Given Joe Kerrigan's old association with the Red Sox and Expos this hardly comes as surprising news, but apparently the Pirates contacted Pedro Martinez today to see what's on his mind for 2009. Dejan doesn't think anythings likely to happen and he's certainly got a better handle on this than any of us, but it's always worth mentioning when the Pirates talk to a future Hall of Famer about anything.

That said, I don't think there's much upside to signing Martinez. Pedro's going to be 37 and he's got a lot of miles on his arm. I think that whoever signs him will probably be lucky to get 150 innings out of him in 2009 and they'll probably be lucky if those innings are league average. I mean, it's not a totally awful idea. There are a lot of similarities between Ian Snell and Martinez early in his career, from style to size to temperament, and there's probably a lot Snell could learn from Pedro. The same goes for the rest of the staff, I suppose. But are those things that Joe Kerrigan can't teach them? Would it be worth the money we'd have to pay him? Should I stop being negative and admit that watching Pedro in his prime was watching greatness personified and that means I'd still be a little stoked to see him in black and gold?

I guess we can answer all those questions if they ever actually become relevant.