It hurts. Pedro traded in a roster spot on the world champion Boston Red Sox for one on the 90-loss Mets, New York's second team. By signing with the Mets, Pedro officially becomes a rootless mercenary. His suitcase bears the stamp of Los Angeles, Montreal, Boston, New York, and, when his run with the Metropolitans ends, likely some other stop-off point or two.

Didn't we sell out all of your starts? Didn't we elevate you to the highest level of stardom, that level where you go by one name like Prince, Elvis, and Bruce? Didn't we let you take in-season vacations, and skip out on game six of the 2004 ALCS, with impunity?

In the past, Sox fans could blame management for losing the likes of Fisk and Clemens. You can't blame the Red Sox for losing Paydro--why guarantee four-years to a fragile, six-inning pitcher on the decline?--or even Nomar, who might have been in the first year of a four-year, $60 contract had he accepted the initial Red Sox offer. Instead, he has a one-year $8 million deal with the Cubs.

Anyhow, the reaction from Red Sox Nation to Pedro's departure is diverse. On the Sons of Sam Horn, the message board is replete with tributes to Pedro's incredible seven-year run with the Sox. Boston Dirt Dogs seems out for blood, comparing Pedro to a washed-up Mo Vaughn and labeling him a prima donna.

I understand signing Pedro to a Mets-like deal made absolutely no baseball sense for the Red Sox. Nevertheless, I'd like to see players so closely identified with teams stay with those teams. It's a traditional game, after all.

There's something unsettling about seeing Joe Namath as a Ram, Bobby Orr as a Black Hawk, or Michael Jordan as a Wizard. Picturing Pedro in an "NY" cap will be similarly surreal.

Pedro left Boston for the same reasons any other person or player would leave....money. The Mets offered 11.5 Mill more and an extra year. We are all aware that Major League Ballplayers have a reputation of being spoiled and greedy. Pedro had a chance to stomp that negative view out and stay (for a little less) where he has God like status.

Instead, as most ballplayers would he took the dough to pitch in a dump where 747's will be flying over head while his delivering to the plate for a team that probably won't win 80 games. The Mets offered 11.5 Mill more and an extra year.

As far as Bobby Orr goes, his situation was completely different and unique, one of deception by his agent who had a personal and professional relationship within the Blackhawk organization. His agent withheld information from Mr. Orr.

The Bruins offered him 13% ownership of the Boston Bruins. A generous offer in which Mr. Orr would have most definitely accepted but his agent had his own agenda for him in the windy city.

Pedro has been a crybaby (albeit, a talented one) ever since he's been in Boston. He was making $15M per for approximately 25 days of real work and it was always something with this guy.

Miss Spring training; miss team meetings; miss team travel; arrive late for the start of the season and leave early for the end. Not exactly a stable individual.

Despite the consumate kissing of his azz, he always had less respect for everybody than he always expected for himself.

Good riddance to an immature crybaby.

Boston is a small market town; New York is a big market town and Pedro wants the money. He did what any rational human being has done. It is high time sports fans get over this romantic vision of athletes sticking with teams for the duration of their careers. Free agency has been a boon to all athletes; it takes a lot of hubris to indict an athlete merely because he wants more money.

That said, my prediction is that the Mets overpaid for Pedro, whose decline was evident this year. Given that he's 33 years old, it seems odd that the Mets will pay him as if he was a 23 year old phenom.

When Pedro notches his first loss in the Mets uniform, the sounds of 'Who's Your Daddy?' will be so loud that all the pissed off Red Sox up in Beantown will hear it. When Pedro takes the mound, Yankees fans across New York City will be rooting even more for the Mets (continual, inevitable) defeat.

Neither party looks good in this instance. But Pedro's bank account certainly likes it.

Boston = small market?

Let me be more specific about the size of Boston's baseball market. According to this site (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/baseball_markets.shtml),
The Yankees and Mets play in a market of 21,199,865 fans, the Angels and Dodgers in a market of 16,373,645, Cubs in a market of 9,157,540, Orioles = 7.6 million.

The Red Sox market size is estimated at 5.8 million. The size of this market is certainly much larger than the smallest market, the Brewers, with a size of 1,689,572. But when your market size is roughly 22% of the largest market in your industry, you count as a 'small market' in my book.

What does this mean? This means that large market teams, such as the Mets (to say nothing of the Yankees) are able to pay players signicantly more than small market teams (again, think of the Red Sox quest to get A-rod). Why is this so? Teams that play in large markets have larger television contracts, national exposure (though the Red Sox are an exception here--they are small market but have national exposure, due to their woeful history).

