According to MetsBlog, the Mets starting rotation has been reshuffled, with Dillon Gee starting tonight — if there is a ballgame.
Pitching Staff
Mailbag: The Difference Between Bobby Parnell and Craig Kimbrel
From the MetsToday email inbox, a reader writes:
Hi Joe,
As a Met fan displaced in North Carolina, I very much enjoy reading your insights into the club, so please continue the good work.I wonder if you might provide your thoughts on Bobby Parnell. His inconsistency has been frustrating to say the least. His stuff is great (upper 90s fastball and a hard late-breaking slider, + other off-speed stuff) and it resembles the repertoire of Atlanta’s Kimbrel (but without the success). What my fellow Met fans down here and I can’t understand is why the Met coaches insist on having him locate his fastball ‘down in the zone’. I’ve read them say this several times in the past couple of seasons. It’s clear from watching him pitch that his fastball is essentially a straight pitch when he throws it at the knees, taking away any tailing action he gets when it’s above the belt. Hitters simply drop the bat on these pitches and he gives up more hard hit singles through the infield than any pitcher I’ve seen in a some time. If you look up all of his blown saves (or blown holds), they invariably include several ground ball singles that get through because they are hit so hard. Given the difficulty in hitting an upper-90s fastball when it’s above the belt, why isn’t he using his velocity more to his advantage? And why are Mets coaches insisting he keep the ball down? All of the good closers of the past 30 years that had his kind of velocity (e.g., Gossage, Lee Smith, Papelbon, etc.) have lived up in the zone with their fastballs. What are the Met coaches thinking? Our fear is that they are ruining him (both from a pitching and psychological standpoint) and that he will end up on another team where they will get him doing what he should and he will come back to haunt the Mets. Thanks for any insights you have on this.
Fred
Fred, thank you so much for the kind words, and for visiting MetsToday.
I share your observations of, and concerns for, Bobby Parnell. His inability to convert his God-given talent into success is maddening. Are the Mets coaches / organizational pitching philosophy to blame?
Are the Mets for Real?
After a tough stretch against the Nationals and Yankees that saw the Mets drop 5 of 6, it’s time to ask the question at the back of every Mets fans mind. Are the Mets contenders this year? Will the Mets play meaningful September baseball for the first time since 2008? Luckily, thanks to sabermetrics, we can analyze some advanced statistics and trends from the season so far to try and get a handle on the 2012 Amazins.
For more information on any of the stats listed below, simply click on the stat name.
Pythagorean W-L – Pythagorean Won-Loss record (PWL) is much simpler than it sounds. It basically figures out
Symptom Treated – But Now What’s the Cure?
Unsurprisingly, Manny Acosta has been designated for assignment, which means he can’t pour gasoline on fires in Flushing for at least a week. There is a possibility, however, that he brings his Fahrenheit 451-style fireman skills to Buffalo. But let’s not think about that for now.
Yes, we’ve been screaming for Acosta’s removal since late April (some wondered how he made it to spring training in the first place), but now that the symptom has been treated, the Mets have to find a cure for the actual sickness.
The Mets Might Not Be Good This Season, But They Won’t Be As Bad As Everyone Thinks
It is no secret right now in New York sports that the Mets are a second-class citizen when compared to the Yankees. They are in financial ruin, their tickets sell for pennies on the dollar on secondary markets, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2006, they haven’t won a World Series since 1986, and aren’t even expected to have a winning record for this upcoming 2012 MLB season. On the other hand, the Yankees have by far the highest payroll in the MLB, their tickets are nearly worth their weight in gold (not really, but you get what I mean), they won their division last season, won a World Series in 2009, and are serious contenders for another championship this season.
As one might think when shown all of these evidences for the ineptitude of the Mets, New York’s second-best MLB team is viewed as a laughingstock and with a rag-tag roster with no more than five established talents on it, that pessimism is justified amongst the media and even the fans. However, the Mets’ situation isn’t as bad as it is expressed in the public eye simply because the Mets won’t be that terrible/awful this season.
Let’s take a look at all the reasons why the Mets should be better from last year and actually be somewhat respectable this season:
Taking a Look at Who the Mets Should Add to their 40-Man Roster on September 1st
After being swept in rather embarrassing fashion at the hands of the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers this weekend at Citi Field, it became clear to Mets players, fans, and management that this incarnation of the New York Mets has no shot at reaching the 2011 MLB playoffs. So the prudent move right now for the organization to do is to utilize the last month and a half of this season to deeply evaluate the organization’s talent levels especially in the upper tiers (Double-A on up to the Majors). The best possible way to do this is to get some of these young players actual MLB game experience, which is exactly why the MLB created the whole “expanding rosters to 40 players on September 1st” rule. Here are some top candidates for the Mets to call up from he minors to fill out the up-to-40 man roster:
Who’s Next for Mets Bullpen?
The Mets bullpen now is 28th out of 30 in MLB in ERA (4.48), 28th in batting average against (.264), 27th in OPS allowed (.748), and 26th in WHIP (1.47). They do, however, lead all of MLB in one category: stolen bases allowed (25).
Clearly, some changes need to be made in terms of personnel. But who can the Mets acquire or promote?
Might Millwood Make Sense for Mets?
Kicking the tires on Kevin Millwood seems to be an annual activity for the New York Mets. Though, in previous seasons, he was considered as a pitcher who might be a “final piece” to help the Mets gain a postseason appearance.
This time, the situation is different for the Mets, and Millwood has changed as well since the days he was seen as a puzzle completer. Yet the two remain a match.