Oliver Perez is Out of Shape

Richard Simmons was last seen entering the Mets locker room in Port St. Lucie carrying a fairly worn copy of "Sweatin' to the Oldies." His target: Oliver Perez.

It seems our new multi-million dollar man needs to get in some better shape. The Daily News quoted Mets pitching coach, Dan Warthen, as saying "I think he's out of shape, the arm is out of shape..."

This is fantastic news. Not only did we send our second highest paid starting pitcher to the WBC, but he comes back out of shape because he wasn't working out while playing in the WBC.

Where was Ollie's babysitter? Come on. The Mets should have known Head Case Perez can't be trusted to wander off on his own. Do you think he's a mature, responsible adult?

Perez's troubles were evident in his last outing when he got lit up for six runs and six walks in just over three innings of work. Between Perez's issues and Maine's troubles, the once hopeful duo of pitchers is now looking more like the combo of Bill Pulsipher and Dae Sun Koo.

If Perez doesn't get his act together quickly.his physical shape won't be the only issue as his delicate mental state will be prone to shatter if he doesn't get off to a good start this season. Then the Mets are in a world of hurt because it will take a combination of Dr. Phil and the Dog Whisperer to get Perez back to where he should be.

Romero Is Nothing Without Steroids

There is justice in this world, sometimes it just takes a really long time before we finally get some.

David Chalk over at Bugs & Cranks wrote a fantastic post about one of our favorite Phillies pitchers, J.C. Romero, and how his performance this week is possibly the most enjoyable thing to come out of the World Baseball Classic.

Chalk also provides the very same views that we've had about J.C. Romero who inexplicably is allowed to pitch in the WBC even though he's suspended for the first 50 games of the season for testing positive twice (yes, twice) for performance enhancing drugs last season. Oh, but it was ok for him to pitch in the World Series too.

I'm glad Chalk is talking about this too. Check out his post here.

The WBC is Ruining Spring Training

I know I've posted before about my dislike for the WBC, so I promise this will be the last one. But honestly folks, the WBC is ruining spring training.

Spring training is a time to get your act together for the coming season. It's a time to start that bond with your fellow teammates and get started on the right foot. It's a time to get back into shape and focus on what your contribution to the team will be.

That's not what's happening. The Mets have 16 players involved in the World Baseball Classic so it's not like a random 2 or 3 guys are out of spring training. David Wright got kneed in the head the other night. KRod is pitching lights out, but is throwing more innings on back to back nights than he's used to. Heaven forbid anything should happen to either of these guys because the Mets season would be in trouble for a glorified exhibition.

I do get the part about playing for your country. Even I was moved when in a SportsCenter clip, Brian Roberts of Team USA talked about wearing the uniform for our country and what a great feeling that is. I get that it's a time for other countries to band together and play against the world's best.

But in a week no one will even think or talk about the WBC. This isn't the Olympics. It's something created by Bud Selig to monetize baseball even more than it already is and somehow symbolize baseball as a "world game."

Whatever.

I want my players focused on the task at hand, overcoming the debacle that was last year and coming out of the gates strong. I can't wait for the WBC to be over and we can get back to some real baseball games.

Does Anyone Care About the World Baseball Classic?

Who's psyched for the World Baseball Classic? It's such a great time where the world comes together to watch countries compete against each other on the baseball diamond, except for the fact that nobody cares.

Honestly, does anyone really care about the WBC except for those involved in organizing it? Are other countries holding rallies and giving people days off of work to watch the WBC like they sometimes do for the World Cup or Olympics? What is the point of this thing anyway?

In my opinion, I don't want any of the Mets players playing in the WBC, except maybe Luis Castillo who I could care less about at this point. Santana wants to pitch in the WBC? Forget it. David Wright? Don't think so. All this does is open up the potential for some star players to get injured and takeaway from getting ready in spring training.

Can you tell me who won the last WBC? I know it wasn't the USA, but that's about it. It's pointless and it's not exactly the World Cup or Olympics. Omar shouldn't let any of our marquee players go. Let the kids play. Let the college all stars have a crack at beating the rest of the world. The Mets players should be focused on avenging the disgrace that was last season instead of worrying about beating Korea in extra innings.