Martinez update

Adam Rubin at the NY Daily News, writes about Pedro Martinez and how his recovery is doing:

Pedro Martinez visited the Mets' minicamp yesterday and declared himself progressing well from October surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. He still expects to return after the All-Star break but doesn't intend to even pick up a baseball for two months.

"I'm doing better and better," Martinez said before hopping a flight with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, GM Omar Minaya and David Wright to the Dominican Republic, where the Mets intended to make a donation to the Esperanza Foundation charity at the team's complex in San Cristobal. "Right now, thanks to God, everything is going perfect. I'm working hard. It's a long period of time working. It's paying off. Right now I'm at a good weight, in good health. My range of motion is really good. I'm very optimistic."

Martinez suggested he feels well enough to accelerate his rehabilitation, but he'll still stick to the original timetable to be safe. Former Red Sox doctor Bill Morgan, who performed the surgery with Mets doctor David Altchek, spent time with Martinez this week to monitor his progress.

"I'm not going to take a chance," Martinez said. "I'm going to do this one time and I'm going to do it well. I don't want to really get overexcited and expose myself to a difficult situation with no need. I was told exactly what I had to do. I'm going to follow that. And I'm going to follow it religiously. And I'm not going to let it go. I'm not going to disobey my program."