Pedro is going to be Pedro.

Since the day he was signed, I've said Pedro Martinez is going to be the least of the Mets' problems — and yesterday, he showed the world why, dominating the Reds in strikeout king fashion on what was, for eight innings, a perfect Opening Day for the Mets.

The crushing reality is that Braden is going to be Braden.

That's the problem. Pedro has always been considered a great teammate.

He would never throw anyone under the bus and he was that way yesterday after closer Braden Looper surrendered back-to-back, ninth-inning home runs and contributed to something that has never been done before in the 129 years the Reds have been playing professional baseball.

This marked the first time the Reds have won on Opening Day on a walkoff home run.

That home run was hit by Joe Randa, who hit all of eight home runs last season. This came right after Adam Dunn homered against Looper, who faced three batters and gave up three runs in the heartbreaking, 7-6 loss at Great American Ball Park.

The Red Sox and Pedro broke the Curse of the Bambino. Now Pedro has to figure out how to break the curse that hovers over the Mets.

"I've been through everything, so I know the game is not over until it's over," a calm Pedro said in Yogi-like fashion after the game. "Anything can happen."

It does with the Mets. You thought Armando Benitez was bad. Looper will go down in Mets lore forever as the guy who blew Pedro's debut.

Pedro suffered through only two blown saves last year from Keith Foulke — one after he'd struck out 11 Twins and thought he had Johan Santana beat.

To Looper's credit, he admitted he felt terrible for his teammates and Pedro.

You can add Willie Randolph to that list, too, as the right-hander became the ultimate Party Looper.

"Basically, I stunk," Looper said.

Basically, he's right.

Here is the good news for the Mets: Martinez struck out 12 over his six innings, his highest strikeout total since May 3, 2003.

He's 33, five years younger than Curt Schilling, and he's determined to show that the Red Sox made a critical error by not re-signing him. Considering that the Red Sox were blown to bits by the Yankees Sunday night in a game Pedro would have started, he has already made his point.

As he walked back to the clubhouse yesterday, I asked Pedro if he had watched the Yankees clobber his old team. "Yes," he said.

"Interesting, wasn't it?" I asked.

Pedro smiled and said, "Interesting."

Every day Pedro pitches will be interesting for the Mets. After Dunn crushed his three-run home run off Pedro in the first inning, the Hall-of-Famer went on to strike out 12 of the next 14 batters.

He didn't surrender another hit after that home run and he left with a 6-3 lead. Pedro began to get his fastball down after the home run and once the day became a bit more humid, he got a better feel for his off-speed pitches. He was electric.

"That's the first time I faced Pedro in my life and that's the least fun I've ever had in a game in my life," said Dunn, who struck out the second time he came up against Pedro.

"Anybody who thinks Pedro has lost it should grab a bat and try it."

Pedro will dominate hitters this year for his six or seven innings and then it will be up to the bullpen to hold the lead.

"I feel great," said Pedro, who made sure to give Looper a pat on the backside and some kind words in an effort to boost the shaky confidence of the reliever.

"I've very happy I was able to settle down and give the team a chance to win. I feel this team is going to be a lot better than people expect it to be . . . I think we are for real."

Until the ninth inning. http://www.nypost.com/sports/mets/42223.htm