Oliver Perez, You Are The Weakest Link....goodbye!

Every Family has a black sheep. A rotten egg. The square peg that will not fit in the round hole. The New York Mets are a family as well. As a family, they are no exception. The square peg, I'm thinking of is Oliver Perez. Ollie has been overrated since his arrival in Queens.

He has been highly reported on and highly criticized. All with good reason. The franchise inked him to a longer deal than any other team was offering. Does the league know something that Omar Minaya doesn't? Perhaps.

Perhaps if a pitcher that has good potential for upside hasn't figured it out by now, than potential is nothing more than a desert mirage. An oasis in scorching temperatures, existing at a distance, but nothing more than an illusion when you reach it. This could be Oliver Perez, an illusion. A mirage.

He has a handful of good games. Just when you think he is on track and becoming everything he was promised to be, he gets lit up light Times Square. The embattled, impassioned fans are left scratching their collective heads and wondering why the franchise wasted the money.

We repeat to ourselves "they could of signed what's his name", like an empty mantra that we expect to be thrown out into the void never to return with a response. Perez has shown, once again, that he is unreliable and not even close to being the pitcher this team needs. Can this franchise afford to keep him?

They have spent a ton of money on him, too much to let him rot on the bench of the bullpen or even worse, the bench in the minors. Year after year, we spend spring trainings watching the Mets parade veteran after veteran. Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer, all to teach him. In the hope that someone will finally help him make that light bulb in his warped head go off. Alas, to no avail. Another spring training, another bad spring training start.

It's only March. I am aware that there are several months to go and the season hasn't even started yet. If he can't turn it around by now, perhaps they should trade him to a team that will take him. Are there any doe eyed and ignorant teams in Japan that are interested in a lemon?

If this performance continues, they should be shopping one bad contract for another. The question is will they? How long does it take for this franchise to realize a player just doesn't have what it takes to make a consistent transition? How long must this intelligent fan base have to endure such stupidity?

It is mind boggling how the organization can not see the forest through the trees. It is even more mind boggling what they paid to be temporary farsighted. If his performance, even with injuries, this season mimics last season, in any way, it may be time to go shopping. Let's just hope that if that has to happen, there is enough takers available for a clearance item named Ollie.