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May 31, 2010 Pitching Staff John Fitzgerald

What Will Become of Ollie?

With the Mets suddenly in the thick of the NL East race with a 26-25 record, they continue to look for an answer to the Oliver Perez situation. Right now, Ollie is languishing in the bullpen after refusing to go to Buffalo to work out his problems in AAA. Neither the Mets nor Team Ollie (population: Scott Boras) wants to see Perez in the bullpen, but he will remain there until someone blinks.

So what can be done?

ESPN’s Adam Rubin is reporting that the Mets still think they can get Perez to accept a minor league assignment. But even if Ollie accepts the assignment, there is no guarantee it would work. Going to AAA might help Ollie by forcing him to focus, but the move could just as easily embarrass him and send his mental state spinning off in another direction, even farther from where he needs to be.

Mike Flam of The New York Times thinks the Mets should take a different path with their troubled southpaw. Rather than demote Ollie, Flam suggests the Mets might be better off releasing Perez. He points out that the Tigers recently got rid of their own troubled southpaw when they designated Dontrelle Willis for assignment.

Bill Price of The Daily News thinks the Mets should consider a Willis-for-Perez swap, basically trading one troubled lefty for another. A change of scenery is a longshot, but it could be the only solution left for either pitcher.

What do you think the Mets should do with Ollie?

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John Fitzgerald is an independent film/TV producer. In 2007, he followed former Mets 2B Wally Backman and his minor league team for the TV show, "Playing for Peanuts." Click here for DVD ordering information NOTE: $5 from each sale goes to maintenance costs of MetsToday.com
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  1. JD May 31, 2010 at 2:53 pm
    The Ollie/Willis swap isn't going to happen. Willis' contract ends this year and Detroit would be crazy to take a bad pitcher with an extra year on his contract. I would continue to press Boras to get Perez to accept a demotion to the minor leagues, however, the team has to be careful: with the draft coming up, they may want to draft a Boras client. Once they get that squared away, DFA Ollie if he won't go down. But we're probably a month or two away from getting to that point.
  2. MikeTomaselli May 31, 2010 at 3:01 pm
    Fair point about Boras. I don't know about this for sure, but fair point.

    I vote for keep trying to send him down. Although secretly the Mets absolutely have to consider cutting him. The other players in the club house believe he is hurting the team. As he continues to be shunned by his teammates, hopefully he will see that he needs to go down, but until then he is just a bane on this team and the players have begun to speak out about it (anonymously for now). At some point you are literally paying a guy to bring down the entire club and anything you pay him would be like paying someone to punch you in the face.

  3. gary s. May 31, 2010 at 3:37 pm
    mt, can u please e mail your comments to fred and jeff.excellent post.
  4. John Fitzgerald May 31, 2010 at 3:49 pm
    If Boras would interfere with young client's future because of the way the Mets treat Ollie, that client should probably find another agent…
  5. Mic May 31, 2010 at 11:58 am
    I disagree with both of you…if not entirely in part.

    1. You can trade Ollie. not easily but doable. Detroit have eaten $36m in willis, he has barely pitched similar to O-lay. To olay i suspect money (the difference) and possibly a token prospect pushes that deal.

    2. Boras has forced the issue. He WANTS Ollie released so he can go west. Ollie is breaking the clubhouse, his release would HELP the clubhouse. Me, i send him where its coldest.

    Enter text right here!

  6. Mic May 31, 2010 at 12:22 pm
    Enter text right here!I disagree with both of you…if not entirely in part.

    1. You can trade Ollie. not easily but doable. Detroit have eaten $36m in willis, he has barely pitched similar to O-lay. To olay i suspect money (the difference) and possibly a token prospect pushes that deal.

    2. Boras has forced the issue. He WANTS Ollie released so he can go west. Ollie is breaking the clubhouse, his release would HELP the clubhouse. Me, i send him where its coldest.

