Mets: Peterson sees 'A' talent in young staff [Article]

[blueNorange]

Article

ATLANTA -- Even before John Maine's seven-inning, one-hit wonder against the defending world champions Wednesday night in St. Louis, Rick Peterson was excited about what he'd seen.

The Mets pitching coach has been around talented young pitchers before, having shepherded the Oakland Athletics' Big 3 of Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson into one of the most formidable troikas in the game.

And Peterson, the A's pitching coach from 1998-2003 before joining the Mets, sees distinct similarities between that group and the three youngsters who currently comprise 60 percent of the Mets starting rotation.

Zito, Mulder and Hudson each went on to become 20-game winners. And, while he's not about to predict such greatness for his largely untested trio, Peterson is enthused by the progress shown by Maine, left-hander Oliver Perez and rookie Mike Pelfrey.

Perez, the 25-year-old reclamation project, is scheduled to start here tonight as the unbeaten Mets open a three-game series with the Braves. Pelfrey, 23, will make his first start of the season a week from today at Shea Stadium.

"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."

Peterson said he sees the youngsters' evolution from a different perspective than most.

"I see these guys under a microscope," he said. "The other day Johnny Maine was able to take a pitch and use it from different sides of the plate. We couldn't even talk about doing that last year. To see that kind of growth and that kind of development ...

"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."

Maine took another giant leap forward Wednesday. It was the same type of performance the right-hander turned in last October, when the Mets needed him most. That night he pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series to help force a seventh game. The next night, Perez allowed just one run in six innings.

"The wisdom they gained last year in the playoffs, that's worth years of experience," Peterson said. "To think that they have seized an opportunity on a club like this, one of the top projected clubs in the National League, and in New York, makes it more exciting.

"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."

[Luv those Knicks]

Nice!

[mjhp911]

Hoo, the young arms look great.

[HarthorneWingo]

Hey now. Johnny walked a few too many this afternoon. He'll get 'em next time.

[treiz]

Future looks bright