It was only one game

Pedro Martinez's first pitch of the season was an 89-mph fastball.

Then again, I realized it was April 1st. What a relief. What a joker that Pedro Martinez is! Playing a sick joke like that on the people of New England.

The next pitch registered at 90-mph. It looked like another fastball.

I winced when I watched him throw it.

"What the -- Hey, that wasn't a change up," one of my fellow New England coworkers screamed at the monitor. He was right. At first, you couldn't tell. Red Sox nation was so used to seeing Pedro Martinez throw pitches that would put the Millennium Falcon's warp speed to shame.

What was going on here?

"What the heck is going on here? This is ridiculous!" My coworker had just placed a vice grip squeeze on his tall orange soda, spilling it all over his Pedro Martinez jersey.

"This guy is a chump! Get him out of here."

Pedro had only thrown two pitches and my coworker's hysterical voice had grown higher than Barry Gibbs' during the hook for "Staying Alive."

So is the case in New England every season - so is the problem with the start of every Red Sox season. Forget the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. Forget the fact that the Bruins and Celtics are also finally playoff bound once more. Its baseball rules in Boston and by the end of the 12-11, 4-hour marathon loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, Red Sox Nation needed a negotiator to help get them in off the ledge.

It's over - these guys are stiffs.

Pedro's done. He's hurt - I know he's hurt. It's over. The guy is all washed up.

Ah - the sweet sounds of Boston during baseball season. Never mind the familiar sounds from the crack of the bat or all the jubilant vendors selling peanuts and crackerjacks. This is New England where the fresh sounds of cynicism drip off the tongues like spicy mustard on a pretzel.

It was the season opener. It was cold and dry. Pedro wasn't fully healed from his shoulder problems. It was a tough day to grip the ball. That Toronto lineup is one of the toughest in baseball.

There were excuses from a panicked nation. That is - there were excuses all around from everyone except Pedro.

"No pain. Please don't mention pain. This was the best I could do today." Pedro said after the game.

Grady Little sensed a panicked nation and did his best to quell the nerves. "The kid is human."

Superman no longer - the fans answered back.

It was only one game and the Red Sox fans made the Sox a comparable team to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That is far from the case, but it's Pedro that the Sox hopes rest upon. Fans know that and they just aren't used to seeing their ace roughed up like a rookie pitcher. In Boston, it's live and die with every single pitch. Unlike most passionate cities in the country, the desperate, championship-starved lot needs results or they think it's the apocalypse.

Look at the Yankees. They lost big on opening night and their ace, Roger Clemens, went down with an injury? Try telling me with a straight face that the Yanks still aren't the best team in all of baseball.

One heartbreaking loss on opening day and Pedro needs rotator cuff surgery and the Sox are pansies? Never mind their new first baseman, Tony Clark, had a monster home run and drove in a few runs. How about their steadfast catcher Jason Varitek, back from elbow surgery, going three-for-three at the plate with a mammoth home run? Manny walked four times and free-swinging third baseman, Shea Hillenbrand, actually walked after having one of the lowest walk totals in all of baseball last season. Things could be a lot worse.

So what if Pedro hasn't won a game since he said he'd hit the Bambino in the ass with a pitch - I say coincidence. Don't go calling out Oliver Stone just yet. Give him a few more games and then we'll talk.

That was just one game for Pedro. There's a 160 games left folks, almost thirty more for Pedro.

By the end of the day, my fellow co-worker's Pedro jersey was stained from his soda and slightly tattered from his tugging on it. I'm not worried - he can wash it and a sew it up.