Oliver Perez Is Our Wild Thing

Oliver Perez can learn a thing or two from Ricky Vaughn.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Last night, while I was starting my new job at ABC, a co-worker and I got into talking about the Mets. Shocking right? I was getting the ESPN Alerts with the score updates, and then I would forward those alerts to him. We started talking about the Mets and their problems, and it got me thinking.

The Mets finally won a game, which happens about as often as a lunar eclipse, and I was trying to figure out what this team could relate to.

Then it hit me.

This team could be linked to the Indians out of Major League. I am not sure who would be Jake Taylor, but the role of “Wild Thing” Ricky Vaughn is simple. Oliver Perez fills the void perfectly.

When Perez is on, he is much like a good Vaughn. The only differences are that he is lefty, doesn’t throw as hard, and I don’t think he was ever in prison.

Moving on. The hairdo is there, and most importantly, so is the stuff. We all know that Oliver Perez on his game can be nearly unhittable, but what do we need to do to release his inner beast?

Well, Dan Warthen would love to find out that answer. The line for Perez is pretty predictable on most nights. We watched Livan Hernandez handle the feeble Nationals pretty easily last night, and that makes us have some concerns about how Ollie is going to pitch. We all know he usually pitches down to the opponent.

If it were the Phillies or the Yankees that the Mets were playing, Perez would be hyped and ready to go. Maybe the Mets need to play the Wild Thing music every time he makes a start. That could help get his adrenaline going.

If Oliver Perez is effective, the line usually looks like this. He pitches five and two thirds, while allowing two runs on four hits. He strikes out six and walks seven, while throwing 110 pitches.

The Mets need him to harness his stuff, because Santana can’t lead this team back into contention all by himself.