Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Oliver Perez’

Here’s some good articles about former Fort Wayne Wizards:

Kevin Gray’s On Baseball: He still plays like a kid (UnionLeader.com)

A look at Todd Donovan, now a Blue Jays farmhand, and why he has not yet made a big league roster.

“I’ve tried not to talk about it as much as I can, but the conversation always seems to come up,” said Donovan, drafted in the ninth round by the Padres in 1999. “There’s a lot of built-up frustration. I’m not young anymore. I’m not a prospect anymore. I basically have to prove myself every single day.”

 Beckett sparks bench-clearing brawl (ESPN.com)

Angels center fielder Torii Hunter was ejected by West and had to be restrained by teammate Howie Kendrick.

Manuel: Phillies’ Condrey ‘a staff saver’ (SportingNews)

The 33-year-old Philadelphia Phillies pitcher gets the ball after Cole Hamels and before Brad Lidge. He’s a middle reliever that lacks the unhittable pitch or the highlight-reel flash of his more popular starter and closer teammates.

Sox love Pierzynski even if others don’t (MLB.com)

“Certain events that have occurred have led people to believe I’m a certain way, and I can’t control that. What I can control is how I prepare myself to play for this team, and that’s all I worry about.”

Joakim Soria:

Soria now one of Majors’ elite closers (MLB.com)
Hardly anyone in the Major Leagues was better at nailing down games last season than Soria, who converted 42 of 45 save chances, or 93.3 percent. The only closers topping that were the Phillies’ Brad Lidge (41-for-41, 100 percent) and the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera (39-for-40, 97.5 percent).

Soria dispels doubts with save (MLB.com)
“I remember when Trey first got here and saying to me, ‘That’s going to be our closer, huh?’ Just for the fact that he wasn’t sharp yet,” McClure said. “And he goes on to get 42 saves, but we had seen him pitch; I didn’t know he’d get 40, but you knew that he’d save a lot of games. So to me, he looks behind.”

Oliver Perez:

• Mets’ Oliver Perez is wild in appearance against Tigers – 3/25/09 (SportingNews)
• Mets’ Perez believes World Baseball Classic put him behind – 3/26/09 (SI.com)
• Johan talks to Perez after tough outing – 3/26/09 (MLB.com)
• Praise all around for Perez – 3/30/09 (MLB.com)
• Perez sharp in Mets’ 2-1 victory against Orioles – 3/30/09 (SportingNews)
• Perez shows rust in spring finale – 4/3/09 (MLB.com)

• Baseball America’s Top Padres Prospects - A quick look at what Baseball America thinks of the San Diego Padres’s Farm system. Many former Wizards and a couple future TinCaps on the lists.
• Oliver Perez Staying with Mets - Not sure he even looked at (or had) offers from other clubs. Either way, he’s locked in with New York with a new deal.
• Bonine Staying with Detroit, Valentin Signs With Nats – Nobody put a claim in on Eddied Bonine after he was DFA’ed following the signing of Brandon Lyon. Veteran former catcher, Javier Valentin has sined a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.
• Talkin’ Sports Moving to ESPN Radio 1380 - Jim had his first broadcast on hisnew radio home this past weekend. Great stuff. Tune in next (and every) Saturday at 9AM Est.
• Matt Bush Designated for Assignment and Matt Bush Update – Padres Career All But Over - The titles say it all.
• Jodam Rivera Leading Off the Lake Erie Crushers - Former Wizards is first to don the uniform of the new Lake Erie Crushers team. He was the first player introduced from the first three players signed anyway. So that makes him first OMHO.

Former Wizards pitcher, Oliver Perez and the Mets agreed to a three-year, $36 million deal. I’ve written about Perez many times here for various reasons as we follow his up an down career. Click here for a sample of those posts.

