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During yesterday’s loss to the Pirates, Oliver Perez allowed seven runs while walking five batters through 1.2 innings.
…the thing is, as i have cringed about before, the wheels just come off so fast…seriously, he looks fine, hits a bump in the road, like walking three of the first four batters in the second inning, and then he goes totally off the road – like committing an error on a potential inning-ending 
double play, then letting six more runs to score after that…
Perez, talking to reporters after the game:
Sometimes you don’t have your stuff and you have to find what you can do to get out of the innings…I had trouble throwing strikes. Everybody can have a bad day…I’ve been good in the last few games and this is a time to find what you’re doing wrong, to get better, and try to go in the right direction…I think sometimes I’m trying to throw too hard…Tomorrow we’re off, and I can find what I’m doing wrong.”
…lovely…it’s in his head, now…and that can’t be good…
Billy Wagner, on Perez, while talking to reporters after yesterday’s loss, said:
“Perez, honestly, has got to step up and know we just used every guy in our bullpen the night before. He can’t come out there and decide that he hasn’t got it today.”
In the New York Post, Bart Hubbach writes more about Wagner and Perez, adding: “Asked if talking to Perez about his notoriously short attention span was like trying to talk to a wall, Wagner pointed his finger and said: ‘Pretty much.’”
Perez later told reporters that he agrees with Wagner’s statements, adding:
“I have no problem with that. I’ve got to do my job.”
In a report for SNY, Ted Berg writes, “Perez is immeasurably frustrating.”
According to Berg, Perez’s ERA is never an accurate way to measure the pitcher’s success or struggles, noting, thanks to errors, “Perez allowed 20 more batters to cross the plate than are accounted for in the 3.56 ERA he posted in 2007, and, with the five unearned runs he allowed on Wednesday, he’s well on his way to matching that number in 2008.”
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It’s only one game here. Let’s not make a mountain out of a mole-hill (though Mets fans are adept at doing just that).
Perez has been pretty good this year overall. He does need to work on his mental toughness…though I’m not sure how a person works on that. I feel like when he walks his first batter next start, Wagner should come running out of the bullpen and sucker-punch Perez to set him straight. After a few sucker-punches Perez won’t know the meaning of “ball four”.
At least this happened the day before an off-day, so the relief squad can recuperate.
true, however he has the history of breaking down mentally. Maybe this where Brain Sch comes and makes a diiference. If not Perez is in for a roller coaster ride of a season again.
Haha, I completely agree. Nothing will get your head out of the gutter like a left hook to the temple!
how can u say perez has been good..hes gotten through 6 innings one time and tht was a 13-0 game against the marlins the first week of the season..he must step it up
he really hasn’t been that great. he has gone off the tracks in a few of his scoreless starts which has limited his innings.
I agree completely. Perez has never instilled confidence in me and I’m still more surprised by when he dominates than when he implodes. Maybe it’s just the case that despite all of his “upside” he’s really just an above-average National League 4th pitcher.
I hate to quote Lupica but I have to agree that the Mets are the team with the most to prove this year and are not showing it.
What gets me is that it’s not just one game. They have been inconsistent regardless of who is injured. The Angels have their top 2 starters out and a few other players, but still play crisp competative baseball.
And as much as some people want to downplay the importance of a manager, the team does reflect a managers personality. A laissez faire manager - a laissez faire team.
The only good thing about May is that people can’t say it’s still only April.
Do you guys think Castillo’s potential double play could have made a difference? Afterall, he misplayed the bounce and could have ending the inning with a marginal score.
Well that is why they only credited Ollie with 2ERs despite giving up 7
What bothers me most if the offense… yes it was 7-0… but the guy you’re facing has an ERA over 6, and their pen STINKS..
5 walks an no runs in 5 innings…. that is really the worst part of this game.. everyone knows Ollie is Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.
Completely agree. Talk about a team that gave up on the game. These guys couldn’t hit anything. I’m surprised we even got one. This game would have ended 14-13 Mets in 2006…
I was wondering what was bothering me about this and the thought came to to me that could not Wagner have taken Perez to the side and given him this talk? That is what REAL team leaders do, not diss and ‘hate on their teamates to the press or leave punk a$$ notes on their lockers and not man up to doing it.
I can’t wait until Wagner’s contract is up. This whole “I know everything” act is becoming overdone. If you have something to say, or some positive reinforcement, got to the player with it. Why are you talking to him through the media? It’s just stupid.
