The more we hear about Oliver Perez, the more it sounds like he will not be gracing the mound when the Mets open up their brand new ball park, Citi Field. Today, Jon Heyman reports that Ollie is looking of a deal in the ballpark of 5 years and $70 million.
It is all but certain that Omar Minaya is not willing to go that long in terms of a contract. In fact, the last we've heard it was rumored that the Mets only wanted to go 3 years on Perez, which he most likely will not accept.
If Perez signs with another team I will be sad to see him go, as although he was inconsistent there were times that he performed at the level he did when he led the Pirates pitching staff in 2004. In his time with the Mets, Oliver also proved to be rather durable and pitched over 170 innings in his two full seasons with the Mets. His best season with the team came in 2007, when he went 15-10 and posted a 3.56 ERA.
Taking all of this into account I do not in any way fault Omar if he chooses to head in a different direction for the team because as much as I like OP, I don't feel he is worthy, at least not yet, of such a large contract.
Original Story:
http://www.ddmetsfanblog.com/2008/12/...
