Essence of Pedro could help Mets contend

Uhh, if you've ever read clan of the cave bear series of books, I don't think you'd want to be around Pedro when he's spraying his "essence" around....

Pedro has had a little too much of the spring training kool-aid.

I do not avoid Rosenthal. But I do deny him my essence.

Eau de Pedro. New from Elizabeth Arden this spring.

If Pedro can get back to throwing in the low 90s again... Best pitcher in baseball.

If Pedro can get back to throwing in the low 90s again

Hey Rasko, I think I just saw an elephant fly by...

Essence of Pedro

If obsessing over Pedro is a crime... let me be guilty. :::consumed by flame:::

Hey Rasko, I think I just saw an elephant fly by...

I don't think it's impossible to think Pedro could get to the low '90s. The question is all about how much he was impaired by pitching with whatever damage was going on in that shoulder, and how much the rehab allows him to recover lost velocity. More likely, he just gets back to consistent high '80s, which certainly allows him to be effective with his control and his variety of pitches -- but by no means one of the elite in the game. But the upside of his recovery is an extra 3-4 MPH beyond that, and deploying that consistently (if he could) would be a heck of a weapon for Pedro to have at his disposal.

I'm just glad he's going to be around. Pedro is just fun. Baseball should be fun, and Pedro is.

Sam I was just taking the piss out of Rasko...

I'm a huge Pedro fan and would love for him to capture some semblance of the extraordinary talent that he has. He is fun and goofy and that is great for the sport and it was fun to watch him baffle hitters for many years.

I have this weird feeling that if Pedro were forced to pitch left-handed, he'd probably log a league-average ERA.

He pitched pretty well last year on guts and guile alone- 32 K, 27 IP, 7 BB and 0 HR is pretty impressive. He allowed a very flukey .393 BABIP, which is to be expected in such a small sample. A couple of fewer singles get through, the bullpen keeps a few runners from scoring, and his WHIP/ERA would be good enough that mainstream writers considered it a dominant/successful comeback. Of course, had the Mets made the playoffs we would've heard a lot more about his gutsy recovery, ect ect. If over a strikeout an inning is Pedro still finding his way...

I don't think it's a mistake to get excited about Pedro.

I always found it hilarious that Emeril's spice mixture is called Emeril's Essence

I found that essence rare, its what I looked...FOUR MORE CY YOUNGS?

Repoz, have you been busting into my record collection, again?

I knew I'd get what I asked for.

That is by far my favorite song on possibly my favorite album. There's a demo tape laying around somewhere of my erstwhile punk band (mentioned in Schwarz's book) covering that song.

As one of our "originals" pretty clearly hints at, me and the guitarist had a serious Gang of Four fetish.

This has to be the first BTF post that made go to my collection and put a particular song on. Haven't listened in a while.

That is by far my favorite song on possibly my favorite album. There's a demo tape laying around somewhere of my erstwhile punk band (mentioned in Schwarz's book) covering that song.

Ah, yes, Gang of 4. Lovely band. If it weren't for them, rock critics might not have found any use for the word "angular."

It's interesting that he says he wasn't at full strength in 1999 and 2000. Is it possible that the injury turned him into a better pitcher because he wasn't relying on the fastball as much those years? It's also interesting that his BB rate dropped significantly from 1998 to 1999. Was he more focused on hitting spots and less on blowing guys away?

Ah, yes, Gang of 4. Lovely band. If it weren't for them, rock critics might not have found any use for the word "angular."

It's amazing to me how quickly (IMO) south they headed after "Entertainment!" Never cared for much of anything they did after. But that album is a freakin' gem. Even the cover art and liner notes are classic.

Gang Of Four = okay. Entertainment! was excellent, but they went pear-shaped immediately afterwards and lacked the taste to quit while they were ahead.

Wire = creators of the best punk rock album of all time (Pink Flag), one of the best post-punk albums of all time (Chairs Missing), and the first goth-rock album ever (154)). TOP THAT, SON.

I'm sorry but "I am the Fly" is almost surely the song that will finally make me snap and become a serial killer. I run screaming in pain as soon as I hear it. They surely use it at Gitmo as a replacement for waterboarding.

