Perez Gets Lucky

If you read this blog on a regular you may have noticed that we like Oliver Perez here. It is partially because of the amount of times I've seen him pitch in person. The first time ever was back in 2004 when he burst onto the scene with the Pirates. It was an April game and he struck out 8 6 Mets on a Saturday. I remember being really taken back by the kid.

Fast forward to an April game in 2007. It was opening night against Philadelphia. He let up 3 ER through 2 2/3, walked 6, and hit Rod Barajas for good measure. I knew I was in for a long season that night. For some odd reason the last 3 years, and this was complete coincidence, I always wound up seeing the same starter for the majority of my Shea games. 2007 was the year of Ollie (last year was Pelfrey, '06 was Glavine). I'd seen horrid performances like that one against Philly that year, and beauties like his 7K performance against Atlanta later in September.

When he succeeds, he's the family member I'm most proud of. When he loses it, he's the little brother I want to give a noogie to. Last night if he came home to the dinner table after that performance, I wouldn't have been laudatory by any means, but I wouldn't have dished out a headache either. I would have told him "you're better than that."

Dr. Dan seems to think Oliver is back to peak form. Regarding Perez's mechanics, Warthen told reporters last night was "a very positive outing for Oliver. He's back to where he was last year. He's got his legs back under him. So I'm pleased with the work he's done the last week." I'll give him the mechanics. They were markedly improved over where they were his last start. Also important was when he went out of whack, you could see him talking to himself on the mound and motioning what he needed to do on the next pitch. But I'm not ready to say he's back to where he was last year.

The confidence didn't seem there. Determination yes, but confidence no. He pitched to an Orioles team that really couldn't seem to wait to leave. He got lucky on a hanging slider that was crushed over the burm just foul. His velocity touched 92 - 93 range a few times but stayed around 89. Keith last night said "I just don't think he's ready." I can't help but agree. The final line looked good - 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3K, but the overall performance wasn't there. Hey Ollie, you're better than that.