who would have been a better choice?

Once Derek Lowe signed with the Braves*, Omar's choices for a starter were essentially Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, and Mark Mulder.

A number of my friends (Hi, Dave!) were all about Sheets, but his big problem has always been injury, and today's news makes it pretty clear the Mets dodged a bullet by not signing him. In truth, because I don't play fantasy baseball and as a result don't have a lot of knowledge about players not on the Mets or their big rivals, I don't know much about Wolf and Mulder. What I do know is that Marty Noble would have gone for Wolf, and I almost always agree with Marty.

However, Mary Noble is a baseball beat reporter, and I'm a Mets fan. So my approach is more emotional than his, and the Gd's honest truth is that I just *like* Oliver Perez. I feel about him the way Omar Minaya seems to feel about him-- with the right instruction and guidance, he could be not just good but great. And Ollie is so much fun to watch on the mound when he's got his good stuff, I would miss him if we hadn't re-signed him. Moreover, he's a known quantity. We know he can perform in the pressure of New York, and we know that he responded extremely well to the coaching of Dan Warthen in the second half of the season. If I were Minaya, I would want to believe that more time with Warthen as his coach, Ollie will really blossom into the star we know he can be.

So go ahead, argue with me. I'd love to hear your opinions.


*I can't stand Derek Lowe, never could. The man strikes me as a bully and a jerk. Which just makes it that much more appropriate that he's going to be an Atlanta Brave now. It would have been hard for me to cheer for him in NY.