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Pedro Martinez
Page 2 staff

Undoubtedly, some players fear having to face hard-throwing Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez. But Page 2 wasn't afraid to throw -- well, actually toss -- a few softballs high and tight to one of baseball's best pitchers.


	Pedro Martinez doesn't care what anybody thinks; just don't tell him how to throw.

Page 2 asked Martinez 10 burning questions that others wouldn't dare to ask.

1. Page 2: You have a reputation for throwing inside and you were warned the other night when you hit a batter with a 77 mph breaking ball. Are hitters just a bunch of wimps?
Martinez: First of all, I don't throw. I pitch. My days of throwing are long gone. I pitch inside, I don't throw. There's a big difference.

2. Do you think everyone is a little too concerned about this?
Martinez: I don't care what they think or do. If they don't like it, Major League Baseball can kick me out of baseball. I don't care what they think. I don't care what anybody thinks. If I keep getting results like I do, having a winning record, a low ERA, a lot of strikeouts, a chance to pitch in the World Series, stay healthy and not hurt anybody, I don't care.

I'm not committing any crime. I'm working hard. I'm earning my money for my family. I don't care what anybody else says about it.


	Martinez liked playing in Montreal but doesn't miss Youppi!

3. You're pitching in one of the great baseball cities now but do you miss Youppi, the Expos mascot?
Martinez: No. But I liked Montreal.

4. Have you noticed them calling the high strike more this year?
Martinez: I haven't. I'm not going to let it affect me and it hasn't affected the way I pitch and go about the game.

5. Growing up, did you and your brother, Ramon, pitch to each other?
Martinez: Yes, but not as a way to compete; just to throw the ball to each other. Ramon was so far ahead of me that my defeat would have been obvious.

6. If there was a true World Cup in baseball, which country would win?
Martinez: I don't know. Put us on the field and let us compete. Baseball is unpredictable and anyone who tells you different is talking crap.


	Martinez would automatically strengthen a Dominican Republic squad if there were a baseball World Cup.

But I'm not that interested in playing a World Cup. I don't have anything else to prove in baseball. I don't have anything else to show. I would like to compete in a World Series, but everything else I've done already. I don't want to compete against anybody else for anything else. I wish I could skip the regular season and go right through to the World Series.

7. Which superpower would you like to have, the strength of 100 men, the ability to fly or the ability to be invisible?
Martinez: Invisible. So I don't have to be in the eye of everybody. I would like to be just a regular person. So we could sit and have a beer like everyone else and not have people notice.


	Ramon Martinez, now retired, is no longer way ahead of little brother.

8. Who is the toughest hitter for you to face?
Martinez: Everyone. They're all the same.

9. How would you bat against yourself?
Martinez: I would try to get my knocks and if I didn't, I would tip my cap and walk away.

10. It's your last meal on Earth. What do you want to eat?
Martinez: I'm not a big eater. I don't like to eat. I wish you could just give me a pill that I could take and never have to eat again. And I don't want to know when my last meal on Earth is.

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	ALSO SEE: Ten burning questions for Ichiro Suzuki Ten burning questions for Tim Hasselbeck Ten burning questions for Heath Ledger Ten burning questions for Julie Foudy

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