"Pink Flag" I liked a lot, but much like Gang of Four, Wire lost me when they arted up themselves (moreso than intially anyway) after.

I should also say that I'm not speaking chronologically since I'm not nearly old enough, just by the dates on the back of the albums.

To live, I'd drink even the essence of Pedro!

Modern medical science was not able to heal me, so I used all sorts of folk remedies. I ate whatever was said to be good for my health. I even changed my name and invited a sorceress to perform an exorcism. But to make things worse, I got the rheumatic arthritis and I had to hide myself. In this terrible situation, I heard that the essence of Pedro was good for recovering my health. Although its stench was unbearable, I drank it earnestly. But it was all in vain and my condition got so worse that others had to help me urinate and defecate. I didn't know about God's providence and tried many things in human way, only to see no hopeful result for the future. My wife frequently ran away from home and my beloved mother wished I would die. Nobody can imagine how sorrowful and painful it was!

I do not avoid Rosenthal. But I do deny him my essence.

I denounce him but do not reject him.

If it weren't for them, rock critics might not have found any use for the word "angular."

Only because Robert Christgau picked up on thievin' Bob Pfeifer's The Human Switchboard a little too late...:)

Speaking of too late...

Wire lost me when they arted up themselves (moreso than intially anyway) after.

Voros...Give Wire's new song "23 Years Too Late" a listen. Quite remarkable since it makes me want to sousingly bang into Meg Griffin's tiny bumphous all over again at Irving Plaza!

Wire link

I'm sorry but "I am the Fly" is almost surely the song that will finally make me snap and become a serial killer. I run screaming in pain as soon as I hear it. They surely use it at Gitmo as a replacement for waterboarding.

So painfully wrong, Voros, though it's not one of my favorites from Chairs Missing. But how can you deny "Outdoor Miner" (especially the long version), "Sand In My Joints," "Another The Letter," "Heartbeat," "Mercy," "French Film Blurred," "From The Nursery," etc.? Or "The 15th" and "Map Ref. 43N 91W" from 154?

It's interesting that he says he wasn't at full strength in 1999 and 2000. Is it possible that the injury turned him into a better pitcher because he wasn't relying on the fastball as much those years? It's also interesting that his BB rate dropped significantly from 1998 to 1999. Was he more focused on hitting spots and less on blowing guys away?

Rosenthal made a mistake. Pedro hurt the shoulder in the 1999 playoffs against Cleveland, not 1998.

I'm fairly confident he was at full stregth for the 1999 regular season, as it was in September of that year he Kd 17 at Yankee Stadium on the heels of King 13 in Seattle.

It was indeed 1999, unless there's something we don't know about from 1998. Pedro had to come out of the 1999 ALDS opener early because of the back (shoulder?) injury, setting the stage for The Greatest Relief Pitching Appearance Of All Time in Game 5.

Rosenthal made a mistake. Pedro hurt the shoulder in the 1999 playoffs against Cleveland, not 1998.

Ok, thanks. I thought that sounded a little odd.

Pedro had to come out of the 1999 ALDS opener early because of the back (shoulder?) injury, setting the stage for The Greatest Relief Pitching Appearance Of All Time in Game 5.

It was his oblique, I think.

Are there commercial DVDs of that series? I could watch Game 5, and the TGRPAAT, weekly. If not daily.

I've tried like hell to like Pink Flag. I cannot. Nothing sticks. I love Entertainment!, though. Andy Gill was a Steve Cropper for the 80s. And I don't see any connection between the two bands.

Pedro had to come out of the 1999 ALDS opener early because of the back (shoulder?) injury, setting the stage for The Greatest Relief Pitching Appearance Of All Time in Game 5.
It was his oblique, I think.
Are there commercial DVDs of that series? I could watch Game 5, and the TGRPAAT, weekly. If not daily.

ESPN Classic showed the game last month. They edited it to pieces to fit a 2-hour timeslot. Inanely, they took care to show every Boston run, while chopping out 75% of Pedro's pitching performance.