Pedro’s Simulated Game

Adam Rubin at Surfing the Mets writes about Pedro Martinez’s simulated four inning game:

Rick Peterson just called Pedro Martinez’s latest non-game throwing session “a small step for Pedro and a giant leap for the Mets.” A reach? Maybe, although Mets fans have every reason to smile broadly after Martinez tossed 59 pitches in what amounted to a four-inning simulated game - with actual fielders behind him and a bona fide major-leaguer hitter (Carlos Beltran) among those to face him. “I’m ecstatic, we’re all ecstatic and most importantly Pedro’s ecstatic,” Peterson said.

It’s always a great sign to hear that Pedro is pitching without any pain and that he’s getting praise from Beltran. However, I can’t get too excited about any of this for the simple fact that he’s hasn’t pitched a single game yet. It’s not for the sake of trying though. Pedro’s first scheduled game was a rain out and we all knew there was no way he was going to make the trip to visit his old club after what happened to him shortly before he went under the knife.

Mets And Pelfrey Playing Chutes And Ladders

Mike Pelfrey will most likely be called up for the double header on Saturday. With how many times he’s been called up and sent to the minors, it almost feels like there is a secret game of "Chutes And Ladders" going on between the Mets and Pelfrey.

The Mets see good signs out of Pelfrey and ladder him on up to the Majors. When Pelfrey shows that he’s not ready for the Majors yet, the Mets Chute him back down to Triple-A. I just feel like this game won’t be over until the season ends and I can’t really blame it on the Mets.

Pelfrey has shown that he can be a Brandon Webb type of pitcher with his sinker stuff, but when he needs to come through at the Major League Level, somewhere in his mind, he feels as though he could be a straight fast ball pitcher and gets crushed.

The sooner that Pelfrey gets this notion of fast balls out of his head and just does as Rick Peterson says, the sooner the Mets have a young dominant Ace to head their staff into the new park.

Until that day comes though, Pelfrey will continue to pay homage to Milton Bradley.

Peterson: The Guru

Anthony Di Como at Mets.com, writes about Rick Peterson and his knack for turning pitchers around:

"I'm truly disguised as a pitching coach," Peterson said. "I know pitching inside and out, I've studied pitching my whole life, but probably my real interest is helping people untap human potential."

John Maine needed some potential untapped when he first met Peterson in 2006. Maine was a former sixth-round Draft pick, a former top-100 prospect, but beyond that, nothing special. He didn't have the high-end velocity or the raw stuff of so many of his peers, his repertoire instead pegging him as a classic back-of-the-rotation guy.

Headed to New York in 2006 for his third taste of the big leagues, Maine was the owner of a 6.60 career ERA. And Peterson, ever the optimist, didn't care -- if he even noticed. "It's like if you walk in the kitchen and you've got all these marvelous ingredients laying on the counter, but you don't know how to put those ingredients together and make a gourmet recipe out of it," Peterson said. "I'm looking at these ingredients and I'm saying, 'Wow, this is not scrambled eggs. You've got something much better than this.'"

That something much better has since transformed Maine into a rock. It's hard to say he's been a No. 1 -- not with Tom Glavine, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez and Jorge Sosa all pitching tremendously -- but, frankly, he has been. Even on nights without his best stuff, Maine usually scrapes out enough to win, and he's tied for the team lead with six of them to date. Impressive, considering his best pitches have yet to make any hitter tremble.

Not so for Perez, who had the opposite problem heading into his tenure with the Mets. Perez had a reputation for nightmarish stuff, and an utter inability to harness it.

"I'm still going to the 'Jose Reyes El Profesor School Academy,'" Peterson joked in reference to Shea's mid-inning language class. "I'm getting better. But because I can communicate in and not speak a language, it comes across comical as well -- I don't conjugate my verbs very well and I probably say things backwards. But the message is clear."

Flashback: Guru Interview With BP

Ed Ryan at Mets Fever (Shea Nation Network), writes about Mets Pitching Coach Rick Peterson's interview with Baseball Prospectus:

Hat tip to Ryan McConnell of Always Amazin for finding this old Rick Peterson interview on pitching philosophies. It's amazing how this system has worked: Zito, Hudson, Mulder, Bradford, Harden, Haren, Maine, Perez, Smith, to name a few.

Rick Peterson has melded biomechanical research, psychological principles and Eastern philosophy during his five-year tenure as pitching coach of the Oakland A's. Under his guidance the A's have developed All-Star pitchers Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, acquired and polished hidden gems like Chad Bradford and implemented a minor league regimen that's yielded several promising pitching prospects. He recently chatted with BP about organizational communication, the virtue of empty-headedness on the mound, and the all-mighty data. source Jonah Keri of BP.

