Jerry Manuel: ‘I’m going to stay with Ollie’

Oliver Perez couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning last night despite being handed an early 3-0 lead, getting yanked after a four-pitch walk to opposing starter Charlie Haeger. Perez has a decent-looking 4.25 ERA in four starts thanks largely to not serving up a homer yet, but has averaged just 5.1 innings per outing with more walks (16) than strikeouts (14). Dating back to last season he’s now 3-6 with a 6.23 ERA and 78/72 K/BB ratio in 86.2 innings spread over 18 starts, but manager Jerry Manuel made it clear that his rotation spot is secure: “I’m going to stay with Ollie. I thought the night was a difficult night. It was very cold, windy. I think we need Ollie to get it right. We need Ollie to figure it out.” Mark Hale of the New York Post suggests that Hisanori Takahashi could eventually replace Perez in the rotation, but then again Takahashi might first be needed if the Mets dump the equally struggling John Maine. Perez, who was booed off the mound at Citi Field, is making $12 million this season and is owed another $12 million next year.