Perez Wins Arbitration - Now He's Gotta Prove He's Worth It

How'd you like to be Oliver Perez? The right-hander just won his salary arbitration case against the Mets on Friday and now will be paid $6.5 million rather than the $4.7 million the Mets proposed. Last year, Perez posted a 15-10 record with a 3.56 ERA - good enough for a $2.4 million paycheck in 2007.

Perez has been quite a surprise (in a good way mostly) for the Mets since coming over from Pittsburgh in 2006. However, Mets fans have to hope for a little more consistency from him this year (perhaps a return to his 2004 season when he struck out 239 batters in only 196 innings for the woeful Pirates.), since last year there were times when he was awesome and others when he looked pathetic. He now has 6.5 million reasons why the Mets really need him to step up as either the number 3 or 4 starter.

Who can forget last year's September meltdown? With a consistent Perez, hopefully that won't happen again.