Pedro's Contract. According to the AP:

$ 3.5 million -- signing bonus (payable through July 2007)

$10.0 million -- 2005

$14.0 million -- 2006 ($4 million can be deferred*)

$14.0 million -- 2007 ($4 million can be deferred*)

$11.5 million -- 2008 ($2 million can be deferred*)

(* -- at 5% compounded interest)

Martinez would receive a $500,000 bonus if he wins the Cy Young award, $1 million if he wins it a 2nd time, $1.5 million if he wins it a 3rd time and $2 million if he wins it a 4th time. He'll receive $400,000 for finishing 2nd in the voting and $300,000 for winding up 3rd.

In addition, there are these potential bonuses: $50,000 for each All-Star appearance, $50,000 for each Gold Glove, $50,000 for winning the NLCS MVP award and $250,000 for winning the World Series MVP. ... Martinez will also receive a luxury suite at Shea Stadium for every home game and a hotel suite on all road trips.

Pedro Martinez: "I feel after I've done so much for a city and for a team, that wasn't the right way to be treated. ... I gave Boston every opportunity to get me. Not only in this free-agent year, but in the period before. I've been trying to let Boston keep me for the rest of my career, and Boston wouldn't pull the trigger. Why did they have to wait until the last minute or so? ... They either made a mistake or they know exactly what they're doing."

Pedro: "It's really important that everyone knows, that even though I'm here in New York, I have all the love and respect for the people and the fans of Boston. It's too bad I couldn't work it out. I tried. I gave everything I had. I gave Boston every opportunity to keep me and they couldn't do it. I don't know why we couldn't work it out."

I've been rereading my posts for the first half of the 2004 season and Pedro is not being honest. He had a higher price tag in the spring of 2004 than he did in the fall of 2004. And before last season began, Boston was offering him Schilling money for three years -- exactly the type of coin he now says he would have resigned for in a heartbeat. ... It would have been nice if Martinez could have said thanks and good bye to the Red Sox fans and gone quietly to the Mets. It would have been nice if he had showed more dignity. It saddens me that he didn't (or couldn't).

In 2004:
Wells and Clement: 3.70 ERA in 376 innings
Martinez and Lowe: 4.59 ERA in 399 innings

Theo Epstein on Edgar Renteria: "He's going to be one of the rocks we build the next great Red Sox team on." He added: "Making the last out in the World Series was part of the deal." ... Brooklyn native John Halama: "I've always been a Mets fan and never rooted for the Yankees."

Finally, I don't find myself agreeing all that often with Newsday's Shaun Powell, but he may have hit on something in his December 14 column:

You could see this coming. You could see the Red Sox, after taking a pitcher's best years, letting him go and letting someone else pay for his twilight years. You could see that someone being the Mets, desperate for a big name and a big splash, throwing major dollars and years to a pitcher who'll probably give them one solid season. Two, if they're lucky.

If the Red Sox thought Pedro had plenty left, they would've gladly met the asking price. If a team locked in a timeless rivalry with the Yankees thought Pedro could give a few more 18- or 20-win seasons, you think they would've cut him loose? No, they would've cut the check and stuck it to George Steinbrenner again. ...

Instead of fighting over Pedro, two intense rivals decided he wasn't worth all the fuss, all the years and all the money. As negotiations dragged on, they refused to be leveraged. They set a firm price, then walked away. Meanwhile, the Mets charged full speed ahead. ... They may even wonder why a future Hall of Famer was this easy to get. They may not like the answer.