I'll remember Pedro

I'll be content you loved me once in April.
Your lips were warm and love and spring were new.
I'm not afraid of autumn and her sorrow,
for I'll remember April and you.
-- Don Raye, Gene DePaul, & Pat Johnson, "I'll Remember April," 1956.

It should have been enough. Pedro Martinez stepped in and out of the Wayback Machine on Wednesday night, able to summon convincing replicas of the tools of years past for the second straight start. Perhaps still unfamiliar with having such power at his disposal, he was unable to maintain the consistency of command formerly the hallmark of his dominance. Pedro scattered postcards from his former self across six strong innings that were everything his team could reasonably have asked of him but, in the end, less than it truly needed from him. It should have been enough.

Overlooked in all the hubub was the possibility that this could have been Pedro's last start in a Boston uniform. With his free agency now approaching more rapidly than all save those wearing pinstripes would prefer, it comes as something of a shock to consider that this may have been it. If advancing to the World Series for the first time in 18 years were somehow lacking as a motivational goal, among the more compelling rooting interests for what remains of this ALCS should be one more shot for Pedro.

The chances that these tattered Sox may yet repel the Yankee tide appear remote, but as the series turns to Fenway, to hold fast there and return the ball once more to Pedro's squiddy mitts would be a noble achievement. For every time he toes the rubber, there is the possibility that he will recall something more of how to focus the dazzling stuff he has siphoned from the reserve tank. It gives us hope to think that he may once more scale the hill in enemy territory and not flinch as the taunts roll off his back and his wicked barbs dart towards the plate.

Uno mas for Pedro! Uno mas for us!