A longshot to make the team at first, Bobby Parnell may have suddenly thrust himself smack, dab in the middle of the pack of those relievers trying to carve out a role in the bullpen. Parnell has had an okay spring thus far, but yesterdays effort against the Detroit Tigers may have been his defining moment. In 2 2/3 innings, the 24 year old righthander threw just 27 pitches and allowed no hits and one walk while striking [...]

Okay, it’s Friday afternoon and my Tuesday column is a trifle overdue. We’ve all just spent the past week worrying, arguing, and moaning about the ST 2009 drawbacks facing our Mets and us. Well, I think it’s time we all had a drink or two and made a serious effort to lighten up and relax. Speaking of a drink or two… I have a friend, one of my favorite people on this here earth actually. [...]

When the Mets first signed Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract, he boastfully proclaimed that the number five starters job was his. In his mind it was never a competition and in fact when asked to comment on it he said,  ”Either they give me the job or I’ll go pitch for someone else.” Garcia started for the Mets today against the Tigers, and according to Bart Hubbuch of the NY Post, “he struggled [...]

I’m growing tired of watching these Mets pitchers compete for the fifth starter job. I just wish the Mets would go with Jon Niese at this point and let everybody else go. And I mean everybody including Tim Redding and his guaranteed contract. I’ve seen all I needed to see from Redding. I’ve been opposed to him since the day we signed him and have debated him right here on this site and many other [...]

Adam Rubin reported on his blog that the Mets have trimmed four players from the roster immediately after last nights 16-8 loss to the Marlins. Rob Mackowiak, Eddie Kunz, Valerio de los Santos and Josh Thole were each sent to minor league camp. Yesterday I wrote that Eddie Kunz had no shot and would close for Buffalo, I think all of us Mets fans could have predicted that. But I was wrong for guessing that [...]

After the Mets released Duaner Sanchez, it was assumed by many that he would be replaced by one of the many candidates in camp. However, Marty Noble of mets.com gave an interesting answer in his mailbag today that leads me to believe Omar is not done shopping. Minaya indicated Tuesday the club may look at available left-handed relievers now that the release of Sanchez has created a need. My sense of it was that the [...]

As far as I’m concerned there are only three times when it is okay to lie about your age. 1. It’s okay for women to say they are 29 instead of 30, it’s an emotional plateau for them and if it makes them feel good, why not. 2. It’s okay to lie about your age if you were only 18 years old and you really needed a fifth of Absolut vodka after seeing the Mets choke in [...]

A new daily feature that will keep you fully briefed on the current state of the Mets. One post with all you need to know until tomorrow. Domestic Affairs Now that the Dominican Republic has been eliminated from the WBC, shortstop Jose Reyes and left fielder Fernando Tatis are flying back to St. Lucie and will be in uniform on Saturday. Reyes actually did all he could to make his team win by drawing a walk and scoring [...]

Former Mets GM and current ESPN analyst Steve Phillips gave his thoughts on Pedro Martinez last night, and even though there’s no chance the Mets would pursue him, I found what he had to say very interesting. After watching Martinez last year, I had real doubts whether he’d be a competitive major league pitcher again. But after seeing his two three-inning outings at the World Baseball Classic, the second of which came on two days’ rest, [...]