Peterson On Pelfrey

David Lennon at Newsday, writes about Mike Pelfrey and what Rick Peterson has to say about the situation:

"Guys feel like they have to be extraordinary to do this," pitching coach Rick Peterson said. "But Clark Kent being normal can be good. What happens is he goes into the phone booth, puts the cape on and he can't get out of the phone booth. That's literally what happens.

"You're trying to save the world and pitching effectively is not about saving the world. It's being normal, throwing normal pitches to normal locations and experiencing what happens when you make those pitches."

That's what Peterson has been trying to get across to Pelfrey, whose slide began as soon as he was named the fifth starter back in spring training. All of a sudden, those expectations put a tremendous weight on his psyche, and Pelfrey has been unable to pitch his way out of it.

Pitching Putting In Extra Time

Stece Popper at North Jersey, writes about Rick Peterson and how he took advantage of the two rain outs:

"The opportunity is we can take a couple of our young guys and we can get a couple extra bullpen [sessions]. Things we worked on all through spring training, we have a couple extra sessions," Peterson said.

"That's another major factor for why this becomes a major opportunity. To take a pitch that we've been working on or a concept we've been working on and now we have an opportunity, which very seldom do you get in the course of a season, where you can get a couple extra sessions and really reinforce certain things that we're doing."

Between supervising the sessions for his pitchers, Peterson sat with manager Willie Randolph again, sorting through the options and shuffling the order of the rotation. The one constant is that Tom Glavine will stay on schedule, which puts him on the mound tonight -- weather permitting -- as the Mets play what is now a one-game series with the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Peterson On Rainouts

Anthony Rieber at Newsday, writes about Rick Peterson and his view on his Rotation and the rainout:

"I'm not a worrier by nature," he said as the Mets packed up for an afternoon bus ride to Philadelphia, where they will try to open a two-game series tonight. "Am I worried about it? No."

Yesterday's rainout also gave the Mets a chance to refine their rotation plans, but they instead chose not to skip anyone. John Maine will oppose Freddy Garcia and the Phillies tonight. It'll be Tom Glavine vs. Jamie Moyer in a rematch of 40-plus lefties tomorrow. After that, the Mets will go with Perez and Mike Pelfrey against the Marlins in Miami. Orlando Hernandez is scheduled to open a three-game series Friday against the Braves.

"The key is to keep everybody sharp right now as opposed to having somebody go for a long layoff," Peterson said. Asked if that plan could change if more rainouts are in the Mets' immediate future, he said: "We didn't build the ark yet. We're going to wait until the fifth day of rain."

Starters Off To A Good Start

Bob Herzog at Newsday, writes about the Mets pitching staff and how pleased Rick Peterson is:

"We hit the one-mile mark in the marathon," Peterson said after John Maine became the first Mets starter not to pitch into the sixth inning this season. "About every six or seven games is like a mile in the marathon. So it doesn't really matter that you get off to a quick start. If anybody can tell me who won the first mile in the New York City Marathon, I'd be curious."

Of course, it's how you finish that counts, but the good start by a supposedly suspect starting rotation is certainly an auspicious sign.

"I'm pleased about it but I'm not surprised about it. I said all spring that we had more talent than people give us credit for," said Tom Glavine, who along with Orlando Hernandez, was one of the two proven starters in the rotation.

Peterson On Young Staff

Don Burke over at the Star Ledger, writes about the Mets pitching staff and what Rick Peterson thinks of his young squad:

"I'm probably as excited as I've been in a long time," Peterson said. "I liken it to my first couple of years in Oakland because there is just so much untapped potential. ... (Zito, Mulder and Hudson) were just young, talented guys who were ready to evolve."

Peterson said he likes the "gap of untapped potential" he sees with the Mets three youngsters.

"If they bridge that gap -- and they're very capable -- we'll have a special staff here," he said.

"If they even come close, it'll be real exciting. And they're all
edging toward it."

"It's like the key moment in the movie 'Hoosiers,' when they get to the state tournament and the coach shows his team that everything is still the same. The rim is still 10 feet high and that it's still 15 feet (from the foul line to the basket).

"Here the 60 feet, 6 inches (between the mound and home plate) in the bullpen is the same as it is in the game. When they start to translate these bullpen performances into game performances, stay tuned because it's going to be really special."

"This is a whole different deal here. To see these kids come in and do this -- and they're ready for it, they really are -- is just great."

Peterson to Burgos

Anthony De Rosa at Hotfoot, writes about Rick Peterson and his never ending quotes:

"We've made some minor adjustments that have allowed him to be himself," said Peterson. "I'd compare it to driving a car. You pull out of the parking lot, something doesn't feel right, and you realize you've got the parking brake on. You take it off and away you go.

