Ace in a hole: years of overuse have left Pedro Martinez, the king of mound two years ago, at a crossroads in his career. (Baseball).

The pen is out of ink. Pedro Martinez, signing autographs at the Red Sox training complex in Fort Myers, Fla., shakes the instrument with his right hand, trying to get it working. Immediately, a fan goes into a near-panic.

"Shake the pen for him!" he cries out from the back of the crowd. "We don't want him to hurt his shoulder!"

Just as pens go dry, pitching arms do, too. Martinez, 30, won three Cy Young Awards in a four-year stretch before shoulder trouble sidelined him last season, leaving his career at a crossroads. He might never again dominate a season from start to finish. Unless changes are made--by the Red Sox and by Martinez himself--one of the elite pitchers of this generation almost certainly will be cut down in his prime.

Martinez already has taken the first step toward recovery, adding 10 pounds of muscle to his wiry 5-11 frame. But a stronger physique isn't all that is required; in fact, it might not prevent Martinez from further damaging his slightly torn rotator cuff and undergoing shoulder surgery.

Maybe nothing will.

The Red Sox team physician, Arthur Pappas, says that Martinez's bulkier physique will help his endurance but provide only indirect benefit to his rotator cuff. Martinez says his shoulder feels more stable, but after failing to make 30 starts in any of the previous three seasons, he offers no guarantees.

"Am I going to be healthy? I don't know," Pedro says. "Only God knows."

Still, every precaution must be taken. The Red Sox must handle Martinez with greater care than they did last season. Martinez must exercise greater self-restraint and yield responsibility to the team's other pitchers. And the team's new ownership must do everything possible to help its franchise pitcher stay healthy--from listening to him when he says he's hurt to constructing a team that will help reduce his burden.

The 2001 season…