El Perezidente

That wasn't even a good series. The Mets played a severely incapable team and still found a way to lose 1 game. The only one that was enjoyable to watch was Friday's Johan Santana start, and even then it was merely because he pitched. Johan could pitch a tee-ball game and I'd be riveted. The rest of the staff? Big Pelf was serviceable, throwing 5 2/3 of 2 run ball (against the Nationals). The other guy?

Yuck. Oliver Perez looked good in the first getting out of a minor jam. A fielding mistake may have cost him in the second as it was followed up by a 2-run bomb to left center. Then things just got bad in the 3rd, followed by the all too familiar 5th inning implosion. Reports today say his fastball only hit 88 mph on the radar gun, though the reading on the PIX broadcast registered at 92 a few times and 90 consistently (Bobby Ojeda said the same on SNY Post Game too). The slider looked good at first and was even thrown for strikes, only to disappear and become a pitch to spit on.

So what do you do with him now? As Jerry Manuel said yesterday there are always options. First you could move him to the pen, which in my opinion doesn't solve a thing. Second you send him to Triple-A for a little reality check. This allows him tweak things under some different tutelage and work on throwing strikes.

Or you pitch him against the Phillies. Perez had only allowed one run in 26 innings against the Phillies in '08. Their lineup has become more lefty-centric since the Ibanez addition, which does play into Perez's strength. If he throws well, his subsequent start would be against the Phillies again at Citi Field allowing him the chance to throw well for the home crowd. As scary as the option is to have him throwing against our rivals on national television Saturday, keeping him in the rotation puts him in the best position to have success. Ollie needs success in order to succeed (sounds nonsensical, yet somehow it makes all the sense in the world). The kid could put on his Steve Carlton disguise this next week and the Mets and fans have no choice but to hope he takes that costume out of hibernation. If he doesn't - then we'll have a real problem.