Why rely on Park? 
But it's not all that hard to remember when Perez was not awful. In 2004, he finished No. 1 in the National League in strikeouts (239) and No. 6 in ERA ( 2.98). With Perez, it's not hard to dream a little, and baseball men do love to dream. (What's more -- though of course it's still quite early -- to this point Perez is pitching something like a dream.)
Chan Ho Park, though? After Park signed a huge, five-year contract following the 2001 season, his ERAs went like this: 5.75, 7.58, 5.46, 5.74, 4.81. That 4.81 came last season with the Padres, who happen to play in the pitcher-friendliest ballpark in the major leagues. His ERA away from that pitcher-friendliest ballpark last season: 5.45. So leaving aside that 7.58 mark in 2003 -- he was hurt that season, and started only seven games in the majors -- Park seems to have established a fairly consistent level of "ability."
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Rob Neyer
Rob Neyer is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He began his career with legendary baseball author (and current Red Sox executive) Bill James, then joined Stats Inc. and wrote about MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Neyer joined ESPN.com in 1996, and it's believed that he's written more words for the site than anybody.
He's also written six books, including "The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers" (with Bill James) and the just-published "Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends: The Truth, the Lies, and Everything Else."
Neyer moved to Kansas City in 1976, just in time for the Royals' first division title, and fell in love almost immediately. He attended the University of Kansas the same four years as Danny Manning, and is now happy to wait another 20 years for the Jayhawks' next championship.
Neyer contributes regularly to ESPN Radio and ESPNEWS.