Big, and bigger O

There was a time Odalis Perez looked like a future No. 2 starter.

That time has passed. The roly-poly lefty showed flashes of promise as a Brave in the late '90s and early '00s before heading to La-la Land in the Sheffield trade. And his first season as a Dodger must've given JS pause -- Odalis went 15-10 with a 3 ERA in 222-1/3 innings. How many hard-throwing 25-year-old lefties do that?

Odalis looked like Dontrelle, sans the leg kick and charisma, before Dontrelle. He's since pitched more like Montel, Williams that is. (I couldn't think of anyone named Dontrelle or Willis to use there.) In any event, it turns out JS made the right call on Big O. Notwithstanding the glimpses of talent he showed here, O's Atlanta numbers were an accurate harbinger: 199 IP, 11-15, 5.38. 

So it's not an easy call, but those numbers, over three seasons, earn Odalis a spot on the Worst 10 of the Past 10. That's nine down, one to go. It didn't hurt O's case that he's cratered since his second OK season in LA -- he had a 3.25 ERA in '04 but only seven wins. His ERA since has expanded along with his waistline, swelling to 6.20 last year combined with the Dodgers and Royals. 

About that waistline. Baseball Cube lists Odalis at 6 feet, 150 pounds. That must be from when the Braves signed him in 1994. He's listed on the Royals' web site at 6 feet, 220. A knowledgeable source who saw the Big O in the clubhouse at Turner Field last season says he's closer to 240.

So Odalis has let himself go. He won't get any man of the year awards either. Last season he famously quit giving tickets to poor kids after he was yanked from the LA rotation, saying he was never given proper credit for his charitable works. Plenty of pro athletes do community work mainly for the PR. So maybe in a way, O is to be saluted for his candor about being a pud.

In any case, for his charity to National League hitters as a young Brave hurler, Odalis joins the Office's rogues' gallery. A guy who once looked like he might tread the path of Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux and Avery now compares, according to Baseball Reference, with the likes of Pete Schourek, Carl Pavano and Greg Hibbard.

Big O has rounded -- pun intended -- into a perfectly medicore major league pitcher: 58-59, 4.33 and sure to get worse.

--CD

Comments

[PepeFreeUs]

German Jimemez! COME ON DOWN!!!

[CD]

Truth is it's hard to find really bad Braves, besides relievers who pitched 5 or 6 innings in a season, from the past 10 years. Now if we go back and do the '80s, then we're shooting fish in a barrel.

[Jack Straw]

A questionable pick, but not wholly undeserving. As a Braves fan, it was necessary to learn to generate optimism where little was warranted. I thought Odalis was destined to be a consistent winner, almost like Glavine. (I also thought Eddie Haas was the next Earl Weaver).

Speaking of weight, I read where Chipper did not work out over the offseason, and is at 225 pounds. Further, he isn't concerned about it. My Labrador Retriever has a bum leg and I have to watch his weight. If Chipper's feet give him trouble, maybe a few less pounds would help. Let me guess: Chipper will go 21-78-.277 in 104 games.

[PepeFreeUs]

If you guys let that gaping schmoe Kolb off the hook, I will be very disappointed.