Pedro's a Phillie

It's official.

Pedro Martinez, possibly the greatest Red Sox pitcher ever, has joined his 2004 World Champion co-ace Curt Schilling in the pantheon of SoxandPhils.

Yes, he's just a fifth starter whose on-field performance may not exceed that of Rodrigo Lopez, but I must admit all the buzz about his signing got to me today.

His smile. His charisma. His arrogance. It reminded me of the guy who was the most dominant pitcher in the game from 1997 to 2003 - the guy who brazenly said wake up the Babe because he would drill him.

I think he knows he will not dominate. But I think he knows that he can end his career on a better note than last year's 5.61 ERA.

No matter what - it's going to be fun. Both Scott Lauber and Todd Zolecki called Pedro's presser the most entertaining they've ever covered. That's saying something. These guys covered the exploits of Elvis Burrell.

"I bring with me a legacy," Pedro Martinez said. "I bring with me, my last name. I bring my face. I bring everything I have, my integrity, to this team.

"I might surprise you. I might not. But it's going to be fun. It's going to be really fun to go out and find out."

Game on.

Part of Pedro's motivation for signing with Phillies is to win a championship with a National League team to match the ring he got with the 2004 Red Sox. That means he's going to be gunning for his old team. If that happens, and he's lined up to pitch in Game 1 or 2 of the World Series, he'll be pitching in Fenway as the AL held out to win 4-3 last night in the All-Star game.

There were a couple of notable SoxandPhils moments after I shut down last night. Jonathan Papelbon, who became the second Red Sox pitcher in three years to win an All-Star game, pitched a scary 7th inning. The first two batters hit long flies on each of their first pitches, but they were caught. One would have been a home run if not for a great catch by the game's MVP, Carl Crawford. Jayson Werth ended the inning with a strikeout in an eight-pitch at bat.

In the 8th, the storybook script seemed in line for St. Louis native Ryan Howard. He came up with the NL trailing by a run but with two runners in scoring position with two outs. He struck out.

Now, onto the second half.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]