"I think what we've done for him is take the parking brake off. It's a minor adjustment but it makes a huge impact. We want him to throw consistently at the bottom of the strike zone, because then, if hitters have to gear up for 94 (mph) down, how do you think they'll handle 98 up in the zone?"

Peterson On The Fan

Matthew Cerrone at Mets Blog, writes about Rick Peterson and his interview on the FAN:

Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson appeared on WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dod yesterday, and talked about a variety of issues regarding the Mets pitching staff.

To listen to this entire interview, check out WFAN.com, where segments are also available as podcasts.

In short, Peterson told the show's hosts...

Aaron Heilman as a starting pitcher is an “undebatable” issue.

The personnel in his bullpen will be able to handle pitching in 50 percent of all innings played this season.

Right now, Duaner Sanchez is ‘iffy’ for opening day, though he has made great strides over the last few days.

Orlando Hernandez will be fine.

The Zen Master

Steve Popper at North Jersey, writes about Rick Peterson helping Oliver Perez find his way back to his old form:

When Oliver Perez arrived in New York last season, he admitted that he was lost. The simplest solution was for Rick Peterson to provide a map.

"If someone says to you, 'I'm lost,' what would be the first thing that you would respond?" Peterson, the Mets' pitching coach, asked. "Where do you want to go? It's a logical question. Can you show me your map? [Perez said] 'I don't have one.' No wonder you're lost."

"When you look at what his plan was, there was no plan," Peterson said. "There was no recipe. There was no map. The first question is, 'Where do you want to go? And where did you come from?' Then you lay out a plan and help them understand that. Not only was he lost, but he was driving in the wrong lane. He thought he was in England. We're driving in the right lane.

"It became a simple thing because he got it very quickly. Just like if you're lost and someone gives you directions, all of the sudden you go down a quarter of a mile, make a right and go, 'Jeez, I know exactly where I am.'

"Because if you look at what he did in 2004, how lost are you? You were one of the dominating pitchers in the National League. So when you look at it from that perspective, it's different."

Recipt For Peterson's Success

Kevin Kernan at the NY Post writes about Rick Peterson and how he thinks the rotation will shape up:

"As much as everyone questions our staff, I believe we're in a much better position this year than we were last year at this time," Peterson told me yesterday. "We have a pretty good recipe. And we're going to have com petition, which is always a great motivator.

"Hopefully, we'll turn out some good meals."

Chef Peterson said the in gredients for success are there - most importantly, strong, young arms. Arms like those of top prospects Mike Pelfrey and Phil Humber and John Maine and Oliver Perez. Maine and Perez both came up big in the postseason last year after being acquired by Omar Minaya.

Peterson is not afraid to try different approaches in his development of pitchers. Don't be surprised if you sometimes see Mets pitchers wearing little white earphones as they work out during their bullpen sessions.

Pitching is rhythm and Peterson encourages his pitchers to sometimes listen to their iPods during those sessions. Soon after Perez came aboard last year, Peterson had a conversation with him that went something like this:

"Do you like to dance?" Peterson asked.

"Yes," Perez answered.

"Well, right now you are doing the waltz, you need to be doing the merengue," Peterson explained.

Perez listened and steadily improved. Peterson expects both Perez and Maine to continue to progress because they have taken to the drills and the structure he has developed through the years with the Athletics and Mets, and they are self-motivated and self-disciplined.

Peterson signs through 2009

Marty Noble at Mets.com, writes about Rick Peterson and his contract extension:

Ten days after the Mets extended the contract of manager Willie Randolph through the 2009 season, they announced they have signed pitching coach Rick Peterson for the same period. Peterson and the other coaches --- all are returning except for Manny Acta -- have been signed for some time, but the announcement came Friday afternoon.

Under Peterson's guidance, the Mets staff produced the third lowest ERA (4.14) in the National League last season despite a series of injuries that struck the rotation and the bullpen. The club lost Juan Padilla in Spring Training, two of its season-opening starters, Brian Bannister and Victor Zambrano, before mid-May and Pedro Martinez for extended periods and Martinez and Orlando Hernandez for the postseason. And Duaner Sanchez was disabled for the final two and a half months of the season after being injured in a taxi accident.

"Rick has done a great job with the pitchers," general manager Omar Minaya said in a statement Friday. "He has a personal approach for each guy, and I think his success over the last three years speaks for itself."

Some pictures from Mini Camp

Rick peterson with Juan Padilla and John Maine
David Wright signing a Mets bear for a fan

Peterson's back

Adam Rubin at the NY Daily News, writes about the contract extension of Rick Peterson:

Pitching coach Rick Peterson, who never doubted he'd return to the Mets, has a new multi-year contract with the club, according to a team insider.

The rumor going around that the deal is for 3 years.