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At 12:35pm our Getaway Day Total of the Month is on the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds 'over' the total. New York lefthander Oliver Perez seems to be up to his old tricks again. At his best, Perez can be one of the most dominating southpaws in the National League and a virtual strikeout machine. Too often, however, the 27-year-old Mexico-born veteran starter seems unable to find the plate no matter what the situation. It seemed that the only thing consistent about Perez in 2008 was that he was as likely to issue opposing batters a free pass at Shea Stadium (52 walks in 96 innings at home) as he was anywhere else (53 walks in 98 innings on the road). Unfortunately for Perez and the Mets, it would appear that the new Mets ballpark, Citi Field, is not going to change anything as in Perez's first appearance there last Saturday, he walked four batters in the first inning alone. Perez also surrendered a grand slam in that inning, so it was an utter disaster. Granted, that game was a preseason game vs. the Boston Red Sox, and this game is a regular season game being played in Cincy, but the re-tooled Reds lineup will likely also present plenty of problems for Perez. And the likelihood of some cold and windy weather may also wreak havoc on Perez's control. Last year in two starts against the Reds, Perez issued seven walks in just twelve innings. His mound opponent will be Bronson Arroyo, who also had a tough time in his final preseason outing in Zebulon, NC. Arroyo gave up six runs and seven hits in the 12-4 loss to Cincy's Double-A affiliate. Yesterday, these two clubs combined for 16 runs, and I foresee another high-scoring game this afternoon. Take the 'over'. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
At 12:35pm our Getaway Day Total of the Month is on the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds 'over' the total. New York lefthander Oliver Perez seems to be up to his old tricks again. At his best, Perez can be one of the most dominating southpaws in the National League and a virtual strikeout machine. Too often, however, the 27-year-old Mexico-born veteran starter seems unable to find the plate no matter what the situation. It seemed that the only thing consistent about Perez in 2008 was that he was as likely to issue opposing batters a free pass at Shea Stadium (52 walks in 96 innings at home) as he was anywhere else (53 walks in 98 innings on the road). Unfortunately for Perez and the Mets, it would appear that the new Mets ballpark, Citi Field, is not going to change anything as in Perez's first appearance there last Saturday, he walked four batters in the first inning alone. Perez also surrendered a grand slam in that inning, so it was an utter disaster. Granted, that game was a preseason game vs. the Boston Red Sox, and this game is a regular season game being played in Cincy, but the re-tooled Reds lineup will likely also present plenty of problems for Perez. And the likelihood of some cold and windy weather may also wreak havoc on Perez's control. Last year in two starts against the Reds, Perez issued seven walks in just twelve innings. His mound opponent will be Bronson Arroyo, who also had a tough time in his final preseason outing in Zebulon, NC. Arroyo gave up six runs and seven hits in the 12-4 loss to Cincy's Double-A affiliate. Yesterday, these two clubs combined for 16 runs, and I foresee another high-scoring game this afternoon. Take the 'over'. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.