Thursday, September 21, 2006

Welcome to the Party, Mr. Perez

Oli

This video of the Mets locker room celebration has been making the rounds on the internet the last couple of days.

No doubt, its popularity has something to do with an attractive blond in a low cut top getting soaked with champagne and beer. Well, I'm not sure what this says about me, but the first thing I noticed in the video wasn't SNY reporter Julie Donaldson.

If you look closely, the guy leading the charge with the champagne, right over Donaldson's right shouulder, is none other than former Pirates starter Oliver Perez.

Oli was once the next big thing in Pittsburgh. During the 2004 season when, flasing 97 mph heat, he won 12 games and struck out 239 batters. Many pundits compared him to a young Randy Johnson.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Cooperstown. Oli's velocity disappeared, and for the next season and a half he struggled to keep his ERA below 5.00.

We remember a particularly brutal outing earlier this season against the Padres. Perez was coming off a strong start and looking to build some momentum. Following a two hour rain-dealy, he sprinted to the mound in typically flashy fashion. Six runs and a booming Mike Piazza home-run later, Oli was done for the night by the third inning. He was optioned to the minors a few days later.

After a mediocre stint there, the Pirates finally bit the bullet and traded him to the Mets on July 31, acquiring Xavier Nady in the deal. Another in a long line of highly-touted WFTIPS pitchers (see Schmidt, Jason and Benson, Kris) that never reached their potential in Pittsburgh.

Following a rash of injuries to Mets starters, Perez was called up to make a few starts in the Big Apple. Not surprisingly, he has epitomized mediocrity, and done absolutely nothing to help the Mets win the division title.

There are probably a thousand people that deserve to be spraying champagne in that locker room as much as Oliver Perez. I'm soliciting you, my loyal readers (all five or six of you) to help me compile this list.

Here are my suggestions:

Henry Kissinger, Former Secretary of State

Brad Anderson, author of the Marmaduke cartoons

David Schwimmer

and James Fargo, director of the Clint Eastwood classic Every Which Way But Loose.

Your suggestions, please:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ian Snell. And, while we're at it... Rick Reilly, James Frey, and Carl Monday. I don't give a shit about the Pirates, but I do remember the Post-Gazette's collective hard-on over that guy in the '04 season. Sort of depressing to think that at one point, he represented the team's future.