Maybe Oliver Perez is just an easy target, I don’t know. But the Mets lost tonight and have Perez going tomorrow. Assume for a moment this is a three-game playoff series. Down a game, with Perez pitching. What’s your confidence level?
Might isn’t high. To me he’s still a flip-of-the-coin guy. I have confidence in Glavine, Hernandez and Maine … I’m still concerned with Perez and Pelfrey on the back end. To me, this is the essence of the Mets this year: What will get from their fourth and fifth starters?
18 Comments
Perez is an every other start pitcher. He should do good today ;)
Pelfrey just seemed flat or overthrowing today. Did you notice anything, do you still think maybe he still gets nervous pitching in NY?
Thanks for all the good work you do John.
John, I’m not by any means giving up on Pelfrey for this season, but how much rope does he get if he continues to struggle? He certainly wasn’t great in his first start either.
I remain confident that Perez is going to settle himself over the long haul, so I disagree with you, John. What we’ve seen is that Perez can get too emotional and lose his mechanics. You cannot forget that he is only 25 – his biggest asset AND his biggest flaw – and that as he continues to mature, he should find the mental consistency that Peterson & Co are trying to instill. And luckily the Mets are strong enough offensively to allow for a pitcher who will lose his way from time to time.
Same goes for Pelfrey, who I think should be given some time to acclimate before the inevitable questions of “the leash” get brought up. We all want a phenom from the get-go, but in most cases, it’s a matter of getting comfortable and confident.
What did they get from starters #3 – #13 last year?
I have faith in Perez, maybe originating entirely on things it shouldn’t (2004 and game 7 of the NLCS) but once you display skills like Perez has, they’re not a fluke. The ability to replicate it night after night is in his head and the hands of the coaching staff… the latter of which I have even more faith in.
I don’t know what to make of Pelfrey… never as highly touted as Hughes or Bailey or other can’t miss starter types, but he’s up and contributing before all of them. The thing that bothers me right now was that the balls he was getting hit hard on weren’t his offspeed stuff but his fastball, which looked straighter last night that anytime I saw it last year or in the Spring… that movement is critical and what I thought set him up to be something special.
hey john, just wondering, what would you normally expect out of a #4 and #5 guy? Somethign special? or more like a flip of the coin? Personally i think perez is better than that, but we’re talking about our #4 and #5 guys here, if they have some bad games, its ok, they’re not supposed to be our shut down guys. However, I do think both of these guys, Pere especially have a lot of potential to be even better than a normal #4 guy, which makes me excited as well as confident for the rest of the season. As for today? c’mon man, comparing this to a playoff series or whatever is ridiculsou. You don’t play the game the same way now as in october. You manage differently especially. You can’t compare these games to how the team will look later.
oh, and bren made a great point, look at last year, compared to that, i’m QUITE confident about this year’s pitching. Do i think Pelfrey is ready to be an all-star? hell no, but i do think he has great potential, AND, he’s a #5, so its cool, this team can afford to have a guy learning on the job for now. Hopefully he gets it more figured out later, which is what you would expect with all that talent he has.
I was watching Mets game today, The Thing I Noticed that David Wright also wearing High Sock and He copied from Arod. The Mets are a copycat team. What a Joke.
Yeah jtb, those easy blowout wins, what a joke!
OK …. When do we dtart worrying seriously about David Wright. This is not a funk that he is in but iy seems to be a trend. His passiveness at the plate has been a real concern for months now. Where is the power? Four RBI. Maybe management jumpled too quickly at the contract last year!
Marty
Why is it not surprising to hear a Yankee fan trying to claim that they started something? Arod was the first Baseball player to wear his socks like that. Sure thing Mr.Kay…
...memo to the Yankee poser, the least memorable thing about the game was David Wright’s socks, exactly what are you watching. I think you have to let Pelfrey pitch as long as you can stay in the hunt with him. Check out first year records for Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux. Pretty pedestrian, but essential developmental innings. Wright is gonna be fine, if he doesn’t his 25 homers and knock in 110 this season I’ll eat my hat. As far as his passiveness goes, he’s a selective hitter, extremely selective for a guy his age. He sees alot of pitches, and gets good at bats. I don’t think he’s a two-hole hitter by any means, but maybe Willie is trying to jump start him.
Today was big for Ollie. It makes last week’s game just a blip. I’m guardedly confident that he’s going to have a good year – occasional clunkers notwithstanding.
Not too worried about Wright, either. Not at all, in fact. The guy’s hitting .290 and has been on base in every game. All of that without looking comfortable at the plate. Every player should have slumps that are this productive.
Another huge positive is that Beltran looks like he’s gotten past his inability to hit at Shea. He hit .220 or so at home last season. I think that he and Reyes are both going to be legit MVP candidates this year.
Maybe we just need to withhold judgment until All-Star time….when he’s good, he’s very good.
I would not worry to much about wright thus far into the season. He has not been awfull. He is still a force anywhere in the line up. The problem is between his ears. I think this past off season was a little different for him. He just got the contract extension, getting used to the new york media exposure and endorsement life, he is trying to hard to live up to the expectations. He is a young kid and a great hitter pressing to much. I think he is better suited batting second on this tremendous offensive team. He has the ability to either moves Reyes along or drive him in. Plus he is quicker than Lo Duca. Given Alou and Green continue to their part.
Perez had a good game today which is nice.
On the other hand I agree he is a flip of the coin until he proves otherwise. Kinda like Trachsel last year except he has a heater and is young. Hopefully he will find his way.
As for Pelfrey as I have said all spring he is a rookie…
So almost a month into the season our bullpen is solid ( happily so ) and our starting 5 is what they are. A good 123 and a very iffy 4/5.
Our offense and D are doing what they need to so we have a season to find out about Pelf and Perez and hope to get lucky with Pedro.
Dave
I understand all the questions about Perez, he’s either been great this year or horrible. So far he’s made 3 starts, two good, one really bad. I’ll take that for my 4th starter, when Perez is on he has the potential to be an ace. Let’s just hope for the Mets sake he can keep his focus and give us more performances like yesterday, he has all the tools we just need consistancy.
I was at the game yesterday. After the second strikeout Wright looked very frustrated. Throwing down his bat and then kneeling with his head down while waiting for his glove to arrive. I believe that he did’t feel good during the hitting streak, but now that he is working on a different streak – 0 for 7 – that may be getting to him.