Devaney's Game Seven Starter

Kevin Devaney at Lo Hud, writes about his choice for a game 7 World Series Starter for the Mets:

Game 7 of the World Series – Mets vs. the Red Sox at Shea Stadium (the National League won home field thanks to a Jose Reyes walkoff inside-the-park home run in the all-star game). Josh Beckett is lined up to pitch for Boston. The Mets, however, are faced with a difficult decision.

You see, Tom Glavine pitched Game 5 and Pedro pitched Game 6 (he threw a gem, too, something like 8 shutout innings with 9 Ks). The Mets need a starter. El Duque is working out of the pen. Jorge Sosa isn’t an option.

It’s either Oliver Perez or John Maine.

Who do you want taking the ball?

When I posed the question to a buddy today, he didn’t hesitate — Perez all the way, he said. I figure most would go with Maine since it seems everyone is just waiting for that day for Perez to be reborn as the erratic pitcher he was with the Pirates early last year. Maine, to Mets fans, seems like a sure thing at this point.

But watching Perez tonight swayed me a little. He’s got something that I really like, a certain air when he’s on the mound. He showed how resilient he was tonight, bouncing back after two first inning home runs to retire 18 of 19 until the seventh.

When it comes to playoffs, I’ll take a guy with the most guts, which in this case is Perez.