Pedro Martinez

Fifteen years is long enough. Two-hundred and fourteen wins and three Cy Young Awards is stuff enough. The ghost of Delino DeShields has haunted enough. It's time to bring Pedro Martinez home. One year after an opening day in which the Dodgers ceremonially connected with their past, they could do it for real by turning a humongous mistake into a homecoming king. Bring back the giant they thought was too small. Bring back the fighter they thought was too brittle.

Pedro Martinez will be sidelined at least four weeks with what the New York Mets said was a mild strain of his left hamstring. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was put on the 15-day disabled list before a game against the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night. Martinez was injured Tuesday night and returned to New York for an examination. "He's an unfortunate loss," pitcher John Maine said. "Everyone knows what Pedro can do." ------ Seattle Mariners All-Star closer J.J.

The worst trade in the 50 years that the Dodgers have been in Los Angeles? From casual fans to dedicated seamheads, no prompting is needed. The 1993 trade that sent Pedro Martinez to Montreal for Delino DeShields continues to produce the loudest moans, with obvious justification.

CINCINNATI -- Back on a major league mound for the first time in nearly a year, Pedro Martinez got his 3,000th strikeout Monday and led the resurgent New York Mets to a 10-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds. "Can't ask for anything better than that," Manager Willie Randolph said. "He's amazing. I shouldn't even be surprised, really. Pedro was superb." Martinez had shoulder surgery Oct. 5.

Pedro Martinez acknowledged Saturday that his ailing toe might prevent him from pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. "It depends on my health and how comfortable I feel here and how quickly I can get on a mound," the New York Met ace said after the team's first spring training workout at Port St. Lucie, Fla. "Obviously, I'm a little bit behind, but I would love to represent my country and actually be part of it even if it's not in the first round ...

Pedro Martinez threw from the top of a mound for the first time at the New York Mets' spring training camp Tuesday at Port St. Lucie, Fla., and acknowledged he still has a lot of work to do before opening day. "I'm out of shape," Martinez told a group of reporters before walking off the field. "I'm just trying to get back to the mound, see how my toe is. My arm is not full-strength. I still have a lot of work to do."

Pedro Martinez escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in New York's 3-1 victory over the host Washington Nationals on Wednesday night for the Mets' fifth straight win. The teams played under a season-long warning to stop the beanballs after the Nationals' Jose Guillen declared "enough is enough" when Martinez hit him twice in the same game last week. Martinez (2-0) struck out Jose Vidro for the first out of the sixth to bring up Guillen with the bases loaded in a one-run game.

Once again, Grady Little didn't take Pedro Martinez out of the game. His Dodgers took care of that, with a big sixth inning. Tuesday was a much-anticipated night at Dodger Stadium. You had Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe pitching and Grady Little sitting in one dugout, so all the memories came drifting back. And to those, Little added a wrinkle. This is a man, the first-year Dodgers manager, who has been so vilified in Boston that you would think he had messed up their tea party.

Pedro Martinez was touched by the fans and tagged by the Boston Red Sox in his return to Fenway Park. Martinez got a standing ovation and then gave up four runs in the first inning and four more in the third before leaving as baseball's hottest team went on to a 10-2 victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday. "It's not disappointing at all," said Martinez after his worst effort in two seasons with the Mets.

Pedro Martinez felt a twinge in his calf before the game and suffered the effects during a miserable first inning. The New York Mets could only hope a bad outing was the worst of his problems. Martinez strained his right calf and departed after giving up six runs Monday night as the host Philadelphia Phillies went on to romp, 13-0. The Mets said the three-time Cy Young winner felt the strain while warming up.