Reports: Mets Sign Pedro Martinez

I don't know how to react to this. On the one hand, it's always exciting to add a big-name player to your roster. Will I go out of my way to tune in when Pedro is on the mound at Shea in May? You bet. And does Pedro represent an upgrade over the guy he replaces--Al Leiter? Of course. Going into 2005, a Mets rotation of Martinez, Glavine, Benson, Trachsel and Zambrano looks pretty darn good.

On the other hand, Pedro is a flake. And I don't understand why the Mets can never sign a star player at the age of 26 or 28 rather than 33. It's all too easy to picture this deal blowing up in our faces like the Roberto Alomar and Mo Vaughn deals did.

On balance, I'm optimistic. Given where the Mets have been the last few years, change is good. And I'm happy to see Omar taking a big gamble, with club ownership behind him. Getting past the management timidity of last season is an important milestone, kind of like US foreign policy finally outgrowing the Vietnam Syndrome under Bill Clinton . . .