Voice of the 'Fan

Back in April, I wrote that the Mets made a big mistake in choosing Oliver Perez over Pedro Martinez. Youth over veteran savvy is always a big risk, depending on the players involved. Atlanta took that same risk by ending Tom Glavine's 2nd tour of duty with the team in favor of prized rookie Tommy Hanson, for example. But the Mets, long known for making bone-headed moves in the front office as well as on the field, opted for an unstable left hander whose brilliance is offset by periods of wildness and misfortune over a veteran deemed to fragile because of injuries that sabotaged his 4 year run in Flushing.

No more was this evident than on Sunday in Flushing. While the Phillies' 9-7 win will be better remembered for Eric Bruntlett's unassisted, game-clinching triple play in the 9th inning, it provided plenty of evidence that the Met front office had goofed again in terms of evaluating talent.

It's not that Martinez was totally effective. He was touched up for 4 runs in 6 innings. Perez didn't get out of the first, and was lifted with Martinez at the plate on a 3-0 count. I've heard of pitchers being pulled in the middle of an at-bat. Matter of fact, I've seen it happen a few times on TV. But this was just embarassing.

But the ones with the eggs on their faces are the Wilpons, for ignoring the evidence presented to them during the WBC, where Perez was lit up like a Christmas tree pitching for Mexico, while Martinez was vintage Pedro. Why no one even considered Martinez before Philadelphia signed him is a mystery. It was obvious that Martinez was over his injuries and, as I saw Sunday, was as good as ever.

In the Mets' case, it's amazing that the press hasn't jumped on this angle as I have. Given a choice between Perez & Martinez, had I been in Omar Minaya's shoes, I'd have taken Pedro and gone from there. That one decision may actually be the one glaring difference that keeps the Mets out of the post-season not only this year, but next year, too, barring a miracle.