Welcome back, Pedro

How many of you started reading box scores and game stories Wednesday night and thought you'd accessed a page from 1999 by accident?

You didn't. Pedro Martinez really did pitch five winning innings for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yes, THAT Pedro Martinez. The one that hasn't pitched in the majors since 1988, or so it seems. The one that was baseball's dominant pitcher for years.

He's back, but before we start crowning the Phillies as back-to-back World Champions, it's time to take stock in the land of the cheese steak.

Pedro's 37, and that right arm's logged a ton of innings, recent off time aside. The last time he logged a respectable ERA in more than a handful of innings was 2005 - the year Freddy Garcia won the World Series clinching game for the White Sox. Over the Astros. Yes, that long ago.

Pedro's in the rotation, which means an unhappy Jamie Moyer heads down the foul line to the bullpen. Half of me really wants to see a normally calm Moyer freak out on that MLB Network reality show (if it happened, the network would edit that part out anyway). The other half wonders what will happen to the always-fragile chemistry of the staff, especially if Pedro's subsequent starts aren't so great and Moyer ends up bailing him out in relief.

Saying the word 'pitching' around a baseball fan is like saying the words 'health care' around almost anyone these days - say it, then duck... because a shoe will be flying your way. Pitching is in an incredibly sad state everywhere (Paul Byrd, anyone?), so it's only natural that someone would let Pedro try to push their playoff hopes over the top.

Just don't expect 1999 results.

P.S. - is it wrong of me to hope Pedro's Phillies rematch with Don Zimmer's Rays in the Series this October? (Don't know why I'm in a base-brawl mood lately...)