I have come to the realization that there is no more loyalty left in professional sports much less the game of baseball. I am a huge Braves fan since I started going to games with my Grandfather in 1980. Watching Dale Murphy play for the Phillies and then Tom Glavine with the Mets is like listening to Rosanne sing the National Anthem...painful in a sad way.

Cal Ripken, Jr. is the last player we will see start and finish with the same team in baseball and they are going to be fewer and fewer in the other pro sports. Football might be the exception only because careers are shorter.

Dave, the Red Sox had the second highest payroll in baseball last year. Boston has the fifth largest media market in the country. Unlike the Mets/Yankees, Cubs/White Sox, and Angels/Dodgers, and Giants/A's, the Sox don't share their media market--which extends to almost all points in New England--with any other team.

Ryan, not to be a wiseazz, but wake up and smell the coffee! It is a different world we in habit in two thousand, aught, four than it was, say, forty years ago. There ain’t no more loyalty. Anywhere.

This goes double for ball players.

I have been smelling the coffee and while I still can't function without a cup or two in the morning, it still sucks.

I do, however, feel that their is loyalty out there, but not when you are throwing around millions of dollars.

I stopped enjoying Pro baseball after the 94 strike. I won't give them my money. As for Paydro, be glad he's gone. How long do you think that shoulder will hold up? Congrats on the series victory. You earned it and I'm happy for you. Trade you for the brewers? LOL

Ryan,

I am a Braves fan too from back in the day when they were horrible. I remember going to games and seeing Bob Horner, the Murph, BRRRRRRRUUUUCE Benedict, et. al., playing in front of 3,000 people. In school my math teacher would actually make word problems out of the Braves attendance since they were such small and manageable numbers.

Chief Noc-A-Homa was loyal, and if I could be as well then, you are right, why can't some of these millionaires? I don't begrudge anyone monetary success though as long as it isn't bought at an unethical price.

Pedro is a bum. Didn't he used to bean people on purpose?

My favourite Pedro comment on Sons of Sam Horn today this one below. He seems to turn his anger toward Larry Lucchino:

"Re: Thank You, Pedro Martinez
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here here.

Thank you for the All Star Game

Thank you for bringing a World Series Trophy to Boston

and

Thank you for Nelson de la Rosa

And let me say this. The last thing that I want to see, from this organization, and particularly from Larry Lucky Luchino is a smear campaign against Pedro. It happened with Nomar, and I hated it. If it happens with Pedro I will take a dump on Larry Luchinio's grave. There's no need for it. We just won the world series -- the fan base is mature enough to understand that it is a reality of the game.

Thank you Pedro. Best of luck to you. "

Pedro claims that he wanted "respect", but all he really wanted was money. If it was respect, he had more than he could ever hope for in Boston. He was motivated only be dollar signs.

That said, his insistence on a 4-year contract shows that he has no faith in his ability to be good 3 years from now. He knows his shoulder could go at any point. He's looking for insurance.

Nobody has mentioned yet the despicable manner in which he treated the Red Sox front office. Pedro weaseled the third year, more money, and extra perks out of Larry Lucchino, and gave them the very clear impression that we would re-sign with the Sox. Then he goes over to the Mets and uses that generosity to leverage an ever BIGGER deal from them! All the while, Carl Pavano is signing with the YANKESS!! What could we have done if that money wasn't tied up because Pedro had all but stated that he'd come back?

Any respect I had for him as a fan is gone. I thank him for some good games, and for helping in the World Series, but his ERA was was not great this year. He is no longer Pedro, and with this move, he doesn't even have respect anymore. Weird, since that's what he claimed to value originally.

Yeah. If the ESPN report can be believed, the Sox actually offered Pedro more money per year than the Mets gave him--13.5M per v. 13M per. So, he either wanted out of Boston or valued highly that fourth year as an insurance policy against a fading career.

I have nothing to add to this point on that greedy SOB Pedro, I do believe that the Sox will turn out to be the wiser of the two teams even if they offered more to him. Renteria is a step in the reloading process that I like and believe it to be a bigger move than losing Pedro right now. Why cry over someone is gone when Edgar will only add to an already great offense no matter who is still around come spring training!

That's a good point, Morris, and is one thing that helps me forget about Pedro's behavior.

Now if the Sox can just get another first-rate starting pitcher, I'd be feeling pretty good about their ability to defend their championship title. (Meaning I'd feel they'd have a decent shot of making the Series again.)