Pedro Martinez on his friendship with Jose Fernandez and the Red Sox' postseason chances

The StewPod: Baseball, pop culture & more

As baseball still processes the shocking death of Jose Fernandez, this week’s StewPod offers you a new perspective on the life of Fernandez. It belongs to Pedro Martinez, the Hall of Fame pitcher and analyst for MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight,” who had built a friendship with Fernandez since his emergence as one of the best pitchers in the game. In fact, Martinez says, he was looking forward to going fishing with Fernandez soon. “Given the circumstances, I’m glad I didn’t get to love him even more,” Martinez says. “Even though I feel like a family member, I feel like I lost someone so close. He was someone unique. I’ve never seen someone embrace the game and complete at the same time with so much grace and glare.” Martinez also talks about the MLB postseason with us, for which he’ll also be serving as an analyst on TBS, specifically about the Red Sox chances, how he’d pitch to the Cubs and about his friend David Ortiz’s amazing final season. Here’s the full rundown of the show: • Intro • Pedro Martinez on Jose Fernandez • Pedro on the Red Sox’s World Series chances and Big Papi’s final season • Pedro picks which teams will surprise and disappoint in the postseason • How would he pitch to the Cubs • Is anybody trying to steal him away from TV to be a coach? • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on Jose Fernandez, the premature Cubs World Series tattoo and “Stranger Things” • Mike and Chris’ favorite Jose Fernandez moments • Mike’s favorite new music pick of the week [Music: Gallant — “Weight in Gold”]