  7. ken karcinell May 31, 2010 at 12:30 pm
    Its criminal that the Mets hierarchy haver handcuffed themselves into the Ollie situation. Similar to what they have done with Mathews Jr. Real organizations do not allow their teams to be so handicapped.That ollie takes the place of a bullpen pitcher with no value deprives the mgr of having sufficient options in the bulpen.Thats why Nieve has a dead arm and Feliciano will soon follow. As for Mathews Jr, whose 11 strikeouts in 18 at bats off the bench should be proof positive of his uselessness, why is he still here? When these factors are combined with Manuel’s in game stratey decisions, you cannot realistically have high expectations for this team.
  8. ken karcinell May 31, 2010 at 4:30 pm
    Entits criminal that the Mets hierarchy haver handcuffed themselves into the Ollie situation. Similar to what they have done with Mathews Jr. Real organizations do not allow their teams to be so handicapped.That ollie takes the place of a bullpen pitcher with no value deprives the mgr of having sufficient options in the bulpen.Thats why Nieve has a dead arm and Feliciano will soon follow. As for Mathews Jr, whose 11 strikeouts in 18 at bats off the bench should be proof positive of his uselessness, why is he still here? When these factors are combined with Manuel's in game stratey decisions, you cannot realistically have high expectations for this team.er text right here!
  9. micalpalyn May 31, 2010 at 5:03 pm
    Joe: One day I'll figure out why I cant get my posts to stick
    1. You can trade Ollie. Ala The Angels you pony up cash My suggestion is to trade Ollie for D-train pony up the difference $8M, Or give 1/2 that and a mid tier prospect. Right now there is mutiny and the Mets have NO choice but to DFA/trade Ollie. I Also if I could I'd send him to the coldest place I could.

    Enter text right here!

  10. Nick May 31, 2010 at 6:07 pm
    How embarrassing would it look if Scott Boras' so-called "just where Johan Santana was at his age" client, were sent down to the minors near the middle of his rich contract? I think we know why Boras, ahem I mean Perez, won't accept a demotion.

    I think we know what must be done gentleman, in the most discrete way possible… We must KILL Oliver Perez.

  11. isuzudude May 31, 2010 at 9:00 pm
    To be fair, ken, Ollie had won 25 games combined in 2007 and 2008, the 2 years leading up to when Perez hit the free agent market. Plus, he was only 27 at the time, was showing no signs of decreased velocity, and had proven himself healthy by starting at least 29 games in each of those seasons. Adding in the fact that the Mets had passed on other starting pitchers during the pre-2009 offseason, the signing of Perez was lauded as a necessary move at the time it happened. Playing Monday morning quarterback, it's entirely too easy now to look back and say, "Oh what a horrible move it was signing Perez for 3 years – the Mets are a joke," but when you look at things objectively, the Mets were well within their rights and their sanity for making the signing when they did. It's a shame Perez has turned into such a bum, and now, unfortunately, we're seeing his true colors as an underachieving headcase. But I think he is to blame for his problems far more than the Mets are to blame for having him on the team.
  12. isuzudude May 31, 2010 at 9:01 pm
    Why would you even joke about that? I'm not one to get easily offended, but even I know what lines you shouldn't be crossing. Clean up the act, Nick.
  13. isuzudude May 31, 2010 at 5:15 pm
    I don't think there should be a big to-do over Perez not accepting a demotion to the minors. The only benefit it would have would be clearing up a roster space. Perez and Boras don't want to go to AAA because they know it would have no effect on his pitching. Ollie is toast. His arm and confidence are shot. What is he topping out at these days, 86 MPH? A demotion to Buffalo would do nothing to get him to pitch any harder or more consistently. More than likely he would sulk, he would struggle, and he would become an even bigger problem.

    I don't see a trade for Willis as possible, either. Every team knows Perez is shot. Why Detroit would want to take on an even bigger headcase than Dontrelle, with an additional year on his contract to boot, would be beyond me.

