It was one of the highlights in a night of many highlights. Pedro Martinez returned to Fenway Park for Opening Night against the Yankees. In a dramatic moment, Pedro stepped from behind a Red Sox banner and was immediately showered with cheers from a loving Red Sox Nation. The legend then took his time walking toward the mound, soaking up the adulation, before throwing the first pitch to former batterymate Jason Varitek. But then, things got ugly, as Pedro once again felt he was the victim of disrespect.
"For the rest of my life, I will never believe it," Pedro said from the clubhouse. "One pitch, they take me out of the game. What an insult! That's the shortest outing of my career, man. And it's also the most humiliating."
Manager Terry Francona, however, defended the move. "Kind of thought he'd had enough, he was cooked," the skipper said. "I'm no Grady Little. When I see a guy is done, I get him outta there. Ball came out of his hand real well though."
"The data revealed it was time to get him out of there," Theo Epstein added. "We felt that getting him off the field before the actual game started was in everyone's best interests. Plus, he really left that one pitch out over the plate."
bill@callofthegreenmonster.com
