Tag Archives: Oliver Perez

Oliver Perez had his first rehab start tonight in Buffalo.

Perez went four and one-third innings, allowed one run on three hits and struck out five.  However, he did walk five batters on the night.

Tagged Oliver Perez, Regis Courtemanche |

Last night, Omar Minaya told reporters Oliver Perez will start in a minor-league game this week, though he did not say where or when.

… i hope they continue to go slow with ollie… Tim Redding is scheduled to pitch Sunday in Boston, which means he would be on turn to next pitch Saturday, May 30, at home against the Marlins… perez could technically get two full rehab starts in the minor league during that time, then the Mets could reassess where they at in terms of the roster, rotation, bullpen, etc., knowing redding could slip back in to relief, with perez returning in early July…

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Brian Schneider caught five innings from Oliver Perez in an extended spring training game in St. Lucie today.

…i actually like knowing the team’s starting catcher is down there working with perez, as he tries to right himself…

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Jerry Manuel recently spoke about the statuses of Jose Reyes, and J.J. Putz.

“It was tightness in the calf”, Manuel said about Reyes.  “We’ll give him another day and see if that can loosen it up and hopefully that’s part of the progression for that injury to get better. Hopefully he’ll be ready in the next day or so.”

According to Manuel, Putz is also ready to go today, and they would like for him to be the closer should that situation arise.

Oliver Perez also pitched 3 innings in extended spring training today.  He allowed no hits, struck out seven, and walked four on 56 pitches.

Tagged Oliver Perez, Regis Courtemanche |

Oliver Perez will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with patella tendinitis, according to Omar Minaya, who talked with reporters following the game.

“I felt like I could continue to pitch, but I want to get healthy and I want to feel better,” Perez told reporters following tonight’s game.  “It’s a good decision, because I want to be healthy all season long and try to help my team.”

Taking Perez’s spot on the 25-man roster will be Jonathan Niese, who will make his first start of 2009 on Friday.

Niese is 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Buffalo this season.

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Oliver Perez told reporters yesterday that the team never discussed a trip to the minor leagues with him, instead the team spoke with his agent, Scott Boras.

According to the Daily News, however, Omar Minaya said he first spoke to Boras after the team’s announcement that Perez would be sent to the bullpen.

“I think we made a really good move,” Perez told reporters before yesterday’s game.  “I wasn’t doing my job as a starting pitcher. That’s why they sent me to the bullpen - to get my confidence back… I understand what I have to do.  All my teammates here tell me, ‘You can do this,’ and, ‘You’re better than that.  You have to keep working and try to get back.’… I have to keep working to get back.”

In a report for Baseball Prospectus, Will Carroll writes:

“The Mets are selling this as temporary and the problems as mechanical, but in Indianapolis, where he was sent a few years ago after having the same issues with the Pirates, no one seemed surprised.  ‘He came down here and was supposed to work on things, but he just reminded people how much money he was making anyway,’ said one front-office member.  There’s a lesson to learn here in that Perez did come back, but only after a trade and some work with Rick Peterson, then the pitching coach for the Mets.  No one, most importantly the Mets, seems to know what the fix might be this time, or when he’ll get back.  Don’t be surprised if we hear more about that knee in the near future.”

…i too wonder if the knee issue is the crutch, no pun intended, that the Mets are using to hide from the real issues, but i resign to the fact that i just don’t fully understand the situation from where i am at this point in time…it just seemed too conveniently timed…

Tagged Oliver Perez, Regis Courtemanche |

Yesterday, the Mets put Oliver Perez in the bullpen, and replaced him in the rotation with Ken Takahashi, who start Friday against the Pirates.

Jerry Manuel explained to reporters:

“He’ll be in the bullpen until we rebuild him, get him back right… It’s something that I’ve done before with starters: Jon Garland, James Baldwin, those guys.  You have three or four bad outings, you try to find a spot that you could get him back and get some confidence.  Have some success first, then confidence, and then go from there.”

…i have seen no evidence the Mets asked perez to go to the minor leagues, though that has not stopped people from assuming this must have been the case, and thus assuming perez is selfish for declining… i don’t sense he had the opportunity to decline… maybe the Mets were made aware of this, and so they never asked… who knows… personally, i like to think the team just knows perez better than we do, and figured it made more sense to keep with under Dan Warthen’s wing…

“I feel pretty good Ollie is going to turn it around,” Omar Minaya told reporters, from the dugout in Turner Field.  “He’s working hard, trying to do the best that he can to get back.  He has the support of the organization, support of the players.  It’s a course of action that I think will get him back on the right track.”

