Matthew Cerrone

Quote: Willie and Wright on Perez
By Matthew Cerrone - Apr 3, 2008 8:16 am

During last night’s 13–0 win over the Marlins, Oliver Perez pitched six scoreless innings, and allowed five hits and one walk while striking out eight…

as i said last night, his slider was terrific, changing speeds, and all around the zone…his success his two fold, a) remain focused, and b) get the best from his slider…that’s alland he did that last night

Willie Randolph, on Perez, following last night’s game:

“Man, I could bottle that and put it away…He was awesome tonight…All his pitches were pretty crisp, even his change up…He stayed in his rhythm the majority of the game, that’s the real key for him…He needs to mature.  That’s a big part of his development.  He needs to be able, when things go wrong, to lock back in and stay focused on the task at hand.  Obviously, he’s very capable of doing that, which he showed tonight.  He just needs to be able to do it more consistently.”

According to Filip Bondy in the Daily News, last night’s performance by Perez was just what the Mets needed following the disappointing news about Pedro Martinez’s hamstring injury.

David Wright essentially agreed, saying the following, as quoted by the New York Post:

“It was big of Oliver Perez to do what he did…To do it on the same day Pedro went down makes it that much bigger.”

…i tend to agree…i mean, personally, i was feeling a tad dejected prior to last night’s game, which is not to say i was pessimistic…i was just, blah, a bit bummed by the set back…however, i feel much better today, while daydreaming of how great i believe perez, John Maine and Johan Santana can be togetherit was sort of like ollie’s outing smacked me in the face and woke me up…thanks, opie

80 Responses to “Quote: Willie and Wright on Perez”

  1. mdemaio says:

    Mark the date…Wallace Matthews actually wrote a positive article about the Mets today…

  2. sincekindergarten says:

    Is there a deep freeze in Hell or something?

    I noticed very few changeups last night. ‘Course, my little Mets fan had woken me up at 4 AM yesterday morning, so I was kinda tired and didn’t make it into the sixth inning.

  3. desimet4life says:

    i agree with you Matt… i also felt bummed after the turn of events with pedro.. and maybe still do.. even though we have never fully got the best of pedro during his tenure w/ us, we as Mets (team and the fans) have embraced him… the life he brings kind of elevates the team in numerous ways… he is what we all see Jose becoming… the talented player with a kids heart… makes us all nostalgic about our childhood just seeing a grown man having that much fun playing baseball, because majority of the players treat it like a business and lose the innocent love of the game.. without pedro, we sometimes lack the lifeblood.. and that is what we and more importantly the rest of the team might miss the most..

    • m00kie says:

      well said.. yesterday was rough for me too..I had DVR’ed the game and was watching it yesterday morning before work. After the first two innings, my wife couldn’t overcome her curiosity and checked the mets website for a score… the way she said “uh-oh” I knew I didn’t want to watch the rest. I actually stayed away from the mets news and interviews I usually listen to driving around during the day..didn’t want to hear all of the post-first-game-pre-second-game optimism that remained unlistened…Last night was a perfect tonic for all of that. I still like our staff, the bullpen looks determined, and this offense has something to prove. And the Phillies got shut out by the nationals. life is good again ;)

  4. Virtual Insanity says:

    Love watching Ollie when he’s on………..HATE thinking about who his agent is. Anyone else feel slighted that Perez refuses to talk a contract with the team who took him from the scrap heap and gave him a chance on the big stage? Because of the exposure the Mets gave him some team like the Giants will give him too much money and too many years and the Mets will be stuck with a draft pick in return. He’ll probably end up with the Yankees next year!

    • Ametfan says:

      I don’t have a problem with him not discussing his contract. Baseball is a business. From a business standpoint, Ollie and his agent have decided to wait until the season’s end. Besides, the Mets never approached him with a contract. All they offered was low-ball insult of an arbitration offer that they lost in 2 seconds. Why should he go to them. Also, at this point, if he keeps pitching like last night he is going to get PAID. I think that we Met fans had better come to terms with Ollie not being here next year. That is a definite possibility.

