Don't watch the ball, look inside his head

Uggh. "The freshest guy on the team", as Howie described Oliver Perez in the 9th. Perez flew out to SF early in order to get rest for his start last night. That worked out well.

Once us Met fans stop having expectations of Oliver Perez we'll be better off for it. I expect games like last night every time he starts. He cannot handle pressure of any kind. None. And, no, Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS doesn't count because nobody had expectations of Perez that night. We hoped, not expected.

No, Perez cannot handle expectations. The more he's expected to step up the more he can't/won't. He hasn't got the character. Something that Omar and Willie will have to ponder. He has a ton of talent, but no character. Ideally the Mets will trade him to Kansas City - or some such place - where Perez can start fresh and dazzle before people start to expect him to win. Oh yeah, they can't do that either because Perez decided to put extra pressure on himself this year by opting to go for free agency. Quite a walk year, Ollie.

The one big positive was the effort from Claudio Vargas. What a job. 4+ innings of shut-out relief. If only the Mets had been able to get a few hits with all those runners they had on. Vargas gave them the chance to get back in the game.

*****

No mention from Howie or Wayne on the scorecard watch.