Ollie

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

] Ollie finds strike zone half the time (updated) July 3, 2009 Mets officials hoped to have Oliver Perez face the Dodgers on Wednesday in place of Tim Redding, but Perez's showing on Friday night for Triple-A Buffalo has to place that plan in question. Perez walked four and exactly half of his 92 pitches were for strikes. He didn't allow a run until a first-pitch homer by Rochester's Matt Macri in the fifth. Perez departed having reached his pitch count after allowing consecutive doubles to open the sixth. Reliever Kyle Snyder allowed an inherited runner to score, so Perez was charged with three runs. Mike Harrington graciously provides this Perez reaction in Buffalo: "The most important thing is I'm feeling real good and I'm not thinking about my knee. I was feeling really strong. I think I'm ready. I was a little wild, but more important I feel strong. Today the key was not thinking about the knee but thinking about a real game. I tried to feel the pressure and make it feel like a big-league game. I feel really good. I showed emotion (when he was relieved) because I don't like to lose." As for entering the Mets rotation Wednesday, Perez added: "That's not my decision. I threw almost 100 pitches and I'm ready to go but I don't know what they're going to decide. You tell me to go tomorrow, I'm ready to go tomorrow. I'm really excited and happy with everything I've been doing. That's not easy being hurt and seeing your team having problems. Today it's 7-0 in Philly. It's one of those times you want to get there and help. I don't like to lose. When I'm here and Port St. Lucie and I see them lose, I feel bad because I'm part of the team.I felt real aggressive. I didn't like when somebody gets hits. I liked this game and I like to show I like to compete. "I want to get better, be consistent, and for me the most important thing is using my changeup. I haven't been using it much my whole career. With the fastball and slider, maybe I don't get out of the fifth inning today. Now I have a changeup, too, and I can get through five innings easy and that was a key for me." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0KFtHoaFG&C

[Fman99]

I want to be optimistic, we owe him a bunch more money and GOK the Mets could use a live arm. But he's still sucking wind in the minors.

[Gwreck]

I say bring him back anyway. Redding hasn't exactly lit the world on fire, y'know?

[Guest Edgy DC]

No actual statements or even hints from Met officials there.

Misch sure looked like a viable altenative tonight.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Ollie's last quote is not very reassuring.

"Now I have a changeup, too, and I can get through five innings easy and that was a key for me."

If getting through 5 innings in the minor leagues is considered a great achievement, then I don't hold out much hope for his return to the major leagues any tiome soon. However, as poorly as Redding has performed with the Mets, how much worse could Perez be?

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm guessing he meant his knee being strong enough that he could go five without it barking.

I don't know if that is any more or less encouraging than the interpretation you were going with, but i'm betting he goes on Wednesday against LA.

[Fman99]

The Mets have announced (according to Rotoworld) that Ollie will start Wednesday and push Redding to the pen.

Not sure who gets bumped to the minors come Wednesday.....

[Farmer Ted]

A report on mets.com says Elmer could be DFA with Redding to the pen.

[nymr83]

i have no faith in oliver perez, but even if he comes back and pitches well its not going to solve anything, this team is an offensive and defensive disaster right now.

[Gwreck]

="Nymr83":280oer44]i have no faith in oliver perez, but even if he comes back and pitches well its not going to solve anything, this team is an offensive and defensive disaster right now.[/quote:280oer44] Actually, if he comes back and pitches well, I'm pretty sure that would fix one of the Mets' biggest problems. I concede that they have plenty of other problems as well.