[Lefty Noob]

The injured toe that started giving Pedro Martinez problems last season has started flaring up again during spring training. He's using a special shoe to try and alleviate some of the discomfort, but he may still bow out of the World Baseball Classic as a result.

The Mets can ill afford to lose him, but they say they won't force him to skip the WBC. In fact, manager Willie Randolph told reporters, "If Pedro feels he wants to play, he has my blessing." But if there's a possibility it may cost him starts, shouldn't they try to talk him out of going?

[EmpireWF]

Obviously the Mets don't want him to play in the WBC, but they also don't want to rock the boat. Pedro is a god in the Dominican and he can't just say I won't play b/c of the Mets. Hopefully, he'll end up not playing b/c of the toe and everyone will forget this in a few months.

Pedro is behind on his own working schedule as it is, the dude is a crazy man when it comes to working out.

Our season is on his little toe...sad but true.

[ThePundit]

Its amazing how Mets management walks on eggshells with Pedro. They are so scared to tick him off. There's no way he should play in the WBC even before the toe. He's got a brittle arm as it is. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Lefty Noob]

The AP has this update on his progress: "Pedro Martinez threw on flat ground for about 20 minutes. 'It's felt pretty good so far,' he said. Martinez has a sore right toe and is wearing a special shoe to relieve pressure. He hopes to throw off a mound by the end of the week."

So far, so good, but the real test will be throwing off the mound.