Pedro wants to return to the Mets this season. Should the Mets bring him back? If so, what role should Pedro play? I would assume that Pedro would land in the fifth starter slot, possibly behind Derek Lowe. But Pedro might be able to help out a bullpen that is still weak in the middle relief roles. What do you think?

Via MLB.com:

"It's little secret that Pedro Martinez wants to return to the big leagues -- he's been saying it since last season ended. And it's little secret that he wants to do so with the Mets. Yet Friday morning played host to his most adamant thoughts on the subject yet."

The Mets loss to the Yankees last night was a brutal one. After shelling the Yankees 15-6 in the day game at Yankee Stadium I feared this kind of a let down. And what a let down it was. Getting blanked by a washed up, one game fill in starter named Sidney Ponson. The Mets had big chances to score in the first three innings and failed to convert. Same old, same old.

Unbridled enthusiasm is hard to come by for Mets fans these days. Such is the life of the fan of a .500 ballclub. The Mets get a couple of wins and we think, "The magic is back!" Then come the disappointing losses and we think, "Wait til next year."

So Pedro Martinez returned last night and gave us hope that the magic might truly return in the 2008 season. Perhaps this is what we've been waiting for. A healthy Pedro could energize the rest of the squad into performing at the level we know they are capable of performing at. At the very least we hope Oliver Perez will be inspired.

According to Kevin Burkhardt of SNY, Pedro Martinez "heard a pop" before leaving the game tonight with a hamstring injury. Pedro will be returning to New York for an MRI.

All I can say is this. Let the candlelight vigils begin.

I created this audio comment with a new service called utterz. Some thoughts on this weeks news about Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens.

http://www.utterz.com/~u-NTAyOTIzMg/utt.php#uttNTAyOTIzMg

Evidently cock fighting is legal in the Dominican Republic. Even still, this is not good. After the Michael Vick incident it's pretty clear that people in the U.S. don't have any tolerance for this sort of stuff.

My main concern right now are unnecessary distractions. We don't need ridiculous controversies to be the focal point now that we have pitchers and catchers reporting in only a couple of weeks.

Video shows Pedro, HOFer Marichal at cockfight - A video of New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal at a cockfight was posted this week on YouTube.