      • Volume11 says:

        Why should he? Because he would be in the minors right now had Peterson not worked with him and had the Mets offense given him the runs he needs to win games…

        I agree its a business, but its Boras we are talking about…he is the slimiest agent out there and poor Ollie will end up on a crappy team that wants to overpay for mid level talent and his ERA will go up and he’ll wish he stayed with the mets, even for less money.

  5. rogasm says:

    If that game were played at Shea, or anywhere else for that matter, one of Beltran’s doubles would have been an HR as well as Wright’s double would have been gone.

    • reyesnwright says:

      Actually two of Beltran’s doubles would have been HR (the one that hit high off the fence in left and the one that went over the fence in right).

      • therealsince86 says:

        And a couple of the flyouts that Ollie had might have gone too. It all evens out.

        • Tidewater says:

          Right! Good point. Play the game in the stadium in which it is scheduled, enjoy the quirks and uniqueness of each and stop WHINING!!!!!!

          I’m beginning to wonder how many posters on this blog actually ENJOY watching baseball, win or lose!

        • swedgin says:

          The left field wall and part of the right field wall at Citifield are fairly tall as well and would have kept a couple of those shots in, maybe even Church’s…its gonna be interesting….

  6. stickguy says:

    I know the assumption is that Boras will take him to FA, but has Perez (or Boras, probably wouldn’t understand what Perez was talking about!) ever come out and said that they refuse to discuss a deal during the season?

    In any case, Omar should at least explore the option and push for them to try and work something out. I know all about wanting to make sure he doesn’t regress, etc., but if they have the chance to lock him up now, do it. Sure it will be costly, but it won’t be any cheaper to get pitching in the off seaosn.

    And heck, next year I won’t be getting into Citifiled anyway, so it really isn’t my money!

    • therealsince86 says:

      I said this earlier before the season started. Give him until the Allstar break to decide on a fair contract, something like what Silva got. Tell him if he does not take it before the season ends then we will treat him like any other FA pitcher. He can throw his name out there with CC, Sheets, and others.

    • MudvilleNine says:

      I could have swore that Omar said as they were nearing arbitration that they were trying to talk long term but Boras didn’t want to hear it. I believe there was even discussion here about it.

  7. afama says:

    If that game was played any where else then Florida Wright would have 4 homers this year… He hit two to the warning track in dead center and one of the top of that stupid wall…Its like the monster in fenway but 400 ft away….

    Matt, When Oli is on he is top notch. If the Mets can find a way to get him consistent, that top 3(no petey) is just ridiculous….

    I would have to think he will NOT be Met next year, but you have to think he would want to stay, no? It seems like he gets along with everyone, its definitely latino based club to say the least. Mets have a chance to win every year now. I guess especially when u have Boras its all about the money tho…

  8. Jayperez says:

    I too felt bummed out from the news that pedro was gonna be out for 4-6 weeks(and BT/SC didnt help that much either…), but the way this kid pitched in light of that news made me remember we did ok w/o pedro last year and there is no reason we cannot do it better this year. Ollie has great stuff and im excited to see what he can do when hes on. He’s young and lefty i think the mets should def try to lock him up before he hits the market at the end of the year. Just dealing with scott will suck but hey we got a promising young kid here (thanks to rick). Hope pedro can come back soon and finally contribute to the mets rather than the DL. Glad to see also this team developing the killer instinct they need to dominate over lesser teams. Yes we all know they scored 13-0 against the marlins but hell THATS WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO. Glad to see the return from milledge paying off(church hitting well and against lefties + great defense, schnieder looking good behind the plate and his offense is looking good). Now its up to the maine event to put on a show like he did all spring….

  9. mikey_FF says:

    It was a really good sign to see Ollie shut down that inning with the error that was made behind him. He kept the runner stranded at third. Very good sign … if he stays focused like that all year long he’s going to have a HUGE year.

    • m00kie says:

      I mentioned this in the postgame thread…I feel Schneider was paying special attention to keep Ollie with him last night. Brian seems to have a good way with his staff, making sure they’re focused and with-it before they throw. I like it and it bodes well. He’s a real key to this year and I hope he can stay on the field.

