From JOEL SHERMAN
There were many Met officials who badly wanted to have Oliver Perez back. They loved that he was still just 27 and that he is lefthanded and that he has shown no fear of pitching in New York. They see the stuff and continue to imagine what an Oliver Perez who can concentrate full-time would look like over 34 starts. And that is the fascinating story for the next three years. Does Ollie Perez grow up? Does he fulfill his abilities? Or does he remain the talented, but frustrating entity whose results fluctuate wildly. Three years from now, we may look back and say the Mets got a steal to retain Perez in his prime for $36 million over three years. It is equally possible, to me, that we look back in three years and say the Mets knew Perez the best and, thus, should have known better than to get back involved with him.