89

Why is he throwing 89? If my theory (see below) is right, there might be something to that effect from coaches and teammates. Instead we read that his 89-mph fastball has "much better life." That's a Paul Meyer report BTW.

A pitcher can succeed without the high heat, but still we could know more about what to expect from Perez. Does anyone expect him to regain the velocity he had in 2004? If so, why? If no, why?

...for the Trib, Rob Rossi adds that the coaches have Perez working on a splitter.