Kuzul

New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez has been a recent topic of conversation among the Mets brass, but recent rumors surrounding Perez suggest the Mets are deep into trade talks with the Houston Astros.

In the blockbuster deal being discussed between the two teams, the Mets would send the struggling starting pitcher to the Astros in exchange for their top washing machine and a brand new 2010 Cadillac Escalade. 

It is believed that the Escalade would be given to the Mets new No. 3 starting pitcher, Hisanori Takahashi.

Takahashi is new to the United States, he was brought over from Japan in the offseason, and has been driving an older Toyota model for most of the season.

Mets officials felt that Takahashi would benefit from driving around a newer car. Noting that it would enhance his self-confidence and help maintain his valuable production in the starting rotation.

But according to an anonymous member of the Mets front office, the key to the deal is the Astros ace washing machine.

“If you take a look at the Astros uniforms you can tell that they have a top-notch washing machine, their uniforms are constantly clean, and you just don’t see that in baseball these days,” said the anonymous Mets official.

It is believed that the Mets came up with this idea from the movie “Semi-Pro” that starred Will Ferrell.

The Mets have tried to talk Perez into the idea of working on his delivery in the minor leagues, much to the dismay of the southpaw.

It seems unlikely that Perez would receive meaningful work if he remained on the Mets roster.

Whether or not this deal actually takes place still remains to be seen. However, if it does occur, this deal would likely make a large impact on the Mets roster and help them make a run at the National League East title this season.

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Originally posted on Midwestropolitan.

The Mets dropped their second game in a row to the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, losing 8-6.

It appears that the pitch by committee strategy employed by Jerry Manuel was doomed from the start, thanks to Corey Hart and his first inning grand slam.

The Mets fought back with a big blast of their own.  It came in the shape of an Ike Davis three run bomb in the fourth inning.

Unfortunately, the Mets couldn’t catch the Brewers and now find themselves back at .500.

I don’t blame Fernando Nieve or Jerry Manuel entirely for this loss.

I blame Oliver Perez.

Ollie Is Useless

Oliver Perez’s decision to refuse to go to the minors is killing the Mets’ pitching staff.

It is obvious Perez isn’t a big league pitcher.  He was ineffective tonight as he gave up three runs in just two innings of relief.

I have to believe that guys in the Mets’ clubhouse are getting frustrated with the fact that he is wasting a roster spot, which in turn makes the Mets very vulnerable every fifth start.

It is time for the Mets to cut their losses.  I know it’s not my millions I am throwing away, but the Wilpons have to recognize Perez is hurting this team in a major way and he represents a sunk cost.

Here’s the definition if they are reading:

A cost that has already been incurred and  cannot be recovered to any significant degree.

Oliver Perez cannot be recovered to any significant degree.

Getting To The Bullpen Early

I keep thinking about how the game would be different if the Mets were able to go with an actual starting pitcher tonight.  Fernando Nieve followed by a committee of pitchers is not the answer.

Think about it from this perspective.

Very frequently in this game, we hear someone state that the goal of the offense is to get to the opponent’s bullpen.

Tonight, the Brewers were able to accomplish this common goal before the game even started.

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The Mets are in a bad way right now. Dropping below .500 yesterday could be a dangerous sign for the 2010 season and where it’s headed.

Expect the Wilpons to enter their first decision point in two weeks. If the Mets aren’t moving in the right direction at the end of May, it could spell the end for Jerry Manuel as manager. I would also expect Dan Warthen and Howard Johnson to be fired as well. If Manuel, Warthen, and HoJo make it into June in their current jobs that’s a very good sign for them.

So much has happened over the last few days, here are the links.

The Mets are 4-11 on the road this year and have no offense in those games at all. You would think they would take advantage of getting away from Citi Field but they haven’t. It’s been just the opposite.

It’s been well documented that Oliver Perez lost his spot in the rotation yesterday. But ESPN broke the news that Omar Minaya brought up the possibility of going to the minors and Perez refused.

Perez has nine years in the bigs and doesn’t have to agree to go to the minors if he doesn’t want to. I wouldn’t either. If he went, he would have no control over when he came back. They could leave him in the minors all season.

The difference between this situation and Steve Trachsel going to the minors in 2005 is that the Mets would have released Trachsel. They won’t release Perez. He doesn’t have to worry about that because of his big contract. There’s no motivation for him to go to the minors.

Carlos Beltran stopped by Miami yesterday to see the Mets. He’s still rehabbing from knee surgery in Port St. Lucie. Beltran wouldn’t speak to the media while he was there. The word is that once he resumes full activity (which he hasn’t yet) he’ll need four to six weeks to get ready to play.

