Ollie might have run out of slack with Mets
New York Mets' Oliver Perez delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins. (May 14, 2010) Credit: AP
MIAMI - The Mets have run out of excuses for Oliver Perez. On a night with tropical temperatures, a gentle breeze and moderate humidity, Perez proved that all the talk of him being a fair-weather pitcher was nothing but hot air. Whether it's balmy Sun Life Stadium or frosty Citi Field, the mound remains 60 feet, 6 inches from the plate, and Perez still has to face major-league hitters.
His role, however, may soon change. Perez allowed seven runs, including four homers, in 31/3 innings Friday as the Mets stumbled, 7-2, to the Marlins. The large contingent of Mets fans among the crowd of 21,221 booed Perez as he walked off, perhaps for the last time in the rotation. It's a drastic step that the Mets would like to avoid, and a big reason is that Perez is only midway through a three-year, $36-million contract. But Perez put himself in jeopardy Sunday by walking seven in 31/3 innings against the Giants.
Manager Jerry Manuel indicated after the game that he intends to sit down with Perez on Saturday and discuss the possibility of removing him from the rotation. On Thursday, Manuel had said that Perez would likely remain in the rotation unless his Friday start was "something, you know, kind of off the charts that we see."
What more does Manuel need to see after Friday's implosion? Perez served up four home runs - which included a pair to Dan Uggla - for the fourth time in Perez's career, but not since 2004 as a member of the Pirates.
Perez is winless in his last eight starts, dating to Aug. 18 of last season, and is 0-4 with a 7.41 ERA during that stretch. Over that same period, he has allowed 40 hits and 30 walks in 34 innings. This season, he is 0-3 with a 5.94 ERA.
With the Mets falling back to .500 (18-18) for the first time since they were 9-9 on April 24, patience should be in short supply, and the clock could be starting again on Manuel very soon now that his club has lost five of its last six.
As for replacing Perez, perhaps the easiest move would be to shift Hisanori Takahashi, an effective long reliever, into the rotation and let Perez work through his problems in low-pressure bullpen situations. Manuel suggested Thursday that he could go that route with Perez, but prefers not to.
The barrage began in the third inning when Uggla hammered a 76-mph curveball into the leftfield seats for a three-run homer that put the Marlins ahead 3-0.
Chris Coghlan led off the fourth with a deep blast to centerfield that was the first home run by a lefthanded hitter for the Marlins this season. Gaby Sanchez followed with a shot into the leftfield seats and Perez got lucky when David Wright made a lunging grab of a bullet down the line by Hanley Ramirez.
Uggla then turned on a 90-mph fastball for his second homer of the game.
Maybe the weak-hitting Mets should have been taking notes. Before the game, Wright, Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur huddled around batting coach Howard Johnson as they looked at video together. It didn't seem to do any of them any good. That group went a combined 1-for-10 with Bay's single and had three of the team's eight strikeouts.
