What Will The Mets Get Out Of Oliver Perez in 2010?
If the New York Mets are to rebound in 2010, they will need bounce back seasons from Jose Reyes and David Wright as well as a Carlos Beltran speedy recovery. It would also help if both Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur provide the corner outfield production the Mets are expecting from both of them. But even if all those things come to pass, the team needs a reliable #2 starter to sit behind Johan Santana. Simply put, Oliver Perez needs to start earning his $12 million per year contract.
Ollie's 2009 season was a disaster from the moment he went to the WBC and returned from it in such poor physical condition an accelerated rehab caused him to hurt his knee seriously enough that he was forced to undergo season-ending surgery. But as we all know, his physical conditioning is the least of his worries as focus has always been an issue. On the other hand, stuff has never been the issue--that is until last year. His 92 MPH fast ball suddenly became a 88 MPH flat straight heater and that decrease in velocity also made his slider easier to detect even to left handed hitters.
The winter of 2009 was unlike any other off-season for Perez who did a lot of rehab and should have done a lot of soul searching as well. I remember the first time I saw Oliver Perez pitch and I was intoxicated by his stuff but in baseball talent is only 80% of the equation and the other 20% is usually the issue in question for him. That is until last year when his stuff was not as good. And I think he recognized that because his routine changed this off-season. And many feel he can rebound because he FINALLY has learned that talent is not enough. But do not just take my word for it.
Met ace Johan Santana said recently, " I see a different Ollie--he is hungry and I expect a lot from him. He stills needs to be his fun-loving self but I see him more positive than last year. Remember he was hurt last year and there were times his knee hurt so bad he wasn't even able to walk on it." And just to give you a little perspective, Santana is a player who means what he says and says what he means. He is honest--to a fault. Remember his early season criticism of Daniel Murphy's shoddy left field defense in the season's first week last year.
I will also say this--I have spoken to Ollie a few times this off-season and I have to admit he handles media questions better than he did a year ago. Now, that will not help him on the mound but may speak to his focus and taking all of his responsibilities seriously. In many ways, Perez may be the most important Met because if he returns to his 2007 form, the rotation gets a serious jump start. Knowing how crucial he is to the success of 2010 is a responsibility that should motivate Perez every single day. How he embraces that responsibility will define his season and ultimately how successful his team is in 2010.
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