To be honest, I’m not surprised. I’m also not angry, either. I’m dissapointed, but as I said, I expected this to happen, although I thought it would be Anaheim. As my CSFA said, Pedro was my favorite current member of the Sox, but only because I wasn’t really sure who else to pick. I liked Orlando Cabrera a lot, but I knew he was a goner. I like seeing Manny succeed, but I can’t bring myself to really enjoy him. There’s something about Schilling that I don’t like. Even if he had stayed quiet about the whole Bush thing, there’s just some sort of cockiness there that I don’t like. I liked Nomar, but he didn’t want to be here. I like Damon, but it’s trendy to say he’s a favorite. I hate Millar. He’s faker than… something really fake. Bill Mueller is an awesome player, but he’s kinda boring. I hated Bellhorn until Game 6 of the ALCS. Varitek is another trendy choice, but I like him too.
The thing is, the guys I liked were always gone after a year. Guys like Rich Garces, Rickey Henderson, and my man Brian Daubach. I have a thing for out-of-shape oddities and novelty guys. I think I liked Daubach because he reminded me of myself if I was a ballplayer. Fat, shitty fielder, can’t hit for average, slow as hell, and, despite being a “power hitter”, averages 20 homers a year. No one knew quite how the hell he was starting, nevermind on the roster to begin with, but there was something about Daubach. He was David Ortiz Beta. He was kinda lovable, and he was sometimes clutch. The Daubber was my boy.
But, of course, .250/20/75 guys don’t stick around too long, not when .300/25/90 guys like Kentucky Fried Kevin show up. So Daubach was let go, picked up by Chicago south, and sparingly used. He got to start against the Sox one game and hit what ended up being the game-winning double. And after the game they interviewed him, and he was near tears, remembering how much he loved playing in Boston, and how much he loved the intensity of the fans.
That was why Daubach was the man.
Daubach was picked up by the Sox again this year, but barely played because of the logjam of Ortiz, Millar and McCarty at first. He was sent back to Pawtucket, and we never heard from him again.
But this entry is about Pedro.
In 2000, I had tons of money from my birthday, and I decided to buy a Sox jersey. The standard white ones were big bucks, but there was a navy BP rack for like $50. I chose Pedro, because he was damn good, and I think it was the only one there in XL anyway. I didn’t give a lot of thought to it at the time.
I’ve had that jersey for four years since, and Pedro has grown on me. I said I hate cockiness, but I like confidence, and Pedro was filled with it. He was a prima donna, but it was just pride. When he gave that cryptic speech about the mango tree after his game 2 loss to the Yankees, I thought he meant it. He represented his country, and he was a hero to millions.
But… I can’t blame him for taking the money. Like Nomar, I think we’ve overrated him compared to what he’s given us over the past few years. In 2002, he kicked turbo ass. He shoulda won the Cy Young, but didn’t because Zito had more wins and went to the playoffs. In 2003, he was damn good. In 2004, he was pretty darn good. The problem was, in comparison to 1998, 1999, and 2000, Pedro wasn’t a $17.5 million pitcher. In 2000, he averaged almost 9 strikeouts to every walk. In 04, it was 3.72. In 1999, he allowed almost half as many runs (49) as in 2004 (94) and almost a third of his home runs (9 to 26). He just wasn’t the same dominating guy. He was better than about 24 other aces, but he wasn’t even the best on his own team. He wanted out. He wanted to be nummah one.
I can’t blame him. I’m not bitter, either. In fact, I intend to go to Shea for his first home start if it isn’t sold out, and probably a few more of his starts. I won’t buy a Pedro jersey, but I’ll still be a fan. He’ll be my NL non-Boston guy, my east-coast Ichiro. I can only wish him luck. He’s not the Daubber in my heart, but he was good while he was here.
