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03/25/2004 7:32 PM ET
Pedro scoffs at velocity concerns
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By Ian Browne / MLB.com |
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| Red Sox pitching coach Dave Wallace (right) talks to Pedro Martinez after his outing against the Twins on Thursday. (Charles Krupa/AP)
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It was hard to tell if Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez was amused or insulted on Thursday afternoon when reporters alerted him to the fact that certain scouts were reporting that his velocity is down a bit this spring.
Perhaps he was a little bit of both.
"I actually pitched the last three years around 91, 92 [mph]," said Martinez. "Then when I have to click, I click. I will do that when I feel it's right. I thought I threw some fastballs over 90 today. I felt it. I don't know what it was. I felt it. I just knew when to throw it."
In Thursday's outing against the Twins, Martinez pitched five innings and scattered seven hits while allowing three earned runs and striking out one.
As far as this three-time Cy Young Award winner is concerned, March is not the time to reach back and showcase the type of blinding heat that will bewilder some unlucky American League hitter at Fenway Park in the near future.
"It's Spring Training," he said. "I was just pitching a little bit more than anything today."
Pedro Martinez
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Martinez is 32 years old. He is less than three years removed from the harrowing summer of 2001, when rotator cuff woes put the type of fear into him that he was used to putting in the batter's mind.
But Martinez built that shoulder back up again and became a different kind of pitcher. In fact, he became more of a pitcher.
While leading the Major Leagues in ERA the past two seasons and going a combined 34-8, he perfected his curve and relied more on his changeup, which has always been brilliant.
All the while he was conservative with his fastball, cranking it in around 91 or 92 on the corners, but hitting the mid 90s when things got sticky.
In other words, Martinez doesn't understand why his velocity is even a topic right now.
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