Selflessness

So this is the new or current explanation of Perez's lost velocity:

"When you have opportunities to get strikeouts, you feel good. I always was a strikeout guy," said Perez. "Now, I just have to go in trying to help the team. That's the most important.

"You don't think about you. You think about the team. Strikeouts are for yourself. The game is more important."

Perez also doesn't seem to be all that concerned about his velocity dropping from 95-96 mph in 2004 to the 86-89 range over the last two seasons.

"Last year, I was thinking too much about my mechanics and my velocity," said Perez. "This year, I am just working on my mechanics. My arm is good, stronger.

That from Ed Eagle's notebook.

Oliver Perez can be a soft-tossing lefty. Can he be a good one?

I wonder. I'm still a little drunk or just hungover from all the Randy Johnson comparisons. Is it time to let that go? Goodbye, Randy Johnson -- hello, Jamie Moyer?

The question remains: where did the velocity go? Did he only achieve it with mechanics the coaches consider too dangerous to continue? Are his new mechanics that different from his old mechanics? Does anyone expect he'll regain the velocity he once had?

Because it would be easy to make that promise, and because Perez insists he's stronger now, my guess is no, he never expects to regain the velocity.