What to do with Oliver Perez?

As it stands right now, Oliver Perez is not in the starting rotation for the New York Mets.  What’s left to be seen is where he’ll end up. 

All indications are pointing toward Perez heading to the bullpen as opposed to the minor leagues.  Another possibility is that Perez lands on the disabled list.  A report came out yesterday that said Perez had an ice pack on his knee before the rainout.

To me, that seems like a ploy by the Mets to slip him onto the DL and allow him to head to extended spring training without incident.

Perez cannot stay in the starting rotation at this pace.  His starts eventually lead to bullpen blowouts, hurting the team for the game he starts and even a few games after that.

Is the bullpen the best place for Perez to re-learn how to pitch?  Probably not.  Who will start in his place?  No idea.  Will it cost the Mets a player from the bullpen that they will likely need in a tough spot if they call up another starter?  Most likely.

For the last question, the most logical move right now is to slip Ken Takahashi into Perez’s spot in the rotation.  With a pitch count, hope he can get through four innings and patch together the rest of the game from the arms in the bullpen.  Not the best choice, but it keeps a roster spot from being swapped to call up a player from the minor leagues.

Options down on the farm include Brandon Knight, Nelson Figueroa, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, among others.  Figueroa or Knight will likely get the call if they cannot figure out Perez while he’s in the bullpen or if he has to go to the disabled list.

Perez has quickly become Omar Minaya’s albatross.  He’s not performing anywhere near expectations and is costing the team a whole lot of money.  Right now, the Mets don’t seem to know what to do with Perez and would like to stick him somewhere where he cannot kill the team. 

I think they’ll put him on the DL with a “knee injury” and hope for the best.  Get him some “rehab” starts in the minor leagues and hope he can turn things around.

If not…well…who knows…

(Ed. note: Big Spanish final today (or should I say “grande”?).  I’ll be back to post afterwards.  Hopefully nothing important breaks.  Oh, and wish me luck.)

Twitter Poll: What is your favorite Mets uniform and why?

Yesterday was an off-day for the Mets.  I could have asked the obvious “What do you do with Oliver Perez?” question, but instead I went a different route.

I asked my Twitter followers what their favorite Mets uniform was, and why?  Here are their responses…

DonCheech said: Blue Caps, Grey Roads. By far the best. And we won 15-6 vs. Yanks with them

jessicarubin said: Can't decide. Stripes are too Yanks and grey is ugly. I think I'll go w/ classic white. Black is a "secondary color"

Jbones72 said: The classic blue pinstripes, I HATE the " Bklyn Dodger" solid white and the black!

brentsower said: The all white home jerseys. Really loved the one year they wore them without names on the back. Very clean & classy.

ByronBrewer said: Anything that isn't black and isn't worn with those ugly black & blue hats.

dmoneymania said: Pinstripes BC the snow whites remind me of the Bakers cap fiasco & the blacks have run their course. Pins&Greys. Blue caps!

benmyerson said: 80s pullovers with the racing stripes. Mustaches not required (though highly encouraged).

JTKrycek said: i may get booed 4this but i like the black jerseys, and also the white pin-stripes, which they don't wear enough.

JTKrycek said: as for why, i don't really know, other than i HATE orange. those racing striped PJs from the 80s were bad, truly

metgirl4ever said: my fav is black uni b/c when I first started watching the Mets, that's what they wore most of time w/all black cap w/blue NY

fullnelson said: Mets Gray Road uniform = my favorite 'cause uses 'old English style Type / Font' + solid Blue & Orange outline = "NEW YORK"

metschick said: My fave is the pinstripes WITH the blue hats. Why? I think it looks best. Classic.

giger4321 said: 86 pinstripes

darknova306 said: I like the black unis. Give good contrast with the blue and orange, where they kinda get washed out by bright white.

kierankelly said: They've always looked the best in the home pinstripes with the blue caps. All the black needs to go.

samtpage said: The all-white Bernard Gilkey of course: http://tinyurl.com/d6oufv.

From the peanut gallery…

Retire31 said: The Mercury Mets. 'nuff said.

