NY Sports Dog: Ollie and the Mental Game

Monday, April 27, 2009

Ollie and the Mental Game


Oliver Perez is struggling--that is a given.

But what is the cause?

Why did his fastball, once consistently in the 93-95 range, top out at 88 mph yesterday?

Why does his curveball, once a kneebuckling breaker that gave lefty's fits, sit out over the plate as if on a tee?

Do we blame the WBC? Did playing for his country affect Ollie's psyche?

Do we blame the lack of a true spring training? Was Ollie in terrible physical shape when he arrived, as Dan Warthen alleged?

Or is it possible that Ollie is just a head case until he gets it going and gains confidence?

That's my theory anyway.

Let's look at last year.

By Day/Month ERA W L SV SVO G GS CG IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG
April4.03220066029.028181312126.257
May5.58210055030.222191982024.206
June5.28220066030.231191871126.263
July1.38110055032.2236521536.197
August3.52210066038.130161531734.219
September5.79100066032.233222132134.260

Early in the season Ollie had a terrible time. He was walking a ton of batters, giving up homeruns in bunches, and he didn't have very good command of his breaking pitches.

Now we know that Rick Peterson got the blame, because right after he was let go, Ollie really turned it on and had a very nice 10 game stretch.

But was Peterson truly to blame, or did something just click with Ollie, giving him confidence?

If it truly is a mental issue and not a physical one, what can the Mets do to get him back on track?

Is sending him down for a few minor league starts the answer?

I would say yes. It's early enough in the season to give him two weeks in AA or AAA to get his pitches worked out and find his spots.

Brian Stokes seems perfectly capable of starting a few games, and Figgy is now back in the mix. He's usually good for 5 or 6 innings of decent baseball, and right now Ollie isn't capable of even that.

It's time Omar--have that heart to hear with Ollie, send him down for a few weeks, and let's get him back on track.

Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
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2 comments:

DyHrdMET said...

Ollie's a head case. Someone (and I mean a professional head-shrinker) needs to get him back on track. The WBC and probably other things are to blame, but he needs to be fixed.

Dave Singer said...

Absolutely...Saturday will tell us a lot.

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