After cutting ties with Luis Castillo, many are wondering if Oliver Perez is next on the Mets' chopping block. Here's a batch of Mets news with a heavy focus on the beleaguered left-hander..
- After a rough outing today against the Nationals in which he gave up a pair of homers to career minor leaguers, this is probably the end of the line for Perez, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Even before this afternoon's performance, Martino says that he couldn't find anyone in organization who truly believed that the Perez experiment would work.
- Martino (via Twitter) has been told that Perez won't be released tonight but he wouldn't be surprised to see the Mets cut Perez tomorrow or shortly thereafter.
- A person with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking told Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger that no decision on Perez would be made before today.
- McCullough (via Twitter) agrees that the end of the left-hander's time in New York is near though, pointing out that even supportive pitching coach Dan Warthen, says Perez's pitches are not good enough.
- After the team's 7-4 win over the Nationals today, manager Terry Collins said he wants to have compassion for the hurler, but the reality is that he needs to pitch better, writes Rich Coutinho of MetsBlog.
- Collins realizes now that his intensity has worked against him in the past and he's determined not to let it happen again, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Hey Luis, be sure to keep a seat nice & warm for Ollie on the unemployment line! The end is truly near for Perez. He got smashed by 2 minor league scrubs today and looks like crap. Let’s call a spade a spade already.
The decision is economical. His salary is a sunk cost. Whether you cut him or not, the mets still have to pay it. The question lies in marginal analysis. Does his replacement on the roster provide more value than him? Then, yes, you should cut him.
I’m shocked Ollie is still with the Mets. Dumping Luis Castillo was the first sign that the Mets are just going to give in and do whatever their fan base wants them to do.
I guess if they’re cash strapped and can’t make any big moves, dumping players the fans hate is probably their best option. At least then they can sift through younger guys and see if there’s someone who can help out in the future.
I love how this franchise is criticized no matter what decisions they make. You say that releasing them is evidence that they’re willing to cave in to fan pressure. Yet if they’d kept both, others would knock them for being cheap and not having the resources to cut them. I think if they had truly wanted to give in to the fans, they would have been let go the day Alderson was hired. At least they gave them the chance to pull off a miracle. Neither of them was going to be on the Mets after this season anyway (Perez will be lucky to ever be on another team in his life). Oh, and how come they didn’t hire Backman as manager, since the fans were so insistent on that?
I’m not really criticizing them when I say that they can sift through younger guys and see who can help them in the future. I think that’s the best thing in the long run.
That being said, I’m not sure Castillo isn’t one of their best 2nd base options for this year. As for Ollie, they just released him and I think any team would do that. He plainly can’t contribute right now, and there’s little hope he’ll recover his form soon.
Wow you really just lap up what the beat reporters tell you don’t you?
Like every fan: sometimes yes, and sometimes no.
I’m starting to think the only reason the Mets have held onto Perez so long (and did hold onto Castillo), is so that it keeps all the writers in New York busy speculating on when they will be released. It has kept them busy and they haven’t even had time to realize just how bad the rest of the team is. That Sandy Alderson is no dummy.
Wow. Really? A Cardinals fan is saying this?
With all the problems Terry Collins will have to contend with this coming season, team attitude won’t be one of them. One of the problems the Mets had to deal with in the past, was the many cliques and the sense of complacency that was rampant throughout the clubhouse. This was especially true with the guys with long term contracts and some of the so-called team leaders.That’s come to an end as of last year’s finish.
This year, Collins has a team that has everybody working hard to improve and show that they belong on the team and that they want to continue playing in the big leagues. No one on this team is guaranteed a job per se, not the stars or established vets. Guys like Beltran, Reyes and K-Rod are playing for a contract or an extension. That’s not to say that these players were bad in the clubhouse, but they’ll make sure to mind their P’s and Q’s. Wright and Bay are coming off a subpar year and have heard the possible trade rumors, so you know they won’t rest on past laurels.
Add to that all the new faces on this year’s roster and the new regime running the organization and it adds up to players looking to impress and putting their best foot forward. Collin’s job won’t be easy, managing in NY is never easy, dealing with the fan expectations and the media can make the job brutal. The one certainty he can count on is that the players won’t stage a mutiny this time around.
The team may have a better attitude. Great. Hope you keep your chins up when you finish fourth (or fifth) in the East.
Fourth. The Nationals still have a few years in the basement.