First Hot Stove Rumor of the Winter

There is some speculation that free agent Pedro Martinez may be interested in going to the Giants ... to be their closer. Petey is tight with Felipe Alou from their Expo days, which might explain the desire to come West. I don't think Pedro-as-closer is a viable option, though. Pedro has been a starter for too long, and being so fragile needs to protect his routine too carefully to be successful as a closer. John Smoltz made a remarkable transition to become a lights-out closer, but Pedro seems to require more time to prepare than most relievers. Evidence: Game 7 of the ALCS, and Game 3 of the World Series. The Yankee game, in particular, was instructive. Pedro was knocked around hard by the first few batters he faced, but what the announcers failed to point out was that after Pedro made about 15 pitches, he suddenly became unhittable and closed out the inning quietly. Similarly, against the Cardinals, Pedro was wild in the first couple of innings, then shut them down for the rest of the game.

Based on very recent performances, then, Pedro is still a top-flight starter when properly motivated, but he is unlikely to be a successful closer. Of course, it's pretty unlikely that anyone would ask him to be a closer. Even if the Giants still had to toss Herges out there to close games, they would prefer to have Pedro as a starter.