“[Oliver Perez’s] path to being an invaluable member of the Mariners actually began the day he left the Mets for good.
“‘I couldn’t believe it,’ Perez said in a recent interview. ‘I got home and I cried with my wife. I was in shock. But I was only 29. My family told me, ‘You are too young to quit.’ ‘”
— “Dumped by Mets, Perez Revives His Career as Mariner” by David Waldstein / New York Times
Here’s something I didn’t expect to see: the Seattle Mariners have re-signed Oliver Perez to a one-year contract. The deal is reportedly worth $1.5 million guaranteed, plus an additional $600,000 in performance bonuses.
Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times writes:
Perez, 31, would likely have attracted considerable attention on the free agent market, given his returned velocity, which we wrote about back in September. He posted a 2.12 ERA in 33 relief outings for the Mariners last season in a comeback off the scrap heap.
I have a hard time thinking of Ollie as a potentially valuable reliever after watching him struggle with walks and home runs during his final years in New York. And the one time I saw him pitch this year, he didn’t manage to retire any of the left-handed batters that he faced. But hey, small sample sizes.
Best of luck to Ollie, and best of luck to the Seattle Mariners – I just would have thought a 75-87 team would want to give younger players a chance.
I went to the Mariners vs. Yankees game with a friend last night. For a little while, I wondered if I’d get to see C.C. Sabathia pitch a no-hitter. After Casper Wells hit a home run, I wondered for a while if I was watching s bizarre one-hitters. It turned out that C.C. was just pitching a complete game victory.
A 21-year-old rookie named Carter Capps made his major league debut for the Mariners and was throwing 100 mph fastballs. And after 12 years, I finally saw future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki play in person.
But the on-field highlight of the night? Watching Ollie Perez come in out of the bullpen to face Robinson Cano, Mark Texieira, Raul Ibanez and Nick Swisher. After all the times I got stuck watching him pitch (terribly) for the Mets in 2009 and 2010, it was fitting to see he’s still the same old Ollie in a new jersey.
Here are some pics: Continue reading “So I went to the Yankees vs. Mariners game last night, and guess who I got to see pitch?”
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