  10. Bobby Bones in SC says:

    I thought that Perez was really on his game last night, but more importantly under control emotionally.

    Found it amusing when Wright went to Perez and told him to put in another piece of gum. This was after Perez was a little late to cover first on a fister hit to Delgado. It wasn’t that Perez was at fault, but his delivery takes him way to the 3rd base side. He busted it to first but just couldn’t get there in time. Wright was smart to get Perez off of the mound so he could get both his breath and mental control back before facing the next batter.

    One thing that seems to be getting lost right now is Schnieder’s awesome play. I have been very impressed at the way he has handled pitchers. He looks to be very solid behind the plate. I know he historically has not been much of a hitter, but when you look at him right now he sure does look good at the plate and is hitting the ball very hard. Sure hope he keeps this up all year!

    I’ll admit that I was very skeptical on Church, but right now I’m having a hard time not liking this guy. Solid in RF and also looks good at the plate.

    • m00kie says:

      the milledge trade’s looking good so far. Don’t forget, it’s a Team sport, these are team guys, Milledge and Lo Duca, not so much..getting fired up and thrown out of a game does no good for your team. Quietly coming through, that’s good for team.

      • Tidewater says:

        Without comment about the merits of the trade, I have to say I laughed out loud reading this. How many times did people say that LoDuca was the only one who showed any passion? How many people predicted doom without LoDuca’s ability to get fired up? I’m not saying you ever said that, m00kie, but boy did I read a lot of that!!!!

        • m00kie says:

          I read a lot of that too, hence my remarks… To me the “fired up” thing has always been overrated and it’s always frustrated me when people value uncontrolled passion over focused execution.

          wanna mention, I know it’s early to say how that trade looks, but I’ve liked it since the beginning..

        • therealsince86 says:

          Just from the normal doom and glooms. Most of us looked at the stats and realized that Loduca had as much to do with the failure of the team as anyone else. I also belive that there were chemistry issues last year and Church and Schnieder seem to be the utimate team players.

        • Tidewater says:

          I have to admit I didn’t like the trade, only because of age and money. I believe Church is a fine player, though. I just thought they had Milledge (cheap and good) and Estrada, so why go get older and more expensive?

          That being said, LoDuca was terrible last year, but the kind of terrible that looks good at first glance. I have no concerns about his departure whatsoever.

        • therealsince86 says:

          I just think that they valued defense and chemistry a lot more. Estrada was not that great defensively and had clubhouse issues before. Milledge, who may turn out to be a superstar was a me first player on a team with a lot of me’s.

        • Tidewater says:

          I guess I just don’t put that much stock into chemistry and me-too kind of issues. Having never run a clubhouse, I obviously don’t know how important or unimportant that stuff really is.

          In the short run, I don’t think the trade affects this team negatively. But in the long run I think it will. And when there is no solid view toward the future, a team gets itself in trouble. Couple that with this notion that you cannot “rebuild” in New York (because apparently the fans won’t stand for it) well, then you better hang on to your talented young ‘uns while you have solid veterans too, else you’ll find your entire team getting too old too fast and you become the San Francisco Giants.

        • therealsince86 says:

          It’s not like Church is old and expensive. I have been a baseball, basketball and football coach. I will say that chemistry in baseball and basketball is extremely important, football not so much.

    • mdemaio says:

      Schneider is an anchor back there…it just feels different with him behind the plate.

      Their defense might be the best I’ve seen on a Mets club - with Chavez in left and Church in right you’ve got speed and strong, accurate arms at all three outfield positions…then you have potential gold glove-caliber guys at all the infield positions except first. Throw in Johan there as well…

  11. Virtual Insanity says:

    I remember reading over the winter that Omar approached Boras about a contract extension, but was rebuffed. I believe that is what led to the arbitration hearing in the first place. I’m sure the Mets, if given the chance, would have already signed Ollie to an extension.

  12. Mister Koo says:

    This is a perfect example, where although a lot of us miss Nady, he certainly wasn’t given away for nothing. Ollie Perez is worth much more to this 2008 team than Nady could ever have been.

  13. therealsince86 says:

    I am too lazy to look, how many pitches did Perez have last night?