They are dancing in the streets in the Dominican Republic. Did you know they have a curfew when a certain major league pitcher takes the mound?

Who would that be?

Pedro Martinez.

He looked pretty darn good Sunday night, huh? Who knows - he might even be the better July addition that Cliff Lee when it's all said and done in '09.

It might be unfair to say he's back, as in back to being the guy who was baseball's best pitcher a decade ago in Boston, but he has delivered some special stuff in his last three starts.

Martinez is 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his last three games. He's 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA overall. The Phillies have won all seven of the games he has started.

What's perhaps most encouraging is his 37-year-old arm doesn't at all resemble the fragile right limb that made him a free-agent bust with the Mets for the last four years.

Martinez threw 131 pitches Sunday night, the most he had thrown in a game since Oct. 1, 2003 in Game 1 of the ALDS at Oakland. His last regular season game with 130 or more pitches was back on May 1, 2001 against Seattle, when he threw 136.

Martinez hasn't been this durable and dependable since he was in Boston.

Following Sunday's pristine 1-0 win, Martinez said he was reminded of Boston a few times during the game.

Here is a sampling of postgame Pedro:



(National TV, against the Mets, the fans riled up here... pretty good stuff?) You know what, I think it was more of the situation we are in, I knew my teammates needed a little pat on the back in the form of work, the guys in the bullpen have been used a lot, so I was aware of that, I knew of that in the back of my mind. How can I help? Since I went 119 pitches in my previous outing, I figured if I stayed in the game and focused enough, I could probably give them that chance.


(Think Charlie coming for you when he walked to the mound in the 8th?)Yeah, I thought so. I didn’t like it… but then Chase said, ‘He might not get you, he might not get you’ on the way over to the mound. He said, ‘Do you want the guy?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I want him.’ Charlie asked me the same thing. I convinced Charlie to give me one more out.

(Your health? You haven’t thrown this many pitches or pitched 8 innings in a while) I feel probably like (I did in) '98, '99, 2000. I’m bouncing back good. The other day when I went to throw on the side after 119 pitches, I felt so good I was a little surprised to be honest. I wasn’t sore. I felt good and nothing to complain about. And that’s a great feeling, a great feeling. Today, with whatever amount of pitches I threw, I feel fine. I don’t know about tomorrow. Tomorrow I might wake up a little sore. I don’t know. But I’m expecting to feel good.

(what did you think of the play with Carlos Ruiz getting your last out?) That was exciting because it’s not something you see very often. I was happy. I got to throw less pitches.

(This loss eliminated the Mets) Really? That’s probably coincidence and destiny. I had no idea. I had no idea. I just gave David Wright a big hug. I didn’t know that. I would have to tell you I’m sorry for them. I’m sorry for them. They have a whole bunch of good guys over there, a good coaching staff and a lot of good people in that stadium. There are a lot of people I will never forget. I have a lot of respect for them, regardless of what happened, why I’m not with the Mets. It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s all business. I just have to let it go. At least they’re rooting for me, like David said, rooting for me to get a ring in the National League.



(Has your performance surprise you since you’ve been here? Or do you feel if you were healthy you’d be this good?) I don’t like to talk about myself but I said that. If I’m healthy I feel like I’m capable of doing anything that anybody does. I came here with the mentality that, in the last quarter of the season, I could help this team when it matters probably the most. I think today was a good example of what really mattered - to give the bullpen a rest, to help your teammates when you’re needed. I’m very thankful I was able to do that.


(The crowd seemed fired up with you out there...) I got a little bit caught into it. It brought me a lot of memories of Boston, especially when they were chanting “Pedro, “Pedro” between every pitch. It reminded me a lot of Boston. I hope they can continue to do that for me.