Manuel told reporters Takahashi will make at least two starts, while Perez is used as in specific spots as a situational lefty.

To learn more about Takahashi, read Brian Costa’s report for the Star Ledger, and Adam Rubin’s report for the Daily News.

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Prior to today’s game, Jerry Manuel told reporters Oliver Perez will temporarily move to the bullpen and be used as a left-handed reliever.

Manuel said the team did not ask Perez to accept a minor league assignment.

Manuel said he will use Perez against left-handed batters in situational spots, in addition to working multiple innings.

The 40–year-old Ken Takahashi will start Friday against the Pirates.

…like i said earlier, i believe perez’s issues are confidence and mental, and since i do not know him, nor know how best to treat his ego and psyche, i trust the Mets did what they believe to be the best way to get him through this…

…that said, basically, the Mets now have the most expensive left-handed reliever in baseball… just a thought, but, maybe the better solution would have been to pay Randy Wolf and Joe Biemel a combined $7 million, instead of $13 million for perez and takahashi… like i said, just a thought…

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According to David Lennon at Newsday, Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon, are headed to Atlanta to discuss the future of Oliver Perez.

Lennon writes, “As much as everyone wants to dismiss Olllie and dump him in the minors, remember this is a three-year, $36-million business investment… The Mets have to tread carefully with Perez, and not just for the short-term benefit of this season.  They can’t just wash their hands of him.”

Added to by Matthew Cerrone:

This is a tough situation, because Perez is an emotional guy.  People can psychoanalyze him all they want, but the reality is he is an unknown, and how to deal with him is an unknown.

Rick Peterson had a great impact on Perez, then he didn’t.

Dan Warthen took over, Perez was awesome and now he isn’t.

From the Mets point of view, they need to decide what is the best way to get across to him, and get him through whatever is troubling him.  They can ask to send him to the minor leagues, but that can be demoralizing, but at the same time effective, though he would be under the eyes of a different set of coaches and away from the major league club, which could be good, but could also be bad.

Or, is it smarter to keep him with the big league club, so he can work directly with Warthen and Johan Santana, who is done his best to mentor Perez – in that sense, maybe the bullpen does make sense.

The point is, this isn’t as simple as, ‘Send him to the minors.’  There are contracts, egos, the Player’s Union, coaches, money, etc., involved here.

I think it’s impossible to say what the best scenario is, because I do not think we’re talking about a physical ailment, I think it’s a mental issue – and I do not know Oliver Perez, I’ve only talked with him once, so I couldn’t begin to offer real advice on how to deal with his psyche.

In the end, I still believe he’ll either end up in the bullpen, with Ken Takahashi taking his start, or he’ll end up on the disabled list, while allow the team to call up a player from Triple-A.

Tagged Oliver Perez, Omar Minaya, Regis Courtemanche |

‘Oliver Perez is in the bullpen until further notice,’ writes David Lennon in a report for Newsday.

Manuel, who met with Dan Warthen and Randy Niemann and talked with Omar Minaya by phone yesterday, told reporters the team has yet to make an official decision, though they will likely make an announcement during the team’s trip in Atlanta.

…from what i can gather, if he’s pitching from the bullpen, the announcement will come sooner than later, maybe even monday… if he’s going on the disabled list, the team will likely wait until later in the week…

However, suddenly, Perez had an ice pack on his knee Sunday morning in Citizen’s Bank Park, during which he told reporters, according to Lennon:  “The knee has been bothering me all season… This is my first time pitching with something that bothers me. That’s not easy.”

…well, isn’t that convenient…

In the New York Times, Ben Shpigel writes:

“Just as he was about to address his murky future, Perez was intercepted by Jay Horwitz, the team’s vice president for media relations, who spoke with him in the trainer’s room for about 10 minutes… When he came out, Perez said that his knee had been bothering him all season. Asked which knee, he paused and looked down. The right one, he said.”

Following Saturday’s loss, Perez said he would consider a trip to the minor leagues.

However, prior to yesterday’s rainout, Perez said he now can’t say whether or not he will accept a minor league assignment.

…i bet one of the following two scenarios shake out: 1) perez is sent to the bullpen, and Ken Takahashi starts on Friday against the Phillies, or 2) perez is put on the disabled list, and the Mets call up one of Nelson Figueroa or Dillon Gee, or Tim Redding, depending on how he does in his rehab start on Tuesday…

By the way, due to yesterday’s rainout, the Mets pushed back their rotation, meaning Johan Santana will pitch Thursday on six-days rest, while Perez’s spot in the rotation will be Friday.

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