Oliver's Twist

So my beloved NY Mets are (2-1), that's not bad. I couldn't help but notice who pitched yesterday for the Metropolitans... it was the enigmatic Oliver Perez.

I'd honestly like to say that if the Mets don't succeed this year... part of the blame should go to Oliver Perez.

Before I tear this pitching douche a new ass**** let's take a look at his career stats:

2004: 12-10, 239 SO, 2.99 ERA
2005: 7-5, 97 SO, 5.85 ERA
2006: 3-13, 102 SO, 6.55 ERA
2007: 15-10, 174 SO, 3.56 ERA
2008: 10-7, 180 SO, 4.22 ERA

Ladies and gentlemen please meet the King of Inconsistency: Ollie Perez.

Watching Ollie pitch is like watching any of the five Saw sequels... they are either good or bad.

When Omar Minaya traded Xavier Nady for both Ollie and Roberto Hernandez I thought that it was a very smart move. During that time Pedro Martinez was gone for the whole year so the team needed a starting pitcher to help the team. He certainly did help the team out in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals... even though we lost.

Ollie's inconsistency gets redundant after a while. His upside includes that fact that he's 27 and that he could definitely be a strikeout artist when he's locked in. He could pitch a solid gem against a good team like the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies or even the NY Yankees. His downside is that he'll just lay an egg against teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Washington National.

I'd definitely give a lot of props to pitching coach Dan Warthen for having patience with Ollie... I know that if I was his pitching coach I would've been heated as soon as he walks the 1st batter in a game.

The Mets paid Ollie $36 million to come back to the Mets this past off-season... he needs to earn that money. The Mets overpaid for Ollie... instead of overpaying for Derek Lowe (who I wish we had). So now us Mets fans must cross our fingers and hope... we've been hoping for 2 seasons and a half... that Ollie will turn things around and potentially become a great pitcher.

Man up Ollie...

[Photo courtesy of www.nydailynews.com]