Those Mets

METS FALLING APART

Oliver Perez went into Friday night’s start against the Marlins knowing a lot was at stake for him. If he had another poor performance, there would be no further mitigating reasons to explain it away. The weather, which others had used to account for Perez’s previous bad outings, would not be a factor. It was warm and humid at Sun Life Stadium, where Perez has been successful, and his surgically repaired knee has not been a problem all year, he said. So the only remaining explanation for this terrible performance was simply that he was bad, and getting worse. In his shoddiest start of the season — which already includes several awful outings — Perez allowed seven runs and nine hits in three and a third innings. It puts more pressure on the Mets to remove Perez from the pitching rotation, something they are loath to do because of his hefty contract. But this was the second consecutive start in which Perez walked off the mound with only one out in the fourth inning, and the direct result was the Mets’ 7-2 loss to the Marlins, their third defeat in a row. There is only so much more Manager Jerry Manuel can tolerate before Perez’s job status is called into question again, so he said he would talk to Perez and the pitching coach Dan Warthen on Saturday. “We’ll sit down with the people involved and discuss it and make a decision,” Manuel said. Manuel also seems prepared to make another important decision involving Jose Reyes and the batting order. He said he was considering moving Reyes, who went 0 for 4 and is hitting .215, back to the leadoff spot, and the move could come as soon as Saturday. That would be a welcome change for Reyes. “The way I am hitting right now, it seems like it would not be too bad to get back to leadoff and see what happens,” Reyes said. Other changes could be coming with the middle of the Mets’ order, including David Wright, Jason Bay and Jeff Francoeur, who went a combined 1 for 10. But Manuel said that with the Marlins starting the left-hander Nate Robertson on Saturday, those changes may have to wait until Sunday. Manuel said he was not pleased after seeing the middle of the order struggle again while the Marlins pounded the beleaguered Perez for four home runs, including three in the fourth. “That’s not a good combination at all,” he said. Dan Uggla hit two of the home runs. His first was a three-run shot in the third inning, and his second capped the home run barrage in the fourth. Chris Coghlan hit his first home run of the season leading off the inning, and Gaby Sanchez followed with another homer as the Marlins went back-to-back for the first time this season. The Mets fell to 18-18 and were at the .500 mark for the first time since they were 9-9 on April 24. It was the first time a Mets pitcher had given up three home runs in an inning since John Maine did it June 12, 2007, at Dodger Stadium. It was not until after Sanchez’s home run, when the score was already 6-0, that the Mets finally scrambled a reliever in the bullpen, suggesting Manuel was giving Perez one last chance to resurrect himself. But Perez’s fastball, which used to hit 94 or 95 miles per hour, is down to 89 or 90 m.p.h., and it is unclear why. “We’re all working very hard to make him a usable pitcher at this time,” Warthen said. It was the fourth time Perez had given up four home runs in a game, but the first as a Met. The last time was when he pitched for the Pirates on Sept. 15, 2004, at Wrigley field in Chicago, another sign that Perez seems to be going backward. With the loss his record fell to 0-3 and his earned run average rose to 5.94, more than a run higher than it was going into the game. He seemed almost oblivious to the fact that his spot in the rotation was in jeopardy. “It happens to everybody in the big leagues at some point,” Perez said, adding: “I just have to keep it up. I have to keep working. I know I haven’t given my team a chance to win. I’m not going to give up. I’m not going to quit.” Although Perez has not been effective, he is in the second year of a three-year, $36 million contract, which means any decision to demote him would have to be approved at the highest level of the organization. If the Mets do make the move, they could bring up a minor leaguer like Pat Misch or the knuckleball pitcher R. A. Dickey, or give the reliever Hisanori Takahashi a chance to start. (NY Times)