The game was actually a lot closer than the final score. The Mets were in it until the top of the 8th when Bobby Parnell balked with the bases loaded and then served up a two-run single to let the game get away.
Per Anthony DiComo on Mets.com:
Some notes about the Monday afternoon spring training game between the Mets and Tigers, televised on SNY.
So far, it’s mostly Fish frying on the Hot Stove, as the Marlins have been the busiest team in terms of transactions. In the past week, Florida has made two deals, first sending 6’7″ Andrew Miller to the Red Sox for 6’6″ Dustin Richardson in a swap of lefty relievers, then trading centerfield enigma Cameron Maybin to the Padres for righthanded relievers Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb. Rumor has it, the Fish aren’t finished, and will continue to wheel and deal throughout the winter.
Top on the list of trade bait is slugging second baseman Dan Uggla, who turned down a contract extension and now being shopped. Considering the Mets’ second base situation and the Moneyball braintrust of Sandy Alderson, J.P. Ricciardi, and Paul DePodesta, it’s natural to wonder whether the Mets will get in on the bidding for Uggla.
While I’d love to see the hard-nosed second sacker in a Mets uniform,
During the spring of 2010, Robert Parnell was the backup to the backup to the backup (and possibly to the backup) setup man. The Mets had figured on Kelvim Escobar as the 8th inning guy (before learning the only object he could firmly hold in his hand was a pen to sign a $1.25M contract), but also imported flamethrower Ryota Igarashi just in case Escobar couldn’t grip a baseball, counted on Sean Green as a third alternative, and signed Kiko Calero as their “just in case” setup man – with Parnell penciled in as the “if all else fails” option.
As it was, the Mets quickly found their way to “all else fails”, and Parnell was not quite up to the task. The hard-throwing righty didn’t even make the Opening Day roster, despite showing flashes of brilliance as a late-inning reliever and late-season starter in 2009 (sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Can you say “Jenrry Mejia”?). He began the season in AAA Buffalo, posting a fat 4.14 ERA but an acceptable 1.28 WHIP and impressive 42 Ks in 41 IP through 24 games. He made his first 2010 MLB appearance in a laugher against the Tigers on June 23rd, throwing high heat but requiring 21 pitches to get 3 outs with an 8-run lead. He finished the season with a shiny 2.83 ERA and 33 Ks in 35 IP but allowed a disturbing 41 hits – a concerning issue for someone who can touch triple digits. Without doubt, Parnell was much better at finding the strike zone in his sophomore season than he was as a rookie, but he was also much more hittable. His biggest problem was that when his fastball ran into the upper 90s, it lacked movement; it was as straight as an arrow, reminiscent of the early days of Heath Bell. Unlike Heath Bell, Parnell had no secondary pitches to fall back on, other than an inconsistent slider that looked hellacious once in every ten tries, but was flat and fat in around 60 to 70% of the time.
Bobby Parnell has a gift that few on this planet own: the ability to reach triple digits on the radar gun. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but it’s also not a guarantee of success – particularly if it a) lacks movement; b) cannot be controlled; and c) has no consistent complementary pitch to keep hitters guessing.
Does that mean the Mets should give up on Parnell? Absolutely not. In the past, the Mets made egregious errors in trading away similarly gifted flamethrowers such as Bell, Matt Lindstrom, and Henry Owens. The bottom line is that young men who throw 100-MPH fastballs do not grow on trees, and if you have one who can come close to the plate the majority of the time, you hold on to him for as long as you can in the hopes that he’ll eventually “figure it out”. Parnell may never “figure it out”, but if he does, the Mets will have an electrifying reliever with dominant closer potential – a type of reliever you might compare to Brad Lidge or John Wetteland. At the very worst, he’ll be on the level of Lindstrom / Owens, which is still a valuable asset in any MLB bullpen.
Stunning, shocking headline, I know. We were all counting on the once-nearly-good Escobar to handle the eighth inning for the Mets, but he has suffered an out-of-the-blue setback that requires season-ending surgery.
This wasn’t even going to be given the importance of a post, since we more or less wrote off Escobar the day we heard he couldn’t grip a baseball (and for those who kept the faith, his “weakness” might have sent you toward reality). The idea that he might pitch at all in 2010 was considered a joke, in fact.
But after the official news of Escobar’s impending surgery broke, I received several emails from you, the loyal readership, and felt compelled to address the issue.
So … there goes $1.5M down the drain. To be fair, it was much less painful (pardon the pun) a loss than last year’s J.J. Putz debacle. Had the Mets signed him to be an extra arm, or “gravy”, rather than as “the guy” for the 8th inning, it would have been a logical, safe gamble.
The good news is, the Mets have a backup plan in place named Ryota Igarashi.
Oh, wait … he’s on the DL, isn’t he? So then it must be Sean Gre… never mind. I guess I meant Kiko Calero. Oh shoot, Calero is in AAA because he was signed so late (after it was discovered Escobar could grip a pen but not a ball), and he allowed 7 runs in his last outing for Buffalo, didn’t he? Well, that’s better than Johan Santana did in his last appearance, so there’s that. Luckily, the Mets have Brian Stokes. Er, I mean … Bobby Parnell. No, that’s not right, either … um … who IS the setup man?
Ah, relief pitching is overrated anyway … better to have spent big bucks on second-string catchers and experienced backup infielders.
My apologies for not posting this earlier, but like most of the news out of Port St. Lucie this spring, it took me a long time to understand and extract the logic.
Let’s just run through specific personnel.
Nelson Figueroa (cut) – He’s not a Cy Young candidate. He’s barely an MLB-quality 5th starter. However, he had a spectacular spring, he had a great winter campaign, he had an outstanding
I had hoped to shelve the “Manuel Being Manuel” category until at least spring training. Unfortunately, everyone’s favorite zen master couldn’t contain himself through the winter months.
Jerry Manuel spoke with reporters in Indianapolis today, and Brian Costa provides the “highlights” of the conversation.
Among them:
– Manuel claims
