Oliver Perez, I get. Yes, when the Mets picked him up last July 31, he'd been absolutely awful for more than a season and a half. And yes, when the Mets gave him a rotation slot this spring, he'd run his string of awfulness to two full seasons (notwithstanding this game last October.
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."
You can't fault the Mets for relying on veterans. At the moment, their rotation includes 25-year-old John Maine (who's pitched well) and 23-year-old Mike Pelfrey (who has not).
That said, the decision to turn to Park upon Orlando Hernandez's injury seems like a strange one. There's not only the last five years of awfulness; there's also the last three weeks, as Hernandez racked up a 7.29 ERA in four starts with New Orleans. So why not fellow Zephyr Jorge Sosa (4-0, 1.13 ERA)? Because today was Park's turn to pitch. Which just reinforces my suspicion that today's pitching staffs are far, far too regimented.
Every staff should carry at least one pitcher -- "swingman," they used to call him -- who's capable of giving you five or six decent innings in a pinch. But instead you bring up Park to get hammered. Again.
Rob Neyer
