Martinez in debut for Phils tonight

By ANDY MARTINO

CHICAGO — No one, including Pedro Martinez, knows how he will pitch tonight or for the remainder of the season.

“It’s my first game in what, almost a year?” Martinez said Tuesday. “How do I feel? Better. I don’t know how to measure that. Just better.”

Tonight will present the first concrete evidence of how Martinez fares as a major-league pitcher in 2009 when he makes his Phillies debut against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Last season, Martinez was 5-6 with a 5.61 earned run average for the New York Mets.

In his career, one of the finest ever for a right-handed pitcher, Martinez is 214-99, with a 2.91 earned run average. A master of the strike zone while in his prime, Martinez has struck out 3,117 and walked 752 in 2,782 2/3 innings.

But those career numbers mean nothing to the 2009 Phillies in their pursuit of another championship. They need Martinez to be a more effective starter than Jamie Moyer, whom he replaced on the starting rotation.

“Our major-league scouts say that his velocity is up from last year, his arm angle is even higher, and his command was good,” said manager Charlie Manuel. “They thought that he could definitely help us. ... If they feel that strongly about him, then I think we definitely should take a look at him.”

Manuel said that Martinez would have an extended opportunity to show that he can pitch effectively for the Phils. “He knows when we put him out there that he is definitely going to get a chance,” the manager said.

Martinez doggedly declined to make predictions about his performance. “You know why this game is played nine innings, sometimes more?” he said. “Because you can never predict. You never know.”

He said that his command was good, and that mattered more than velocity. “You know how many times I’ve won games at 86 (mph)?” he said.