Free agency season is officially open and there are 171 players who have filed. Check that; 170 (reliever, Jeremy Affeldt just signed with the SanFrancisco Giants). I got to wondering about former Wizards who might be looking for new MLB homes. So I hoped over to ESPN’s Free Agent Tracker and dug a little bit. Here’s what I came up with:

• Chad Moeller; Catcher – Moeller is the classic veteran catcher. Due to several injuries throughout the Yankees catching corps., Moeller got the opportunity to play a lot in 2008.  Over 41 games (91 at-bats), Moeller hit .221 with one home run and 9 RBI’s. He’d be a good fit for a team looking to add a veteran presence to back-up an emerging young backstop. Methinks: San Diego Padres.
   
• Oliver Perez; Starting Pitcher – Perez has shown flashes of brilliance at times in his career, but has never been able to be anywhere near consistent. In 2008, he put together a 10-7 record and a .422 ERA with the Mets over 34 games. He led the league in bases on balls (105) and struck out 180 in just under 200 innings pitched. He is likely to be the most sought after former Wizard on the free agent list but I am not sure many teams are going to want to pay his likely asking price (he made $6.5 million in 2008 and is a Scott Boras client). Methinks: Texas Rangers.
   
• Juan Rincon; Relief Pitcher – Rincon was one of the last remaining Twins from their affiliation with the Wizards (Michael Cuddyer is the only remaining). The team cut ties with him during the middle of the 2008 season and he signed a minor league contract with the Indians and was promoted in July. He earned $2.475 million last year. The 29 year-old has 7 years of Major League experience and woudl serve a bullpen well. Methinks: Staying with the Indians.
   
• Luis Rivas; Shortstop – At one point in his career, Luis Rivas was a highly touted prospect of the Minnesota Twins. But injuries and bad luck brought him to Pittsburgh, where he battled for a roster spot, earning $525,000 which is quite a drop from the $1.6 millon he once earned. Whiles it’s a feelgood story of 2008, Rivas hit just .218 over 79 games with the Pirates in 2008, which isn’t going to position him well for future considerations. However, his varsatility in the infield does make him a little more marketable. Methinks: Minor League deal with the Nationals.
   
• Javier Valentin; Catcher – At 33 years of age, the reality is that the veteran catcher who has 9 years of MLB experience, is not going to have many more contract years ahead of him. Like Moeller, he makes a solid veteran presence in a situation where the every-day catcher is just coming of age. Methinks: Minor League deal with the Red Sox.

Note: LaTroy Hawkins would have been a free agent had he not reached an agreement with the Houston Astros.

Oliver Perez on the 2008 Former Indians All-Star Team

Of the 63 former Indianapolis Indians who finished the 2008 season on a Major League 40-man roster, 17 are highlighted on the 2008 Former Indians All-Star team.  Former Wizards Pitcher, Oliver Perez, was among them. Perez played in Fort Wayne in 2001 after signing as an undrafted free agent by the Padres in 1999. He was traded by Padres with Corey Stewart and Jason Bay to the Pirates for Brian Giles in 2003 and then was traded by Pirates with Roberto Hernandez to Mets for Xavier Nady in 2006.

September Call-Ups: Drew Macias and Will Venable 

MadFriars’ John Conniff interviews the former Wizard outfielders, Drew Macias and Will Venable (subscription required). Macias talks about his early season struggles in his third stint at Double-A, a new batting stance, while Venable dishes on his newfound power an patience. I still say you should look for him to be a starter in SD next season. Also look for Denis Savage’s interview with recent Wizard, Angel Mercado, who started with the Wizards this season and was demoted to low-A Eugene.

What Does the Future Have in Store for Peavy?

Well, the New York Yankees may be interested in former Wizards pitcher and NL Cy Young Winner Jake Peavy, but it will take a lot to pry him from San Diego. Although, keep in mind that his salary from this year will more than double by 2010 and continue to rise through 2012.

Soria wins September’s DHL Award

Former Wizards Pitcher, Joakim Soria’s perfect September had a perfect ending. The Royals’ right-handed closer, was named the winner of the DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man Award. Soria was 9-for-9 in save opportunities and had a 1-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 10 appearances. He gave up just three hits in 10 1/3 innings.

