Pedro's gone with the wind ...

Look at what time it is and check your calendar, I'm playing hookey today.

I still haven't done any Christmas shopping, and Aly really hasn't done that either. So guess what we're doing today? That's right, we're going to the Museum of Science. Actually I'm just giving you "the business", we're going Christmas shopping, which totally sucks.

The mall sucks, walking around sucks, crowds suck. It's a hat trick of suckiness.

That's not to say that I'd rather be in work, I wouldn't, but this is pretty close.

Not too much has gone on during the past few days, it's actually been pretty quiet. The one disappointing thing is that the Sox lost Pedro Martinez to the Mets. To say that this turn of events is disappointing is an understatement. I really can't believe that he left Boston. I literally can't believe it.

For the last week every report from Red Sox camp has been, "Pedro is going to sign with us, there's no way that he's going elsewhere." This is especially because the Red Sox guaranteed a third year at the price he wanted. But those fucking Mets swooped in and threw in a fourth year.

Pedro did what most people would do, he took the money. I honestly can't blame him. It sucks, it totally sucks. That's what I feel in my heart. The Sox couldn't give him a fourth year, that just doesn't make good business sense. According to an ESPN.com report by Jayson Stark, 90% of Pedro's labrum is torn. There is no way that he'll make it through that contract without a major injury.

Three years might have been too much, but four years is insane. Mets GM Omar Minaya is a terrible general manager. He was always getting screwed in Montreal when it came to trades (Cliff Floyd, Bartolo Colon, Javy Vazquez) and he would always throw money at the wrong free agents (Carl Everett, Grahme Lloyd). Of course the excuse was, "He doesn't have the money. See what he's like with money."

Well, in New York he has money and he's spending it like a drunken sailor. Completely fucked up the market with his contracts for Kris Benson (an underachieving pitcher with a sub .500 record who wanted to come back to NYC) and Pedro. The guy spent too much money on damaged goods. It's as simple as that.

With all that said, Pedro leaving is like ripping the heart out of the Sox. His first years with the Sox were unbelievable. Just a constant buzz around the park. Is he going to throw a no-hitter? Strike out 21 guys? Throw a perfect game? No one knew, but with Pedro it was always theatre.

Even as he got older, he still brought that buzz to the park. Even on days that he didn't pitch. He was a funny guy who walked the walk and he could talk. Easily the smartest guy on the Sox. He said things that were eloquent and true, even when he was being outrageous. Even when he bitched and moaned you had to listen to him because it was probably true.

The buzz is not there any more. Sure Schilling says stuff, but it's not the same. And Schilling is a great pitcher too, but he's not Pedro. I don't know if we'll ever see another Pedro. He is/was one of the greats.