Come on now. This guy has all the talent in the world and he’s a lefty, but he doesn’t approach every game as if he’s facing the Braves. This guy has never been clutch for his team. Following an 11 inning game, where almost every guy from the bullpen saw action, and facing his old team, you would figure that Ollie could muster just a little bit of something to get him through 2 innings. NOPE, he cannot come up clutch when the team needs him to have a good outing or eat up some innings. Call it lack of concentration, or motivation, or attention, whatever it is this guy doesn’t have it. It’s a shame we can’t trade him….
There is no “Myetery” here when speaking of Perez. He is what he is, great somedays and totally useless on others. This is not a new developement, just ask Pittsburgh. It’s a shame too because the guy really does have electrifying stuff - when he’s on he’s the only Mets Pitcher who’s capable of throwing a No-Hitter, but when he’s off he’s a complete disaster. The bad thing about this is that all his problem are in his head, that’s much harder to fix than just a simple mechanical problem which you can tweek and correct with Peterson’s help. But when the problem lies between the “Ears” that’s a much deeper and harder problem to correct, maybe you can’t. In my humble opinion, going off last years 15-win season and the fact that he’s a left-hander to boot, he’s perfect trade bait and we should get something good in return while he’s still marketable. PG
This is completely off subject, but I think everyone should look at the standings column of the entire MLB. Excepting Arizona (who is def this years team to beat so far) no one in MLB (not just the NL who *experts* claim is the lesser league) has less then 10 losses. Every team more or less has double digit wins and losses this early suggesting this is a year in which almost every team is middle of the road. That, i think, is great because it means competition is high, small franchise teams are getting their dues, and no series is a cake walk: i.e mets versus pittsburgh. While the Mets have not looked great, no team has (except AZ). If the Mets can get 2 out of 3 from AZ this weekend i think that could be a big confidence booster. Last year around this time they went in their for a 4 game series and took 3 out of 4, nearly taking the last. this could be big.
arizona is much better than last year. maybe i’m pessimistic but i’m paying more attention to webb and haren than some crazy voodoo spell we have over phoenix.
the thing is it doesn’t stop with them, randy johnson, max scherzer, even micah owings is hitting homeruns!…this weekend makes me very nervous
Az is what scares me this could easily turn into a 4 game losing streak real quick unless these guys get it together.
i always look forward to going to play in arizona..we crush the ball there every year
I love Wagner. He has the guts to say things that only the fans would.
So did LoDuca.
but Wagner produces
and he’s telling it like it is…not roid raging
That only the fans would? I doubt that the average fan is nearly so bold in their own jobs and concerns as they are when discussing that of a professional athlete who works on camera.
writers have been bashing the Mets because of the lack of veteran leadership, then Wags comes out and tells like it is with Perez, and now he’s the bad guy?
It seems like they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Of course, one way to keep your pitcher (who apparently melts down when he’s in an inning too long) from giving up 5 or 6 unearned runs a game is TO PLAY SOME FREAKING DEFENSE!
The Mets’ defense over the first month of the season has been ATROCIOUS!
And as I told my wife yesterday, it is UNFORGIVEABLE that this team should score only 1 run against the Pirates, no matter how many runs they gave up. The Pirates have the worst pitching staff on the planet. They showed they could hit Snell, who is their best pitcher, the night before. Gorzelanny is their second best, but he was in obvious pain and struggled to make it to a full 5 innings. The Mets should have been hitting him hard. A loss is a loss, but this should have been at least a 13-5 or even 13-10 loss, not 13-1. Actually, subtract the unearned runs and the Mets should have won this one, even despite the 7 ER that Perez gave up with no added help from the (lack of) defense. It would have at least been close… maybe 8-6.
Maybe we need another “Valentine’s Day Massacre” to get this team shaken up a bit. Axe the whole coaching staff as a warning to Willie and Omar and the team. It worked in ‘99.
Thank god for Wagner. Finally somebody who has the guts to speak up and give this team a kick in the pants! the Mets would be crazy to give any kind of big money to Perez next year he is far to inconsistant.
Couldn’t agree more on both counts. I’d offer him a deal to stay, but i would not go over the 10-12 mil/year range for 4 years. That will obviously not satisfy Boras, but for a roller coaster ride of a pitcher, it is fair. Of course that means Philly or Atlanta will pick him up and he’ll haunt us forever.
On to Wagner. I used to dismiss what came out of his mouth as garbage. However, he holds a little more credibility this year because so far he is “putting up”. Seems like he has dedicated himself to sort of re-inventing himself (pitching from the wind up). Challenging hitters with fastballs.
His comments should be listened to. Willie is obviously not going to speak up. Someone needs to point out that this team is underachieving. That goes for Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Heilman, Ollie, Maine, and Sosa.