Pedro returns to DR

[Lil Bit Special]

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/blog/2008/05/pedro_returns_to_dr.html

The Mets have scratched today's bullpen session for Pedro Martinez after he had to return to the Dominican Republic to tend to his ill father, Pablo, who suffered a setback this morning in his battle with brain cancer. Martinez already had landed in Atlanta when he got the phone call that told him about his father and he immediately hopped a flight to the Dominican.

How this will impact Martinez's rehab schedule is uncertain. Martinez, who has been on the DL since April 2 with a left hamstring strain, was supposed to pitch a side session today for manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and bullpen coach Guy Conti, his close friend and guru. If that went smoothly, Martinez was likely to make a rehab start for Class A St. Lucie on Saturday and then possibly be slotted in as early as Thursday against the Dodgers.

But with his dad's latest setback, it's difficult to predict how much this will delay Martinez, who may be at his father's bedside indefinitely. At the moment, it looks like he won't be back in the rotation for next week's homestand.