ESPN

• Your Rankings: Is Pedro Martinez the best pitcher of the last two decades?

Not to suggest Pedro Martinez is getting up there in years, but he's only five degrees of teammate separation from Babe Ruth (John Candelaria to Willie Stargell to Johnny Logan to Ray Mueller to the Bambino). No wonder he feels like he had some influence in Ruth's old office -- and presumably the new one where he starts Game 2 of the World Series.

When Martinez was still looking for a team to give him the ball back in July, 57 percent of SportsNation contended he was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Interestingly, given all the current clamor about toppling Don Zimmer and serving as the Big Apple's favorite villain, New York and New Jersey were the only states outside the heart of Red Sox Nation to vote the other way (and we can't imagine that was all Mets fans rushing to the defense of a guy who went 32-23 in four so-so seasons with their team).

steve (philly)

What are the chances pedro will ... come out with a win?

Buster Olney

I just don't think Pedro is a good match for the Yankees' lineup -- but then again, I thought he shouldn't have started Game 2 against the Dodgers, and he went out and threw great. We'll see if the Yankees can corner him, in the ball-strike count, more effectively than the Dodgers were able to. Full transcript.