SEATTLE -- The transformation in the Red Sox clubhouse has been so dramatic, and the turnaround on the field so striking, that a reversal is already evident among the players.
Last year, as the team disintegrated, players were eager to leave and asked to be traded. This season, now six weeks old, the opposite is true.
In recent weeks, a handful of Red Sox players have approached interim general manager Mike Port -- either on their own or through their agents -- to discuss the possibility of contract extensions. With a new ownership group in place and the team winning games at a record-setting pace, Sox players are eager, for a change, to be part of the team long-term.
Yesterday, in an informal way, Pedro Martinez joined that list.
"I'm open to talking, from now on," said Martinez, a day before he was scheduled to face Seattle in the final game of his team's highly successful 10-game road trip. "I've always said it -- I want to finish here."
For now, it's not much of an issue. Martinez is under contract for the rest of this season and next as part of the pitcher's landmark six-year, $75.5-million contract, signed shortly after the Sox obtained him from Montreal in November of 1997. After that, the Sox hold an option for the 2004 season, valued at $17.5 million, with a $2.5 million buyout.
With the stroke of a pen, the Sox could exercise the option on the 2004 season and have Martinez safely under their control for the next three seasons. Clearly, the Red Sox aren't under any time constraints. But Martinez still believes now might be the opportunity to begin discussions about a contract extension.
"It's the perfect time, actually," said Martinez.
Baseball salaries are ever-escalating, and the pitcher's value will be greater tomorrow than it is today. When Martinez signed his deal, it made him the game's highest-paid player. Now, he falls outside the Top 5, surpassed by position players and pitchers alike.
Signing Martinez to a new deal now, before they have to, would constitute a risk of another sort for the Red Sox. Last year, it was discovered that Martinez has some fraying in his right rotator cuff. A winter's worth of conditioning and strength-work has built up the shoulder area and, despite some less-than-successful outings in April, Martinez has not raised further concerns.
"If they had any doubts," Martinez countered, "they wouldn't be pitching me."
That's only partly true, for while Martinez may be healthy now, pitchers routinely break down and suffer serious arm injuries as they move into their 30s.
But the larger issue is Martinez's willingness to commit to Boston long-term. Only last September, disgusted by the team's insistence on pitching him despite the revelation about his shoulder and demoralized by the breakdown in morale, he returned to his native Dominican Republic for the final three weeks of the season.
Asked yesterday if he would have been eager to push the Sox for an extension, Martinez didn't hesitate.
"Last year, definitely not," he said. "I actually thought I wasn't coming back. Some of the things that were being said (about the seriousness of his shoulder problem) were really disappointing."
Interim general manager Mike Port said it was premature to address Martinez's long-term status with the club.
"Our new owners are aware of his accomplishments and his standing in the game," Port said. "But (the expiration of his contract) is way off in the future. We want to see Pedro have a good year and we'll address it down the road."
"I'm not thinking about becoming a free agent," clarified Martinez. "It's up to them."
