The Martinez And Santana Show

George Vecsey at The New York Times writes about Johan Santana coming to Queens and and the competition that might take place between him and Pedro Martinez:

The other night, after the Johan Santana deal was in place, Willie Randolph was chatting with Pedro Martínez about the immensity of acquiring a pitcher with a 93-44 career record. Why, Santana just might win the Cy Young award, the manager said.

“Maybe after I win one,” Martínez said. Quite seriously, too. He already has three Cy Young awards as the best pitcher in his league. Santana, for the record, has two.

This is the way it works when two great pitchers are placed in proximity to each other in the same rotation. Randolph cited the old days when the Braves had John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in the same clubhouse, and nobody wanted to ruin a winning streak.