue on top of the golden dome of the State House. Maybe if Peterborough, N.H., had changed its name to Pedroborough. Maybe if we'd built a Pedro Library on Columbia Point, something equal to the JFK Library. Maybe that would have been enough respect to keep him here.
Actually, no. Upon further review, it now can be said that Pedro knows only one measure of respect. And that is money. All the love and sellouts and Dominican flags and "Keep the Faith" billboards, and championship rings . . . they don't offer any kind of peace or happiness for Pedro. And they certainly don't guarantee respect. No. In the mind of Pedro, respect is measured in one thing -- "how much are you paying me compared with how much you are paying Curt Schilling?" Oh, and guaranteed years, of course.
He doesn't need the money. He has more money than anyone ever could spend. The Sox have paid him $92 million over the last seven years and were set to pay him another $40.5 million for the next three years. But in Pedro's mind, the Mets respect him more because they are willing to guarantee a fourth year at those rates.
Four years guaranteed, $54 million. This is what makes him happy. This is what makes him feel wanted. Now he gets to compare his salary next to Schilling's and be happy about it. He gets the same years and more money than Carl Pavano. With Pedro, it's not about winning championships, or lifestyle, or fan appreciation. It's about wallet-measuring. Whose is bigger?
Pedro's decision to join the Mets is rooted in either greed or insecurity. I know some of you think it's easy for me to casually dismiss a fourth-year guarantee of so many millions, but what difference does that last year make? If you already had more money than you ever could spend, why would you leave for more money?
If you were happy in your job, and had enough money to take care of the next seven generations of your family, would you uproot your life because another employer offered a fourth-year guarantee when your present employer offered only three at the same money? Just for ego? Just to say you trumped the guy in the cubicle next to you? Could you be that insecure about your own place in the world?
That is Pedro.
