Pedro feet firmly planted in the clouds

Headline: Pedro Martinez wants big contract or he'll retire and 'go fishing'.

"No chip on my shoulder," [Pedro] said. "I understand business, and I understand the ugly face of baseball, which is the business of baseball. Whether you like it or not, the last few years I'll be the first one to tell you I haven't been the Pedro Martinez that I'm used to being. If nobody takes a chance, well, I'll go fishing. If I'm healthy and I'm able to do the things that I used to do, I think a lot of people are going to probably regret not taking a chance."

Does he even realize that he was hurt a LOT the last few years? That he wasn't terribly effective even when he pitched the last two years?

Martinez, who was 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA last year in 20 starts for the Mets, in his first full season since returning from shoulder surgery...

If he understands business, even a little bit, he should know that teams are not placing anything more than a nominal bet on older, oft-injured pitchers, regardless of their histories (good or bad). Mike Hampton, Brad Penny, Tom Glavine, Carl Pavano, etc. Even John Smoltz got a contract below his stature. But Pedro thinks he's worth more.

In the sister-story on Newsday:

Q: Would you do what Tom Glavine did -- sign a low base contract with incentives?
PM: If I wanted to pitch that bad, I probably would. But I don’t think I’m in that stage. I believe I’m very comfortable. I’m not going to let anybody disrespect my abilities the way I am. I’d say no, that’s it. I wouldn’t say I want to pitch that bad.

Time to grab the bait bucket, Pedro.