Collection Update

Just picked these 2 up for stupidly cheap. Hopefully Ollie will continue his 0 earned run trends for a few more outings. If he can do that it might be time to try and flip some of his cards to recoup some of my investment. If I can do that and get to even or close to it with just a few cards - I could have the rest free and clear and root by being a fan instead of just with my wallet!

2002 Upper Deck SPX, Card# 235 Auto

#690/825 (bringing my total of this card to 16 out of the 825)

2002 Bowman Chrome Draft, Card #BDP113, Refractor

#163/300 (bringing my total to 9 of the 300)

Sorry for the bad image. Something is wrong with the camera in my phone when used with the office lighting.

Game Day Log - Start #2 - Against the Phillies in NY - The Final Home Opener at Shea

Well this one is only a few days late. Hopefully I will be more timely in the future and add some of the other pieces I wanted to add. The is the second straight start I missed being able to watch. This one because it was a day game, and I was on a plane going from Ohio back to Albany after some business meetings.

4/12/08

In the final home opener at Shea - the Mets bullpen ruined the day for both Ollie and the Mets. The Mets lost 5-3 after another solid outing by Ollie.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280408121

Ollie goes 5.2, again allowing 0 runs, and no extra base hits. From what I could tell, and what I have read - Ollie was not quite as sharp today as he was in FL last week - but he still shut the Phillies down. He did walk a few more, but from the pitch by pitch recap from the game log - some of the balls could have been called strikes based on their location on the system. Ollie left the game with 2 outs in the 5th. He got 2 quick outs, but then a walk, then a balk, then another walk. He did a great job maintaining his composure under presseure all-day but with a pitch count of 95, Willie decided to take hom out before a blow up. Out of the inning without any damage. The bullpen ruined the rest. On the bright side - Ollie did hit chase Utley 2 times, and the Pen hit him again. Teach that fu(&er to move off the plate a little!

Ollies Line: 5.2IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 0 R, 0 ER

Fantasy Stats YTD: 1 Win, 0.00 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 10 K, Sandbox: 20.5ppg

Game Day Log - Start #1 - Against the Marlins in FL - a Week late!

Here I am, being one of the worst bloggers AGAIN. I have all these great plans on what I am going to post about - yet I am either too busy, or too lazy to actually post what I plan!

Hopefully these posts will get more in-depth as the season rolls along, but for now this will have to do.

4/2/2008

Oliver dominated the Marlins, striking out 8 in 6 IP, allowing no runs, no extra base hits, and walking one. This line looked like this:

6IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Fantasy Stats to date: 1 Win, 1.00 WHIP, 8 K, 0.00 ERA - Sandbox - 30.0 PPG

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280402128

I didn't get to watch the game in person, as it was one of my last bowling nights of the year, but I did watch most of it on the gamecase on my Sprint HTC touch phone. That feature is actually pretty cool as it allows me to see where all of the pitches were, the type of pitch, and the speed.

Ollie was in the low 90's, he hit 94/95 a few times - but seemed to be relying on his fastball low and away on almost every pitch. He rarely mixed in his slider and curve - but when he did I can imagine how hard it must have been for the hitters to react. If the mets weren't up by 11 he probably would have went deeper into the game, but the 93 pitches he threw probably had something to do with it as well.

Ollies First Start of the Year - Tonight!!!!

As usual, I have been remiss in posting to this site - but that is mostly because it has been Spring training - and I really only care about the real deal.

After his start tonight I will be posting lots of great info and analysis!!!

GO OLLIE!!

Spring Training So Far

Why do the Mets play such horrible defense behind Oliver Perez? He has had 2 starts this spring and has already given up 5 unearned runs. Is it because they never expect anyone to hit the ball so they fall asleep?

Last year he had a great ERA, but people pointed to his tendancy to give up unearned runs, and for him to lose his cool after a miscue. The mets have a solid defense - but I gotta blame them not Ollie. Someone should figure out why they can't catch a ball when he pitches the find a way to mentally fix it. Look back to his 2006 stint with the Mets - even in his first outing in a game against the Phillies the Mets gloves let him down leading to a Ryan Howard Grand Slam when he should have been out of the inning without allowing a baserunner. If I remember correctly they did not give any errors in that inning - but go back and watch the sloppy defense. It very easily could have been 4 more unearned runs.

Spitzer Swallows

Ahh love potion number 9 ... oops I mean Prostitution Client #9.

Here's to you!

I don't make a habit of writing about politics, I will probably have a few posts about my personal presidential write in campaign, but I could not get past writing about this. Spitzer has become the latest politician to disgrace his constituency by doing the very thing he fought against - breaking the law. He won the NYS election by a landslide yet even before this report he had a lower approval rating than George Bush.

