The Mets are in bad shape. I found this Padres blog post that struck me as interesting because it makes the point that Oliver Perez has been 'rushed' his entire career. He made 4 starts at Double-A before appearing with the Padres. Since his Breakout season in 2004, he's been downright awful. He never should have been brought up to the majors this year after his trade from the Pirates, but the Mets were in such desperate shape, that they felt they had to use him. Instead correcting technique in a low pressure minor league environment, he was making the same mistakes in the high pressure setting of New York. Now he's starting Game 4 of a NLCS that the Mets are already down 1-2. I know the Mets need a fresh arm worse than Jeff Fahey in 'Body Parts,' but if he gets knocked around on this stage, it could be much more devastating for a young pitcher trying to resurrect his career than just an L in the boxscore would indicate. Oliver Perez' numbers on the Road this season... 11 GS, 0-7 (W-L), 9.45 ERA, 46.2 IP, 66 H, 35 BB, BAA .353 I'll be rooting for him, but the odds are definitely against him. If Willie Randolph was going to allow Darren Oliver to pitch 6 innings in relief, why not allow him to start game 4 and let Oliver Perez come in from the bullpen down by 3 in game 3?