Given his youth and talent, I’m hardly ready to declare the Oliver Perez Experiment a failure, but it is pretty clear after two starts that no miraculous change-of-scenery metamorphosis is going to make him into a pitcher the Mets can use in the postseason. (Which is not to question them using him right now out of necessity). Wait ’til next year.
One thought on “Please, Sir, I Don’t Want Some More”
Comments are closed.
I can’t let this go without a comment.
When Oliver was wih the padres, his performance was sometimes electric, and I was sorry to see him go to Pittsburgh. That should be a reminder that a “change of scenery” won’t work for the Mets – it’s already been tried.
The promise of Oliver was his array of different arm angles and release points that totally confused batters. The problem of Oliver is his array of arm angles and release points that make him inconsistent and is too high maintenance for an experienced pitcher, let alone a young one.
If the Mets want to cash in on the promise, they’ll have to get a pitching coach who can get Oliver to stick to one arm angle and one release point. A lefty who has a 95+ fastball and a decent curve, and can get both over the plate, is a real find. He’s got the first two, simplifying his mechanics will produce the third.
If the Mets can’t find somebody to rework Oliver’s mechanics or don’t want to try, they’re looking at major league frustration. Until they find another team that thinks a change of scenery works.