Personally, I love the ‘80s pinstripe pullovers.  So cheesy yet so classic.  Right now, I love the grey uniforms.  Pair them with the blue caps and blue socks, and you have the best Mets uniform.

Tweet of the Day: samtpage said: The all-white Bernard Gilkey of course: http://tinyurl.com/d6oufv.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on the Mets best uni.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Ex-Mets: Vargas earns win as Seattle walks off in 15th

Jason Vargas turned in 2 1-3 innings and earned the win as the Seattle Mariners  walked off in the bottom of the 15th inning.  He allowed two hits and walked one, striking out four.

Vargas came to the Mets when the team sent Matt Lindstrom (now the Marlins closer) and Henry Owens (currently suspended for 50 games for testing positive for performance-enhancers).  Along with Vargas, the Mets also picked up Adam Bostick.  Bostick is currently 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA for Double-A Binghamton.

Vargas landed in Seattle as one of the seven players New York and Cleveland Indians sent west in the three-team traded that brought J.J. Putz, Jeremy Reed and Sean Green to the Mets.

Vargas was 0-1 with the Mets in two starts.  He pitched 10.1 innings, allowing 17 hits and four home runs for a 12.19 ERA. 

Joe Janish of Mets Today explains it all

Though he didn’t perform well as a New York Met, it could be partially due to being less than 100% in his two starts in the orange and blue. Now, it appears he’s finally healthy (great timing) and beginning to live up to the expectations set as a rookie for the Marlins in 2005. In four games started this year, the 26-year-old Vargas has pitched 21 2/3 innings, struck out 22, walked 8, allowed 15 hits, and has a 2.49 ERA.

Sure would be nice to have a lefty starter with those kind of numbers waiting in AAA about now, wouldn’t it? Oh well, at least the eighth inning is locked down — you have to give up something to get something.

Mets Chat Room: Rainout edition

Join in for an unplanned off-day chat!

Thanks for participating.  The chat room has been removed.

Another spectacular chat about everything and nothing in particular!

No game today

Today’s game between the Phillies and the Mets has been rained out.  A makeup date has not been announced.

Side note: Sorry for the lack of The State of the Mets / normal posting recently.  We’re heading into finals week here at Quinnipiac and I’ve also come down with a killer head cold.  I have my first and toughest final tomorrow, so hopefully I get a little healthier and will return to normality soon.

Saturday odds & ends

~Carlos Delgado will sit again, but no word yet if he will be heading to the disabled list.  According to David Lennon, two lineups were posted, one with Delgado and the other without.  A little odd, no?

~Luis Castillo will play today.  He had missed the last few games with back spasms.

~Ramon Castro will be starting today. Omir Santos has a day off.

~On the catching note, Brian Schneider’s return from the DL will be delayed.  He’s also nursing a sore calf.

~Single game tickets go on sale tomorrow for June-October.  Starts at 10 a.m. on Mets.com or over the phone ((718) 507-TIXX)

Game Recap: Mets 7 – Phillies 4

The Mets scored runs in more than the first inning, shocking Mets fans everywhere.

The New York Mets (10-12) defeated the Philadelphia Philles (11-10) by a score of 7-4.

The Mini Recap

Mike Pelfrey walked four in 5 1-3 innings and allowed three earned runs to score.  Pedro Feliciano pitched 1 2-3 innings, allowing one run on one hit. J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez sealed up the game in the final two innings.

Daniel Murphy started the Mets off right with a two-run home run to right field.  The Mets scored seven runs off of Chan Ho Park in the first five innings.  Pelfrey helped his own cause, driving in two runs on his own.

For the full recap, please read Pelfrey Beats Phillies
With Ball and Bat on Baseball Digest.

The call for karma to come bite the Mets in the butt

WPIX, who broadcast weekend games of the New York Mets, must not understand the concept of karma.

Check out this video, via Kieran Kelly over at Phinally Philly.

Right, because that won’t come back to haunt the team.

I’m all for playing up this rivalry between the Mets and Philly, but this is a little much.  Let the teams play the games – there’s enough emotion there – and let them settle it on the diamond.

