There's no loyalty in baseball

This is not what I wanted to talk about.

I'm a basketball fan. I love the NBA. Baseball is fun, but if you really want to see America's past time, check out the streets of New York and Chicago and see what game the kids are playing. It won't involve a bat and glove.

Just this past week I was in Los Angeles watching the Clippers -- that's right the Clippers -- and thinking to myself how great it is to see such a young, up-and-coming basketball team come together. I didn't even think about baseball, even with the annual winter meetings taking place just a few hours away.

Then it happened.

Pedro Martinez signed with the Mets.

I'm not going to tell you that I'm one of those hard core, Cask N' Flagon type Red Sox fans who live and die with every pitch. It just wouldn't be true. But my first real baseball memory came when that ball trickled through Buckner's legs and perhaps my greatest joy came when Keith Foulke fielded that come backer to close out game four of the World Series. The 2004 Red Sox were special. They were not the 25 guys-25 cabs squad of years past, but a merry (or motley) crew of misfits who blatantly enjoyed each other and enjoyed playing the game even more. While we are never going to see another dynasty like the Yankees of the late '90's, this years Red Sox team deserved the chance to stay together and try and see if they can squeeze at least one more ring out of Johnny Damon's beard and Curt Schilling's ankle.

Then Pedro had to go and ruin the whole thing.

Far be it from me to criticize a man for accepting an extra $14 million. But in my mind Pedro's actions and the way he treated the Red Sox management goes a long way towards erasing the euphoric wave Sox fans are riding in the wake of their World Series title. Pedro wanted more than two years -- understandable. His brother Ramon, a quality pitcher in his own right, suffered through the same arm problems Pedro has been dealing with over the last few seasons. Many of those problems began to surface when Ramon reached his mid-30's, somewhere Pedro is inching closer and closer to. So he shopped himself, fielded some offers, and made the Sox nervous enough that they finally agreed to guarantee the third and final year of his contract.

That should have been it.

Boston made Pedro an offer that was more than fair. Faced with the possibility of taking a huge pay cut this offseason, Pedro worked the market so that his drop in salary only amounted to about $3 million per season (I promise, that's the last time I use the words "only " and "million" in the same sentence). A far cry from the predicted $7-10 million many expected him to lose during free agency. But Pedro wasn't happy with that. He went Mets GM Omar Minaya, and asked if he would guarantee a fourth year. I'm Pedro Martinez, he said. I'm the intimidator. You saw what I did against the Cardinals. Don't you want me to do that for you?