In a surprising but predictable Mets fashion, Oliver Perez will go to the bullpen to work out his problems.
It’s a terrible move for everyone involved because in effect the Mets are now working with a 24 man roster until Perez can get his act together.
It would have been better to send Perez to the minors where he could have recovered his confidence and find his groove. According to Omar Minaya, Perez or his agent were never even asked to go to the minors and that this was the way the Mets wanted to handle it.
Jerry Manuel didn’t sound too happy about the situation either.
“He won’t be the first guy I call,” Manuel said. “There’s no question about that. At the same time, you have to be cognizant not to bury him in the pen. It’ll be a tough challenge for us as a staff to make sure we are trying to get him back on track.”
Manuel also said that the “ideal” scenario would be to have Perez start a relief inning rather than enter with men on base.
An even better alternative, the manager suggested, would be to enter with a runner on second, first base vacant and a lefthanded batter at the plate. That way, if Perez were to issue a walk — he had 21 in 21.2 innings as a starter — he could be removed without negatively affecting the game’s outcome. Are you kidding me!!!
Ken Takahashi will take over for Perez in the rotation and start Friday. This is our backup plan???
Terrible job Omar… Absolutely terrible!
The whole situation smells like a disaster in the making to me.
Is anyone else as ticked off about this as I am?
