It's Official, Pedro Is Back [David Stefanini]

New York Mets fan the day we have been waiting for has arrived (or it will tomorrow). The New York Mets have announced, they were so impressed with Pedro's bullpen session on Saturday, that they are going to let the ace take the mound on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Let's not get our hopes up yet. Pedro will be on a strict, 75 pitch count and not be allowed to throw more than 35 in one inning. There is no way of telling just how effective Pedro will be. Met's physician, David Altchek, who performed the surgery said no pitcher has ever come back from rotator cuff surgery within one year. Pedro will be making this start, 2 days shy of the 11 month anniversary of the surgery. Pedro is entering uncharted territory.

That means for us Mets fans and those who are just interested, we really have no clue what to expect. The only things that are certain are, Pedro will not be throwing mid to upper 90's and more importantly he will have a great impact on this team in the dugout.

Before this weekend series with the Braves, the Mets were losers of 5 games in a row, and saw their 7 game lead shrink down to a mere 2 games. Remember last year when all you heard about was how this clubhouse was full of laughter and very relaxed? This year many people have said they are tense and not having fun. Then enter Pedro. Pedro sits in the dugout with the rest of his teammates and immediately smiles emerge on their faces. Pedro is a spark plug that doesn't necessarily have to dominate on the mound to be beneficial to his team. When he is part of the team they get a different look to them. They get a swagger that the great teams have. Pedro can be the lift this team needs to make them great. Right now they are a good team in a division of inconsistent teams. They now have a chance to dominate the division and go into the playoffs riding high.