The series of 5+ ERAs

The Mets head to Philadelphia for a three game series starting tonight at 7:05 p.m. 

What makes this such an interesting set of matchups, is that all six of the projected starters for this series all have ERAs over 5.00.

• Mike Pelfrey (6.32 ERA) vs. Chan Ho Park (7.16 ERA)
• Oliver Perez (9.31 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (5.09 ERA)
• John Maine (5.40 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (8.41 ERA)

Essentially, each team is rolling the dice with their starters. 

Pelfrey turned in his best start of the season last time out after having one of his starts skipped due to forearm tendinitis.  He threw 5 2-3 innings, allowing two earned runs against the Washington Nationals.

Perez, who has been a subject of much debate, is looking to right the ship against the Phillies.  He’s only made it out of the fifth inning once and has walked 15 and allowed 20 earned runs in 19.1 innings.

Maine, like Pelfrey, is also coming off his strongest start of the season.  On April 27 he pitched six innings, allowing only one hit and one unearned run.

Mets fans don’t seem too confident in the team right now.  Hopefully the Mets can improve their record during this battle of futility.

Twitter Poll: The next seven games

Over the next seven days, the Mets will play their first games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves in 2009.  They have started the season 9-12 and fans are already starting to question the team.  The next seven games could be very important, not just for the season, but for the coaches on staff.

Yesterday, I asked my Twitter followers how they think the Mets will fare over the next seven games.  (Hat tip to @tweetthemets for the suggestion.)  Here are their responses:

The optimists…

tweetthemets said: I think with Ollie going against the Phils twice their chances improve! 4-3

andy79 said: put me down for 5-2. Ever the optimist.

bortnick said: 4-3. it's easy to play a few lousy games and get all jittery, but it's too early to bug out, everyone's gotta relax

MetsNY81 said: 4-3

JTKrycek said: Mets 4-3. Blanton, Park = 2 Mets wins. Kawikami = 50/50. Santana = win. But 7 game win streak would rock like mad.

MissBethAnn said: I'm gunna be optomistic and say 4-3. I'm not ready to jump off the bridge yet!

mets_geekette said: Poll: 5-2. They've gotta turn it around at some point. Why not this wkend? Here's to hoping.

jessicarubin said: 4-3. Don't trust Ollie to come through on both games.

The pessimists…

jessicarubin said: btw I was being hopeful on the side of cautious when I said 4-3. Realistically I think 3-4 but I wanted to be optimistic =(

mostlymets said: 2-5. It's going to be a rough week.

thebrowncoat said: 3-4. I don't see any indication they're ready to start playing consistently good baseball yet.

jintman said: 3-4 I hope!

Retire31 said: 3-4. Sadly.

metschick said: I think they'll go 3-4.

cutiepie0319k said: 2-5.. they will be lucky if they go 3-4.. i hope they prove me wrong.

gwong said: 5-2 if the games end after six innings (ha!). Really, 3-4 is my guess and that's only if they win Johan's start.

TLA_Quinn said: 3-4 sounds about right to me...although I'd love a 4-3!

metgirl4ever said: i think we'll go 3-4 also, but i need them to go @ least 5-2 for the Mets

letsgoduke said: 3-4. Were just not putting a cohesive unit on the field right now.

Vodka_RB said: 3-4 at best

cwb75 said: would like to say 7-0 or even, but I am being the pessimist and say 3-4

darknova306 said: 1 win against Philly, 0 wins against Atlanta. 1-6 record, Jerry/HoJo fired. "Core" posters on MetsBlog laugh with glee.

trekmetfan said: I say 3 out of 7 for the Mets.

gmo418 said: 2-5 outlook is bleak, hope i am wrong

From a Phillies phan…

kierankelly said: 2-5. Losing 2 to the Fightins' and 3 to the Braves.

I can’t see them going .500 over these two teams, especially not the way they’ve been playing so far this season.  Notice that the pessimists list is much longer.

Tweet of the Day: gwong said: 5-2 if the games end after six innings (ha!). Really, 3-4 is my guess and that's only if they win Johan's start.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on how the Mets will fare over the next seven games.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!