All I can say is - please please please someone show me a picture of the girl that cost him roughly $5,000 an hour. It must be pretty nice for the type of scratch!

Phillies Sluggers

I have said many times before, I am not a Met fan at all. I bleed the Pinstripes - however fantasy baseball has turned me on to rooting for players more than teams, and by following Oliver Perez so closely - I obviously have started to enjoy watching the Mets every fifth day. That said - I am really starting to hate the Phillies. I shouldn't rub it in too hard though - I mean they are the losingest franchise in all of pro-sports of all-time!

That said - they have 3 players on their team that can all win an MVP in Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins.

2002 Bowman Chase Utley
2004 Leaf Ceritified Materials Ryan Howard
2002 Bowman Chrome Jimmy Rollins
Chase Utley is the only one of the 3 not to have won a MVP - but this could be his year if he stays healthy. He has had a few injuries the last few years, so that would have him fall to the end of the first round or the start of the second round.

Jimmy Rollins is a monster and should be drafted back to back with Hansley Ramirez and Jose Reyes in the middle of the first round. You can't go wrong with his power, speed, average, and all at a weak position. I know there are 3 - but after that you have what Jeter? Then who? What will they give your fantasy team! There are 3 first round shortstops, one that should go in round 3, then no one for the next 5-6 rounds. If you dont get one of the big guys you might as well punt the position!

Ryan Howard is an enigma. He can win the MVP award as he did 2 years ago or he can strike out 200 times. Possibly both in the same season. I don't know about you but I will take a pass until round 3. He will most likely be taken before that in most drafts, but I wont be buying!

David Wright and Jose Reyes

David Wright and Jose Reyes are the real key to the Mets in 2008. They both need to play strong defense - especially when Ollie is on the mound so he doesn't get all the unearned runs he had last year. They need to hit. They need to steal. They are both legitimate MVP Candidates!

Also, my boss's daughter used to date David in High School - so although I have never met the girl, or David - I still feel a strange bond! ROFL.

David Wright - 2002 Bowman and 2002 Bowman's Best Blue
Jose Reyes - 2001 Bowman and 2001 Topps Update Chrome
David Wright and Jose Reyes
I plan on posting my fantasy reviews of players seperately when I do a multiple player post like this one - but in this case they 2 are so similar in fantasy baseball ...

Both are first rounders (giving the Mets and astounding 3 players in the first round of my 14 team league) David Wright is the 2nd most valuable Third Basemen and Reyes is tied for the best SS in all of fantasy baseball. It is hard to choose between Rollins and Hansley Ramirez. Unless you have one of the top 3 picks in your draft one of these 2 should warrant consideration as your pick!

Baseball Cards and my Fantasy Take on the Players

One of my goals of starting this site was to display some of my cards, and to see if anyone has any interest in trading or purchasing any of them. If there is any interest I will put them up on eBay. For the next few posts I will be displaying some cards of some players, and giving my fantasy take on the players displayed.

2004 Upper Deck Etchings - Etched in time Auto's
Joe Mauer
Carlos Zambrano



Joe Mauer, Catcher for the Twins
Joe will be THE elite catcher in baseball if he can stay healthy. One has to wonder when he will be moved from being a catcher to either DH or to 1B. He can flat out rake - and his injuries have been with his knees. Seems to me like he should stop catching ... DUH! I love that he can play catcher on my fantasy team and I would hate for him to lose the position eligibility - but it has to be done soon. Take him in round 3 if he is still available!

Carlos Zambrano, Pitcher for the Cubs
Is it just me, or has he sucked every April for the last few years, yet he always ends up with some of the best fantasy numbers a manager can ask for. I say don't pick him in the first few rounds. Someone will take him in rounds 2-3. When he has his bad April like he always does you can grab him cheap for trade. I have done it many times and it always works like a charm!

Ollie Wins His Arbitration Case

Well according to SI.com and Metsblog.com Ollie has won is arbitration case. I really didn't think he would win after what happened with Mr. Wang. Wang has clearly shown more success over the last 2 years. He doesn't have the exciting stats that Ollie has, nor the service time - but his success is among the best in baseball. Ollie does have a higher ceiling too, but I thought only results counted - and Wangs win total is impressive.

Here is my post on metsblog.com comments on the item. For some reason not all my posts show up on the site:

Hopefully winning his case will make him happy ... and the thought of a payday in 2009 will give him the motivation to stay focused this year.

A focused Ollie plus an A+ slider plus an A fastball plus a B+ slow curve + a B change + mentoring of Pedro + mentoring of Johan + Rick Peterson + NL Hitters + Shea Stadium + Contract year + pitching against other teams 3,4, and 5 starters ...
Equals

CY YOUNG FOR OLLIE IN 2008

(then probably Yankees in 2009 due to their penchant for grabbing players that excel against them)
http://oliverperezfan.blogspot.com