    So, if Perez is resistant to a AAA stint, and working out a trade is impossible, and releasing him is too costly, than why not try to make the most of what he brings to the table? Lefties are hitting .200 against Perez on the season. They were .200 against him last year. They are .226 against him over his career. I know Ollie tends to walk too many, but the numbers indicate he would make a nice LOOGY and could very well fill that role for the Mets. Let's face it: Feliciano is overworked, and is now seeing added setup and crossover time as Igarashi and Nieve have struggled. Takahashi is now in the rotation and is likely to stay there for quite some time. Valdes is the clear favorite to continue long-relieving, as he's done a knock-up job of it thus far. With so many LHPs on the team transitioning into new roles, why not slide Ollie into the LOOGY role from here on out? He can't be any worse than what he's been in the rotation, and at least in this role he'll only be needed a batter or two per game, 2 or 3 times per week. He'll undoubtedly be the most expensive bullpen specialist in baseball, and could very well be a flop, but why not give it a try? It's certainly a better idea to me than banging your head against the wall continuing to try to banish him to AAA, or just leaving him to rot in the bullpen. If he's on the team, might as well try to get some use out of him. Who knows, maybe the stubborn mule can be made into a working class stead after all.

  14. dobber May 31, 2010 at 9:44 pm
    Nick, I agree with you BUT the only way to kill Ollie would be to keep starting him. Put him back into the rotation every 5 days and let him get rocked. I am, and have been a Met fan since 78, I can put up with another season not making the playoffs, just get rid of Ollie! Pitch him and pitch him and let all the teams see that he has nothing left, then release him or buy him out and send him packing. Career over, Boris looks like a chum and mets rid themselves of Perez and can say we gave him every opportunity. Mets take high road, Perez and Boris both lose.
  15. MikeTomaselli June 1, 2010 at 1:55 am
    That makes no sense. The Mets win without him on the roster in any way, they win if he's in the minors. They lose only if they allow him to pitch.
  16. Nick June 1, 2010 at 5:15 am
    Get over yourself, serious dude, it's baseball not the presidential election. Perez's ballclub has an impossible situation, where they can't demote him, they can't start him, and they won't pitch him out of the bullpen, but he still eats a spot out of the bullpen because its the only place he can't do harm.
    What can the Mets do? At least they can't say nobody suggested it. A polite declining of the proposal would suffice. = P I know sarcasm doesn't translate well over the net, but common sense travels through all mediums.
  17. Nick June 1, 2010 at 5:16 am
    Get over yourself, serious dude, it's baseball not the presidential election. Perez's ballclub has an impossible situation, where they can't demote him, they can't start him, and they won't pitch him out of the bullpen, but he still eats a spot out of the bullpen because its the only place he can't do harm.
  18. Nick June 1, 2010 at 5:19 am
    Sorry, I messed up comment submits… Joe add a delete or edit comment function!!!!!

    And no way man, that's just spite. I don't think anyone wants to deliberately destroy whatever's left of his career because we hate the fact that he sucks. I'm sure he doesn't like it that he sucks. He's a douche cuz he should volunteer to go to the minors. Boras won't let him because his pride is going to take a hit.
    I wonder if Perez has been to the minors while he was with the Mets? I thought he might have been sent down for a week sometime….

  19. Andy June 1, 2010 at 4:13 pm
    I think most of us fans agreed that the signing was necessary, but right upon signing (and before the 2009 season started) the fans were pretty loud and nearly unanimous that $12 million/season was too much. We noted that John Maine was only making 25% of that though he was putting up similar numbers at the time. We noted that there did not appear to be any other bidders for Perez, and even Omar's initial offer ($10 million/season) was too high. Nobody thought Ollie would get as bad as he has gotten, but it was a big mistake to be spending so much money on him, with no other bidders for his services, when that money could have been spent elsewhere to produce a better team for the fans.
  20. Mic June 1, 2010 at 5:29 pm
    I'm starting to see I-dude logic. This is and always was a rebuilding year. With Ike and Meija up and Reese havens, Ruben tejada, CPT Kirk and Dillon Gee ascending, F-mart tucked away on the DL and a new nucleus emerging. I now look for the mets to purge more salary, ie Castillo, Ollie and CB.

    The only way that changes is if they sneak to say 5-6 games over at the break.

    Enter text right here!

  21. Jose Rivera June 2, 2010 at 4:25 pm
    Put Perez on DL for 15 days. That may give him the time he needs to consider going to Buffalo. On a parallel track look to trade him for something and if all else fails then release. Clearly Ollie can focus on what is important to him, he does his hair, side burns, eyebrows when he is on the mound and about so he clearly has a heirarchy of pressence. Maybe he needs to go take off all the hair allowing him to only focus on the pitch in hand.