A Sunshine Reunion With History Ignored

As all of Boston celebrates the return of Pedro Martinez tonight, Seth Mnookin, whose upcoming book about the Red Sox tells all these stories from the inside out, reminds everyone that just because everyone's all lovey-dovey now doesn't mean that the truth is the way everyone would like it to be.

When Pedro says he wanted nothing more than to return to Fenway and finish out his career with the Sox, a little context would be nice. Pedro — one of the proudest men ever to put on a uniform — hated the fact that Schilling had supplanted him as the team's ace. He hated it so much that he didn't travel to New York for Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees, when a bloodied Schilling took the mound and did what Pedro hadn't been able to do since 1999: beat the Yankees in the playoffs. He resented the fact that the Sox had juggled their World Series rotation so it was Schilling who got the Game 2 start at Fenway. (That way, Schilling wouldn't need to bat and risk running on his ankle.) Pedro had been a savior in Boston, and he wanted a chance to do the same thing in New York.

Sure, there will be plenty of cheering at Fenway tonight ... but remember, as Mnookin points out, when the Red Sox were in the World Series, Pedro wasn't thinking about a Red Sox title: He was thinking about free agency.

Another Reminder That Reality And Reunions Don't Mix [SethMnookin.com]