One day after a particularly bad loss by my Little League team, I was venting to my neighbor who is a college baseball coach on how some of the kids I have on the team just don’t listen to instructions. They make the same mistakes time and time again and it’s very frustrating. He told me, “What makes you think they listen when they get older”? He told me about going over mistakes his players make and showing them the correct way of doing things and they still go back to their bad habits. I had a kid last season who for an 11 year threw hard but he kept dropping his arm angle to the point he was slinging the ball, which drove me nuts not because of production but for the risk of injury.  I’d call time and the kid knew by the look on my crimson colored face what was coming, a lecture on his arm slot.  After our little talk, he’d go back to the “10 o’clock” angle with his arm slot and proceed to be unhittable.

I bring this up because after watching Oliver Perez pitch last night and seeing Professor Rick counseling him between innings, it dawned on me that it doesn’t matter if your player is 11, 19, or 25 and a ML vet, old habits are hard to break.

Perez was a mess on the mound last night. His velocity was down and his arm angle was all over the place. The lack of velocity is scary enough as it seems he may have a tired arm but the dropping of the arm slot was Freddy Kruger like freighting.   

 

Perez’ first two innings were fine but then in the third and fourth he lost his focus with both his pitches and mechanics. He walked the first batter in each inning and allowed three runs to score. Then in the fifth inning he just about lost everything.  He got Belisle to ground out but the Hooper K’d but the ball got by LoDuca and bad throw to first gave Hooper the base. That unnerved Ollie. Keppinger hit a smash for a double and after a bang bag play at the plate allowed Hooper to score, Perez became a shell of a pitcher on the mound. It was painful watching him get out of that inning as his command was nonexistent and he just looked very uncomfortable on the mound, as he walked the bases loaded. Willie looked like he was ready to pounce off that top step but never moved and I was surprised. Why let a hot hitting  (righty batter)Alex Gonzalez go up against a struggling lefty who would have to serve pitches over the plate with the bags loaded? I don’t remember if Mota was warming in the pen but why let this game get out of hand?  Well Perez got Gonzalez to hit a comebacker and he worked out of a jam.  Hopefully leaving on a high note like that and getting out of a huge jam with just a two run deficit is something Perez can build on for his next start as this one was painful to watch.

 

There will be no more Shawn Green bashing here as the guy has shown to be a true professional:

{ “I’ve come to accept the fact I’m not going to hit 40 home runs anymore,” Green said. “I thought coming into the season I had a chance to. I’m hoping to hit 10. … I feel like I slipped into a different type of production. It’s more a swing guy who can play right field, first base. It’s a different role. However I can contribute is going to feel good. I’ve accepted the fact I’m not one of the guys in the middle of the lineup that needs to carry the team anymore. Here we’ve got plenty of those guys. My goal each day is to find a way to help the team win.”}
Petey and Mets fans going off of the rails on the Crazy Train:
PEDRO PUMPED: Pedro Martinez remained bubbly the day after his return, and is looking forward to his reintroduction to the Shea faithful when he makes his first home start Sunday against the Astros. “Being at home with the fans is going to be probably a little bit emotional, especially the way the fans are with me,” Martinez said. “They’re crazy with me, and I’m crazy with them. So it’s probably going to be a mutual feeling. But I’m already in with the team. So it’s probably going to be more like a normal outing than anything else.”
Best news of the day was Petey feeling no bad affects after his first start.

 

Looks like Delgado, LoDuca and Jose Reyes will get the day off today.  Please Willie let Milledge play RF today Please Willie Please !!!!!!!!!!

 

As tedious as last night’s game was the great Keith Hernandez kept me tuned to the game.  Between spinning in his chair like a 3 year old, telling the viewers that Jim Fergosi “pounded the NYC pavement too much” when he played here maybe causing his downfall (wink, wink) and letting us know that SNY exec Andrew Ferigisyi (I know I’m botching his name) has lost weight as Mex was worried he was turning into a “little chub” plus how excruciating it was watching an awful collection of Reds relievers (the Reds may not contend for the next 10 years, they stink) made for good time of a god awful game.

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