A report out of the NY Daily News today almost made me shit my pants. It suggests the following:
The Mets should make Oliver Perez a lefty specialist next season. Or at least bring him to spring training with the hope that he earns the job, along with maybe Pat Misch (who might be needed at the back of the rotation). They should not – and, because Sandy Alderson and his men are rational types, probably will not – release him this winter to appease a bloodthirsty public.
The fact that someone is trying to rationalize Oliver Perez back on the team is truly off the mark for a ton of reasons. Obviously someone’s head is not screwed on right. Yes, the Mets owe him $12 million next year whether he is released or not, we know this. Trying to achieve a one-third return on this horrendous investment is not the answer. They tried this last year by hoping to recuperate a two-thirds return on investment and look what happened. We all know what will happen if the Mets go this route. They will end up in the same place as they did after last year, and the year before that, wishing Oliver Perez was no where in the Mets stratosphere.
It’s called cutting your losses. The Mets need to find a way to walk away from this before enduring even more loss. That’s it, end of story. There’s nothing more to it. Simple as that. It’s time to move on.
Don’t tell me about his 10-inning scoreless streak in Mexico or that he is hitting 91 and occasionally 92 on the radar gun, we don’t want to hear it. I don’t give two fucks if he throws a scoreless season in Mexico, it does not mean shit.
The article references that considering his nightmare season in 2010, he still pitched to lefty hitters at a .215 clip. What the author fails to mention is that this is based only on 11.2 total innings pitched to lefties. Also doesn’t mention that in those 11.2 innings, Perez walked 11 batters, gave up 3 home runs, and had a 1.71 WHIP versus lefties in this small sample.
In addition to this nonsense, the article tries to defend the fact that Oliver Perez declined a minor-league assignment. Read this:
When Perez declined a minor-league assignment last season, many people screamed he was selfish. Those people – including some of Perez’s teammates – forgot that every veteran player has a collectively bargained right to refuse a demotion. Perez didn’t do that because he did not want to work; he continued to train exhaustively all summer, despite the team’s refusal to allow him in a game. The coaching staff was impressed by his commitment. Yes, he wasted a roster spot, but he wanted to pitch. The whole “lazy Ollie” reputation that developed was not grounded in reality.
This isn’t about lazy-Ollie. This is about wasting a roster spot. This is about being a selfish player. This is about not being a team player and best of all, this is about a player who continues to fuck the team in every which way possible. Who gives a fuck that he wanted to pitch. I want to play third for the Mets too.
Yes, Pedro Feliciano is most likely gone as is Hisonari Takahashi. That is more reason not to keep this ingrate. If they do, it will get ugly, real ugly fast. So it’s best to part ways, he is not an answer for any part of any equation regarding the Mets.
Fuck you Ollie and an even bigger fuck you to anyone that thinks Ollie should get a shot with the Mets in 2011. We are beyond enough is enough with this man.
Mets should consider Oliver Perez as lefthanded specialist with Pedro Feliciano likely departing [Daily News]
@butt um… what?
Your biting sux2lose. Well, you really have a point with.. nice try though
sux2lose, my man- good to hear from you..we’re back! i hear you and valid points. best case scenario is he does good in spring and they move him. worse case, is he does good in spring and they keep him because we all know about fools good. there is no saving this guy. tru its easier to do when it’s not your money, but rather than using Ollies roster spot with someone that can actually help them team, the last thing this team needs is someone burning a roster spot because of his owed salary when he is not pulling his own weight. regardless, it’s not just 12 mil thats a lot of money, it’s the full 36 mil and 24 of it is down the drain already. starting new without Ollie is worth more to this team than with him. and, no one is talking about how it will cost the mets more than $12 million to keep him as this guy will turn away fans by the droves at the box
$12 million is a lot of money. It’s very easy for you to suggest throwing it away when it’s not yours. Now, the team does need a lefty specialist, so in addition to the $12m you gotta sign someone else for what, another $3m? This team is only spending about $5m this offseason according to some reports. I say if the team can get a return on this shitty contract, then they should try. Especially since they can just release him if it ends up not working out. The article’s defense of Ollie was a bit of a reach by the author regarding his selfishness. But the point about his laziness, I thought, was an interesting one. I say no harm bringing him to spring training and seeing if he still has something left. And fuck you too.