Worst Mets Contracts Ever and Oliver Perez

New York Mets starting pitcher Oliver Perez reacts after being pulled from the game in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field in New York City on May 9, 2010. UPI/John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsIf the Mets weren’t getting renaissance pitching from R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi (can’t believe I’m typing this), this season would not be as exciting as it has been. In the offseason, much of the skepticism about the 2010 Mets was directed at their pitching staff. Would Mike Pelfrey become a solid number two? How would John Maine bounce back from injury? Will Oliver Perez ever live up to his potential and his contract? We now know that only one of those starters has a future in New York.

With that said, where does Oliver’s hefty contract rank among the worst signings in Mets history? Oliver was traded as a throw in from the Pirates in ’06 when Duaner Sanchez, a dominant setup man at the time, went down for the season. After watching Perez pitch game 7 of the NLCS, we all saw the trade as a steal. We received a young lefty with the ability to dominate when he maintained  his control. Losing Xavier Nady’s bat wasn’t easy, but Perez was more than needed come playoff time. From 2007-2008 Ollie was as unpredictable as any starter in Mets history. Nonetheless, The Mets inked him to a 3-year $36 million dollar contract on the second of February 2009. Since that signing, Oliver Perez has been a nightmare. He posted a 3-4 record last year with a 6.82 ERA, and this year he has somehow managed to do worse going 0-3 with his ERA again over 6. If that wasn’t enough, Ollie has refused assignment to Triple-A and ticked off his teammates and manager. The team had no choice but to shed the dead weight by putting Perez on the DL with what could very well be a phantom injury. With the Mets playing so well, it seems like a great time to laugh at some of the signing blunders of years past. With Ike Davis launching homeruns to the Shea Bridge and David Wright raking in RBIs nightly, we are all ready to believe again. So let’s look back at the players who tested our patience and had us launching TV remote controls across the living room. Continue reading “Worst Mets Contracts Ever and Oliver Perez”

Mets Links: Carlos Beltran and Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla 1990 Home
Image by BaseballBacks via Flickr

That’s a strange title for a post. Isn’t it? We haven’t heard Bobby Bonilla’s name for a long time and we’ve probably been the better for it. It’s a great way to start a Mets Links post though.

Here are the links:

I Heart Mets – They pick up a great story from CNN of how Bobby Bonilla is going back on the Mets payroll next year. It’s part of his deferred payment plan after he was waived by the Mets in 2000. The team owes him just over a million dollars every July from 2011-2035. What a deal!

Daily News – You have to love these occasional post from Mike Lupica about the Mets. He even writes with an air of superiority to the rest of us. This one start out like a fluff piece on Jose Reyes coming back and how well he’s starting to play. Then it turns ugly on Carlos Beltran. Lupica writes that Beltran is a bad contract and he’s staying away from the team so he can come back at 100% for his contract year in 2011. He also likens Beltran to Jason Giambi’s bad deal with the Yankees. It’s a bizarre turn in the column, even for Lupica.