Oliver Perez delivers during Sunday's 9-1 win over the Brewers.

Photo via Yahoo! Sports.

Oliver Perez, stopper? Could be. If Ollie can consistently put together a few outings like this afternoon's against Milwaukee, there's no telling where he can carry the Mets in '07. After yet another struggle on the mound for Mike Pelfrey in Saturday's 12-3 loss, Oliver Perez was called on to ice the Brewers bats. Boy, did he ever. After a lead-off walk to his first batter of the game, the game, for all intents and purposes from the Brewer's perspective, was over. Ollie pounded the strike zone all afternoon, getting ahead and keeping hitters off balance in earning his 4th win of the season. Ollie was pulled after 8 1/3 innings, losing the shutout to Bill Hall's 9th inning solo home-run. To that point, Perez had only allowed 1-hit, a single in the 3rd inning to the opposing pitcher Chris Capuano. Willie Randolph then came out to get Ollie, who walked off to a rousing, standing ovation. Nice move by Willie, as usual.

It seems that after the Mets placed the burden of responsibility on John Maine and Oliver Perez during the 2006 NLCS, both pitchers have responded brilliantly this season. Mets fan could have alot to look forward to in the coming years if these two 'kids' continue their winning ways.

The NY Mets offense jumped all over Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano, putting up a 3-spot in the first, highlighted by Damion Easley's 2-run shot. The Mets bats capped the afternoon with another crooked number in the 8th, with Carlos Beltran going deep for a 2-run shot of his own. Damion Easley wound up with 3 hits and 4 RBIs. How Omar and the Mets are able to find these utility-type of players who can respond when called upon is beyond me. Nice job.

The Mets defense, so-so on the infield, with both Wright and Reyes (huh?!) making errors, was spectacular in the outfield. With Chavez, Beltran and Gomez patrolling the wide open spaces, it will take ALOT to get a ball by them. Those three possibly make the fastest outfield in the majors.

Mike Pelfrey was sent down to New Orleans to make room for highly touted prospect, outfielder Carlos Gomez. Gomez paid immediately dividends with a sparkling diving catch in right-field, a double and a run scored in his first AB in the 2nd and another hit, a stolen base and run scored in the 8th. They say Gomez has all the tools and they certainly were on display at Shea this afternoon. Welcome to the bigs, kid!

The Mets will have a few decisions to make as to who their 5th starter will be. Pelfrey needs to work on his command most of all; maybe a few outings with the Zephyrs, with less pressure, might get him on the right track. Jorge Sosa will be starting in place of El Duque (DL), so we will either see Jason Vargas get the call-up or Aaron Sele get a spot start, with Chan Ho Park being the last (I hope!) possible option.

As I mentioned here, based on Pelfey's '07 struggles, I didn't have a good feeling for the Mets going into Game 2 of the series and doubted they could win. But as expected, the Mets took the rubber game and won yet another best-of-3 series. Before the so-called baseball experts fall all over themselves calling the Brewers the best team in the NL, let's see how they play over the next two weeks. Milwaukee does have a good team, a good mix of young talent and veterans, with good arms in the rotation and manager Ned Yost will keep his team ready to play every day. But playing the rest of the National League is going to be a bit different than spending a 1/3 of the season playing the Central. Their upcoming schedule includes the Phillies, Twins, Dodgers, Padres, and Braves over the next two weeks. Including the Mets series, their opponents have a combined .557 winning percentage over these next 19 games. That's a far cry from the .455 combined winning percentage of the teams they faced before the Mets series.

Some Mets pundits claim that yesterday's Brew Crew win amounted to a statement. I'd argue that the statement was made by the Metropolitans; the hottest team in baseball just came into Shea and lost 2 of 3 to NY. If Glavine/Maine/Hernandez were on the mound Saturday, rather than a pitcher in Mike Pelfrey who is 0-5 (not one measly win with this Mets offense?) we might have seen a sweep. Stay tuned.