1. Phil Hughes already has been demoted to the minors for the Yankees. The Rays did the same with David Price as either Jason Hammel or Jeff Niemann will hold the No. 5 spot. The Red Sox soon plan to send down Clay Buchholz to have Brad Penny make the rotation.
That says something staggering about the quality of the rotations atop the AL East. It is possible, in fact, that the three best rotations in the majors belong to the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays and – not surprisingly – the three best teams in the majors are the same clubs.
One executive in the division said of Hughes/Buchholz/Price, “I think on just about every team in the NL any of those three guys would be no worse than a No. 3 or No. 2 starter. I think it does say something about the depth here.”
2. My Post colleague, Mike Puma, was among those who talked to Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen following Oliver Perez’s horrible outing on Wednesday and the assessment was damning. Warthen claimed Perez was “out of shape” (both physically and with the condition of his arm), and not properly focused. Warthen said Perez’s participation in the WBC had been disrupting and problematic because without organizational oversight Perez lost focus on what is important to be ready for the season. Against the Tigers, Perez walked six and gave up six runs in 3 2-3 innings.
The Mets pursued Derek Lowe in the offseason, but decided to pull out because they felt his price was too high (Lowe ultimately signed with Atlanta for four years at $60 million) and because they believed Perez, at age 27, still had the chance to be a true top-of-the-rotation force if he could take a few big steps toward seriousness. But what the Mets should have been more concerned about was giving security (three years, $36 million) to someone as flighty as Perez and having him retreat a few more steps away from a serious bent.
If I had to interpret Warthen’s motives in making such public criticisms, I would suspect he is legitimately frustrated with Perez, but also that he is trying to get the attention of a player whose attention so often wanders. Perez’s importance to the team is clear. The Mets have an ace in Johan Santana and then a lot of rotation doubt. Perez is part of that doubt; talented enough to be a near-ace, undisciplined enough to have a 7-15 season and severely damage the Mets’ 2009 season.
I wonder if the Mets will regret not going for the surer thing in Lowe.
3. Another Post colleague, George King, wrote today about the optimism in Yankee camp regarding Jorge Posada’s surgically repaired right shoulder. Here is a question: Do you think it would be harder for the Yanks to survive an entire season without Posada or Alex Rodriguez? Now this is not a question about who is the better player. Rodriguez, obviously, ranks among the great talents in history. But who is more irreplaceable? The falloffs are dramatic on the offensive side from Posada to Jose Molina or A-Rod to Cody Ransom. But why does it feel as if missing that offense at catcher would be so much more harmful?