Ryota Igarashi started his rehab from a hamstring strain yesterday and got knocked around in 0.2 IP in St. Lucie. He gave up four hits and two runs.

In 1985, Bernie Carbo tried to hire thugs to break Keith Hernandez’ arms for testifying that Carbo was the one that got him started on cocaine. Hernandez testified during the Pittsburgh drug trials about his use and acquisition of cocaine while playing for the Cardinals.

Sabernomics adds a little more analysis to the Mets shrinking attendance this season.

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Oliver Perez was absolutely atrocious in his last start. He walked seven batters in 3 1/3 innings, throwing nearly 100 pitches. That is just flat out unacceptable.

He originally didn’t use the cold weather as an excuse for why he was so bad, but he eluded to it during an in-game interview last night. He told SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt that he was having trouble gripping his slider as it was slipping off his fingers.

If that was a legitimate reason, which I don’t buy, he shouldn’t have any problems in Friday’s second game of the series in Miami. Down south, it’ll be around 80 degrees at gametime, meaning if he’s bad this time around, it’s time to seek further action regarding his spot in the rotation.

He’ll be opposing Marlins right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who threw a no-hitter back on September 6, 2006. Ever since then he’s battled some arm problems and had Tommy John Surgery thereafter.

In 2006, Sanchez’s rookie season, he was dominant. He went 10-3 with an ERA of only 2.83 in 17 starts. It looked as if he was going to be a star pitcher as he threw a no-hitter in with that fantastic record. Since then, seasons 2007-now, he’s gone 9-16. This season, in six starts, he’s 1-2 with an ERA of 4.08.

After last night’s crushing defeat, Mets manager Jerry Manuel hinted at a potential lineup change for tonight’s game. He said, “If this continues, we’ll have to make switches to the lineup.” When asked exactly what they would be he replied “we’ll have to make switches to the lineup. I’m not going to tell you exactly what I’m doing.”

If indeed those switches are effective immediately, look for Jose Reyes to be batting leadoff again. Any lineup change would have to consist of Reyes moving out of the third spot, otherwise what difference would it make?

You can give the Mets’ offense a pass against Josh Johnson, but what about all the other games that they’ve failed to produce? The Mets will have to get something going with a new lineup. If they don’t, then you’ll just have to chalk it up to the fact that maybe they’re not any good.

If Oliver Perez can give the Mets anything, the Mets would have to be pleased. They were pleased with Johan Santana giving them seven terrific innings of work.

The only thing is, Jerry Manuel is clueless right now when it comes to managing the bullpen. The point of needing deep starts right now is because the bullpen has been overworked. What was the point in still bringing Fernando Nieve in for more than one inning when he wasn’t really needed? The guy is on pace to appear in 102 games out of the ‘pen this season.

It’s time to stop using Nieve and stretch out other relievers or just leave starters in to throw 110+ pitches on a nightly basis. It’s not fair to the relievers to have to eat up almost half the innings because the starters don’t go deep. We’ll see how this entire saga pans out.

Oliver Perez vs. Florida (career)
6-3, 4.00 ERA, 90 IP, 73 hits, 40 BB, 102 SO

Anibal Sanchez vs. New York (career)
2-3, 4.22 ERA, 32 IP, 38 hits, 14 BB, 25 SO

2010 season series (New York vs. Florida)
April 5: New York 7, Florida 1
April 7: Florida 7, New York 6 (10)
April 8 : Florida 3, New York 1
May 13 : Florida 2, New York 1
Marlins lead series 3-1

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Mets fans grab your torches! We’re going to Oliver Perez’s house!

Alright, now that I have your attention, let’s state the obvious; Mets pitcher Oliver Perez is in serious trouble.

Sure, his stats from Sundays loss to the San Francisco Giants weren’t horrific upon a quick glance (two hits allowed, four runs, two strikeouts), but it was other categories (three 1/3 innings pitched and seven walks) that have Mets fans all over the world ready to GPS directions to his home.

Like many fans of the Amazins’, I have been less than enthusiastic about the mediocre start that the team has gotten off to. There is seemingly far too much talent on this club to warrant a 17-14 record. The team seems to lack fire at times, and that translates to their fanbase.

In fact, my initial reaction to my impending trip to Citi Field for their Mother’s Day affair with the Giants was, “Well, at least Tim Lincecum is pitching for the Giants.”

But the major reason for the 35,000 people in attendance being underwhelmed was that Perez, the perpetual wild-card would be taking the mound for New York. And depending on your team allegiance, he was either a major disappointment or a great asset. Perez took a no-decision thanks to his team making a late inning comeback before eventually falling behind for good by one run in the eighth inning on a two run homer by Giants centerfilder Aaron Rowand off of Mets rookie Jenrry Mejia.

