Maybe we all got a little too excited about Oliver Perez after just one start. Sure he was great last Friday in Atlanta, but tonight was a complete reversal of that performance. Perez was working on a one-hitter against the Phillies when he was pulled with two outs in third inning. The problem was the seven walks. For some inexplicable reason, Perez couldn't throw a strike during a stretch where he issued four straight free passes and then nailed Rod Barajas on the left leg. If you didn't see it, trust me -- it was agonizing to watch.
"They were disciplined," catcher Paul Lo Duca said. "You've got to give it to them. They didn't swing at a pitch out of the zone the whole inning."
There were a lot of them, too. Perez threw 38 pitches in the third, only 14 for strikes. Overall, he threw 73 (32 strikes).
Afterward, pitching coach Rick Peterson was swarmed by reporters wanting to know what happened to the Oliver Perez that dominated the Mets only five days earlier. Peterson looked up smiling and said, "Where we all you guys last week? No one wants to know why the stock market is way up. They only want to know why it's crashing."
Perez definitely veered off course in tonight's 5-2 loss, but it's too early to call the tow truck, and Peterson has no worries. "None whatsoever," he said. "He feels good physically. When he goes back out there next time, we'll see what happens."
Truth is, Peterson, despite all of his efforts, knows that Perez has always been unpredictable -- and may stay that way. Even with his flashes of brilliance, the only thing consistent about Perez is his inconsistency. Tonight wasn't the first time Perez walked seven in a game. Or the second. Or the third. It was the sixth time, which definitely counts as a trend.
A number of Mets approached Perez after the game to console him. And on his way out the door, Howard Johnson said only, "Next time, man."
That's the best thing about tonight for Perez. It's over.
Comments (2)
Whether we got too excited after his first start or not, we shouldn't make the same mistake twice and write him off after a bad outing. There are a few writers this morning who sounded on the verge of calling for his demotion to AAA.
This horse-race, instant history coverage is going to get really old really quickly.
The last 4 games for the Mets (3 losses in that span) have really been stinkers after the first 4 wins. The team seems to not be getting timely hits or pitches during this stretch. Let's regain our composure and get rolling again!