According to espn.com, Oliver Perez is set to return to the Mets to make a start on Wednesday night against the Dodgers at Citi Field. Although he claims to be healthy, his latest effort on the mound seems to suggest that not much has changed since we last saw him in New York. He continues to be the master of the conga line, allowing opposing hitters to walk freely around the bases. He threw 92 pitches Friday night against the Rochester Red Wings in five-plus innings, but only half of them were for strikes. Perez allowed three runs on five hits, while walking four batters in his final Triple-A outing.
Before being placed on the disabled list on May 8, Perez was mostly ineffective with the Mets. He was 1-2 with a 9.97 ERA. He had allowed 28 hits and 21 walks in only 21 2/3 innings. He was fooling no one, as opposing batters were hitting .315 against him.
Barring any rainouts or changes in the rotation, Perez could potentially be facing Dodgers righty Hiroki Kuroda on Wednesday. Kuroda has not fared well against the Mets in his short career. In two starts, he has an 0-1 record with a 12.00 ERA. In only six career innings against the Mets, he has allowed 10 runs (eight earned) along with 15 hits and five walks. Three of the 15 hits were home runs.
If the Mets can continue to beat up on Kuroda, Ollie might be in a perfect situation to pick up a victory. Of course, he has to get through five innings himself in order to qualify for the win. It might be easier for the Mets to hit Kuroda than it will be for Ollie to get through the fifth inning. On Wednesday, we’ll see if Good Ollie or Bad Ollie has returned to the Mets. Stay tuned.
This guy is a bum. One of the worst moves the Mets have made in years. What was it again 3 years 36 million. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Didnt he lead the league in walks?? Nice move Omar!
Ed,
your headline also could have read: “Old and Unreliable Redding-like Bum to Rejoin Rotation Wednesday”
Man, I can’t wait. Well, at least we have someone on the roster to balance all of David’s Ks w/ an equal number of Walks.
It’s difficult to be looking forward to Wednesday. Instead of joy at the return of an injured player, we can’t avoid having fear and dread instead. This ridiculous signing sits squarely on Omar’s shoulders. If a pedestrian outing is all Ollie could muster in the Minors for his warmup, what are we to expect against the Dodgers (the one team in the NL with a legit record this year)! What does Jerry do with him if he bombs badly? We’ll have a 3 yr batting practice pitcher for mopping up busted games at a $36mil price tag. WOW, (expletive deleted) Great!
Apparently, the Mets are now unsure where to go with Ollie. Various sources are saying that Redding’s spot in the rotation is not in jeopardy. Other sources are saying that today could be Fernando Nieve’s last appearance in the rotation if he doesn’t pitch effectively. A lot can change between now and Wednesday. As the last two words of the blog said, stay tuned. I’ll try to fill you all in as I know more. This news is as erratic as an Oliver Perez fastball, don’t you think?
Against the Dodgers, one the best teams in baseball, who swept us last time. Bad timing. Just a bad idea.
Not only that, but Manny Ramirez is back. A right-handed power hitter facing a lefthanded pitcher. Ollie has never faced Manny before so we don’t know who would have the advantage there. The only two current Dodgers who have fared well against Ollie are Russell Martin (5 for 10 with a HR) and Mark Loretta (3 for 7 with a HR), but those are very small samples of at-bats. Ollie used to be known as a pitcher who performed better against the upper-echelon teams. No one is more upper-echelon in the National League right now than the Dodgers, so let’s see what happens. Regardless, if he does start against the Dodgers, I’m sure he’ll have a very short leash.
If there’s no embarrasment against going 15 in the hole against the Yanks and 7 down against the Phils, why would we be embarrased by being demolished by the Dodgers? So why the short lease? Jerry will probably leave him in there to get totally destroyed.