And let’s be honest, despite their 18-12 record (good for second in a wide open NL West), the Giants are a pretty average team offensively. Sure, infielder Pablo Sandoval is a very dangerous hitter, but he’s in a horrible slump at the moment, so much so that even Perez dominated him. All-Star catcher Bengie Molina did not play in the game, and none of the other players in the lineup are household names (though Rowand and shortstop Juan Uribe are both excellent players).

This game should not have been such a struggle for Perez.

In the post-game interview, Mets manager Jerry Manuel hinted that the weather might have been to blame for Perez’s slow start to the season. This has been the constant knock on Perez during his tenure in New York. The thinking within the Mets organization seems to be that Perez will settle in once the warmer months come around. But the last time that I checked, the beginning, and more importantly, the end of the Major League Baseball season come in colder months.

And quite frankly, I don’t care if a pitcher is winless through the netire season as long as he can win in October. But if we’re to believe that Perez does not function well in cold weather, should he just be demoted to Triple-A come September?

Sitting up in section 525, closer to the clouds than the field, the boo-birds were all over Perez from the very first of his seven walks. Most fans booed loudly or shouted four letter words, but one fan in particular took great pleasure in loudly heckling the struggling hurler, telling him to “Go back to Mexico” several times throughout his three plus innings on the mound.

Post-game, Manuel also told the media that he didn’t foresee any changes being made in reference to Perez. But should a manager simply be willing to expect a loss every fifth day? Because at this rate, Perez is good for nothing better.

Could he fare better for another team? We’ll probably never find out. Perez is in the second season of a three-year, $36 million dollar contract, which no sane team would possibly take on at this point.

Manuel also seems averse to moving Perez to the bullpen, seeing no real place for him there.

The solution, at least for the time being, seems to be sending the embattled southpaw to Triple-A Buffalo for some extra work. Maybe working with Bisons pitching coach and former big leaguer Ricky Bones will do some good for Perez, seeing as working with Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen seems to be doing nothing.

And at this point, it clearly couldn’t do any more harm.

So send us a postcard from The City of Good Neighbors, and enjoy the hot wings Mr. Perez. We’ll see you this summer.

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My wife is not a baseball fan. Calling her even a casual fan would be a fierce overstatement.

When she opts to grace me with her presence as I’m watching a game, statements of “that pitch was awful” or “what the heck was he doing” are commonplace, despite her lack of knowledge of the game.

Her favorite phrase, however, is:

“Perez sucks, boot him forever”

The Perez she is referring to is the Mets’ Oliver Perez. 

While I may not agree with the latter part of the phrase, it’s tough to argue with the beginning. 

Yesterday’s performance could be the exclamation point on what may be one of the most enigmatic performers in baseball. 

It took him 98 pitches to get just 10 outs. Of those pitches, only 44 were for strikes, as he walked seven and hit a batter.

Acquired by the Mets in 2006, he has a history of starts like this. 

There were four starts where he walked at least six batters in 2009. In 2008, he had a start in Colorado where he walked eight. In 2007, he walked seven against the Phillies.

We all know he has the stuff to be successful, when he’s actually finding the strike zone. In his six starts this season, he hasn’t walked less than three batters in a game.  He’s now sporting a BB/9 of 7.5, basically preventing him any chance of success.

It’s easy to focus just on the control, but there are other numbers that should be mentioned.

The speed of his fastball is down, by over two miles per hour. While his career average is 91.1 mph, last season he was at 90.0 mph. 

This year? Just 88.0 heading into yesterday’s start.

It’s possible he’s hurt, but it’s also possible that he was trying to dial it down in attempt to gain better control. That clearly hasn’t happened and has also helped contribute to a decline in strikeouts. Just look at his K/9s since 2007:

• 2007 – 8.9
• 2008 – 8.4
• 2009 – 8.5
• 2010 – 6.6

That was his one saving grace, the one thing that made him a viable fantasy option.  Without that, what’s the point?

As of right now he’s an average strikeout pitcher with an awful WHIP and the chance to blowup in any given start. 

Does that sound like something you’d want to risk having on the roster?

Yesterday’s start should be the last straw for the Mets (but of course, these are the Mets, so they are going to continue using him in the rotation). 

It would not be a surprise to see him dropped from the rotation and he certainly shouldn’t have a spot on your fantasy roster at this point. I could understand wanting to take the gamble on him early on, but at this point fellow Met Jonathan Niese is a much better bet.

Outside of the deepest of formats, he clearly has no value for fantasy owners. 

If he should start to turn things around, I don’t see any other owners scrambling to take the gamble on him. Throw him to the waiver wire for now and actually take a pitcher that you’d be willing to use in any given week.

What are your thoughts?  Is there any way that you’d use Perez?  Why or why not?

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