Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

In Oliver Perez I trust. He was absolutely amazing last night and everything was working. There were a few articles the other about about how Oliver Perez will most likely be gone if he is a stud this year, but I say why? If Pedro is gone, which at this point is looking more likely ever day he is not on the field, Perez is not going to cost all that much more than Pedro is getting these days.

It is evident even more these days that keeping Perez should be a top priority for the Mets just because Pedro cannot be depended on. And while I would welcome him back in '09, his price tag needs to be ever shrinking. Sure the hammy is more freak accident than anything else, but it still happened. No matter what he does for the rest of the year, he cannot prove that he is healthy because he'll be four to six weeks down  already and there stands a good chance he will miss some more time. Basically, he will not be able to allay many fears this year no matter what which will inevitably hurt his value.

It is not that it is all that big of an issue and having him in the rotation for those 150 to 180 innings is a big boon, but he is a luxury in '08 and '09 while Perez is a necessity. Now, I am a big Ollie believer and I understand he will not pitch like that all year and I understand the Marlins are a bad team,  however, even at the low end of what I am predicting for Ollie this year, he will be a very important pitcher.

The game plan now for me is simple. If John Maine can continue to build of of his 2006 ERA+ of 121 and his 2007 ERA+ of 109 with another solid year through mid July, the Mets need to try and get him bought out with another year of free agency tacked on with a nice little team option. Then, go after Perez and make all efforts to retain him and hope some market buster does not jump in like the Giants did with Zito and do something ridiculous. If there is money left and Pedro wants to come back for a reasonable sum of money, welcome him back.

* * *

Swelliciousness to the Nth degree.

Wright had three hits, including a 433-foot, three-run home run. Carlos Beltran had three doubles and every starter reached base except for Perez.

Wright went through the first month of the season without a home run last year, not connecting until his 92nd at-bat of the season. He had only five extra-base hits in April last year and already had four in this first three-game series.

Wright for MVP is looking mighty good early on. He is in mid-season form from day #1. Oh, and Carlos looks pretty good as well. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, right?

Sure losing a homer sucks, but replay? Please no. Maybe one per game, but that is it.

If you can learn to separate the fact that Church and Schneider are here because Milledge is gone, you will appreciate them a lot more. Chruch is a good player and seems like a good guy. Schneider has done some amazing things already defensively and he comes with a nice swing that kind of makes you wonder how he was close to the Mendoza line in 2007. If you ask me, these are exactly the type of role players you need to win a World Series and as good as I think Milledge will be, these guys are without a question more valuable this season.

Willie's dumb comment of the day:

Figueroa, for now at least, will not replace Martinez in the rotation.

"He's an extra arm," Willie Randolph said. "He's in the bullpen."

Way to make him feel special.

If you are not reading THE RANT, you are probably a lot less annoyed than I am.

"Mets' new motto: Santana and Maine and pray for rain."

Ralph R. Carrieri

Nissequogue

Ziiiiiiiiing!

Ralph is a lame douchebag. Not only is Ollie a stud, but Pelfrey is better than a lot of other 5th starters and The Duque will be back when they need a fifth. Carrieri's lame attempt at being funny was a miserable failure since the Mets actually do not have any problems right now in the rotation. Later? Maybe. Right now? Not so much.

Huh? Why should anyone be disappointed in Matt Lienart? In fact, I would be disappointed if he was not in photos of this ilk. The guy is young, rich, and a professional athlete. Marriage and fidelity are terrific, but years of nefarious activities should be a prerequisite for these guys. David Wright surely knows this and so does Matt and why that is wrong is beyond me.

I like to believe I am the voice of reason. However, I admit that I probably do not convey that voice all that well in space being I am a grammatical disaster and long winded. For that reason, I am glad Tim Marchman is out there. He is the voice of reason and does it in a much better way than me.

Because Pedro Martinez is 36 years old and last pitched a full slate in 2005, his latest injury comes as no surprise. It was expected and inevitable. This being so, there's no reason why it should unnerve Mets fans at all. The news that Martinez will be out for 4–6 weeks with a left hamstring strain after just throwing 57 pitches may have been heartbreaking, but neither the injury nor an extended leave for the team's no. 2 starter should affect the team's chances at all.

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

The main reason for this is that the Mets are not especially reliant on Martinez. Baseball Prospectus, for instance, projected before the start of the season that the team would win 93 games, with Martinez pitching 125 innings. Both numbers seemed, and still seem, reasonable. With a deep lineup, a strong defense, and excellent frontline pitching, the Mets are a very good team that won't be ruined by not getting innings they shouldn't have been counting on. A full, healthy season from Martinez would of course have made the team even better; but then, so would a .400 batting average from Jose Reyes. One was no more to be counted on than the other.

I still expect Pedro to add more than 125 innings and his performance will be in line with my original thinking in terms of what he would add.

Two ways of thinking about this should make the point clear. The first is that the Mets won 88 games and missed the playoffs by a game last year, when Martinez made only five starts, and are a better team now than they were a year ago. Johan Santana, rather than Tom Glavine, fronts the rotation; Jose Reyes and David Wright are a year older and a year closer to their absolute primes; John Maine and Oliver Perez have matured, and the team didn't have a regular second baseman then, and does now. A minimal contribution from Martinez didn't cripple them last year, and won't this year.

I want your babies Tim Marchman....oh wait, did I just type that?

The Mets and Binghamton have extended through 2010. Good.

I actually like Robinson Tejada, who has a great arm. It cannot hurt to give a look and see if he can put some decent starts together.