“He’s had a tremendous impact,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. “Just looking at the statistics and the number of saves in comparison to the number of team wins. And there’s just a psychological advantage there for the whole team, just knowing that he’s available and the consistency of the product he brings to the mound.”

Soria had a 1.60 ERA in his 63 games, a 2-3 record and 66 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings. Opponents batted just .169 against him.

Daryl Jones is 9th Best Indy Leaguer

Former Wizards first baseman and DH, Daryl Jones suffered from the logjam at the lower levels and never really got his career into motion despite an impressive first half MWL All-Star performance during his first year with Wizards that saw him split time with Kyle Blanks. Baseball America recently listed him as the 9th best prospect in Indy ball. Injuries and ineffectiveness led the Pares to release the former fourth round pick following the 2007 season. He caught on with Edinburg where he worked on his swing and showed off some speed.

… now Jones has a flatter swing that gives the ball some backspin that helps it carry further. He showed the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark from foul pole to foul pole.

At 6-foot-4 with some nimbleness around the bag, Jones is very solid defensively and gives infielders a big target to aim for. He also runs well for a big man (4.2 seconds to first base), and he was second in the United League with 32 steals. But as you would expect for a first baseman, it will be his power potential that could get him back to affiliated ball.

• Michael Cuddyer, the lone Twins player from the Wizards affiliation with Minnesota is likely done for the season after a line drive pegged him during a minor league rehab game. It’s unfortunately because he was expected to provide a boost to the Twin’s playoff run.
• Oliver Perez continues to befuddle and confuse. He’s always been assocated with unrealized potential, but Oliver Perez has become known as “Big Game Ollie” and seems to come up big when it counts. It just so happens that every game counts right now, and since June 29, Perez is 3-2 with a 1.71 ERA in eight starts. He’s also 7-0 with a 2.28 ERA in games against above-.500 teams.
• Wade LeBlanc and Kellen Kulbacki are the subjects of a rising star update at Friar Forecast.
• Angel Mercado hit the first home run of the Wizards’ season. He now leads the Northwest League in dingers while playing with Eugene. Alex Gabriel has a nice (subscriber only) for MadFriar’s profile of the slugger who is also near the top of the team in total bases and slugging percentage.
• Speaking of MaFriars, John Conniff has posted his interviews with Andy Parrino and Jackson Quezada.
• Wynn Pelzer and Kellen Kulbecki have been honored by the Padres organization as Pitcher and Player of the Month (hat tip to Friar John).
• Finally, Geoff from Ducksnorts spotlights Lake Elsinore; which includes many former Wizards.

Despite the fact that I am not a big Mets fan, I had high hops for Oliver Perez coming into the 2008 season. He’s been slow to develop and had been pretty much written off so many times by so many and a disappointment of not living up to one’s potential. Still, I thought he would be capable of building up last season, which was pretty respectable.

Through last night, Perez is sporting a 4.06 earned run average with 29 innings pitched over six games. He’s given up 28 hits and 18 runs – 13 of them earned – while striking out 26 and walking almost as many (21).

Contrast this to last year when he started 29 games and had a 15-10 record. His ERA was .356, but he struck out 174 while walking just 79 Over 177 innings pitched.

Right now, Perez doesn’t even average out to five full innings per game. At his current pace – assuming he starts 29 again this season (he did deal with a short DL stint last year if I remember correctly, so it could be a few more if he stays in the rotation), he’ll log just 140 innings pitched with just 126 strikeouts and 101 walks. Hardly a step forward in the development cycle.

In his latest start against the Pirates, Perez lasted just 1 2/3 innings. It drew the ire and criticism of teammate Billy Wagner.

“Perez honestly has got to step up and know that we’ve just used every guy in the bullpen the night before,” Wagner said. “He can’t come in and come out there and decide that he doesn’t have it today, and so be it” [hat tip to The700Level.com].

Reportedly, the two pitchers have made up, but you have to wonder if this is a chip that will stay on their shoulders and be part of the Mets’ undoing in 2008.