Couldn’t help reading today that Bobby Parnell deserves to be an All Star on MetsBlog.  Sorry, but I beg to differ.

Parnell ranks 13th out of 15 National League closers with 9 saves. The leader, Pittsburgh’s Jason Grilli, has 22 saves, while Edward Mujica of the Cardinals and Craig Kimbrel have 17 saves each. All three have ERAs of 1.93 or lower. Do those three deserve to be All Stars? You bet they do. Parnell isn’t even on the same map as them.

The Mets closer has blown three saves out of 12 opportunites and his 75% save ratio is the worst mark among all 15 qualified NL closers.

His 1.01 WHIP, which is pretty impressive, still only ranks seventh among qualified closers, and his Batting Average Against of .202 while good, isn’t even in the same company of of guys like Grilli (.141), Kevin Gregg (.148), Jonathan Papelbon (.125), Mujica (.138) or Aroldis Chapman (.183), In fact, Parnell doesn’t even have the best BAA in his own bullpen, as that honor goes to Scott Rice who boasts a .198 BAA.

So aside from just taking the fanboy approach, what exactly makes Parnell more deserving than any of those elite closers I mentioned?

Heck, I wish all the Mets could be All Stars if you asked the homer in me. But from a pure baseball intellect standpoint and an unbiased point of view, it’s very clear that Parnell doesn’t deserve a spot on the All Star team and that there’s at least 6-8 closers in front of him that do deserve the honor.

His blown save last night that allowed the Nationals to comeback and beat the Mets 3-2, had the bearded one allowing a double, a wild pitch, a single, another double, and finally a sac-fly with the bases loaded to clinch the deal for the Nats.

Now, has Parnell embraced the closer role better than many of us expected?

Yes, of course. But to count him among the elite closers in baseball, or even in the league, is pretty ridiculous right now.

Parnell is not an elite All Star caliber closer. He’s just a good one – most of the time.

On those rare occasions when the Mets need to protect a late lead, Parnell and Rice have been Terry Collins‘ first line of defense and his go-to guys.

For Rice, it has led to an NL-leading 32 appearances. That puts the late-blooming rookie on pace for 96 appearances this season.

For a couple of weeks now on MMO, I’ve argued Collins’ questionable bullpen management habits and his propensity to burn out his pen’s best arms before the All Star break. We’ve seen this acted out before in his first two seasons, but what he’s doing now with Rice is bordering on negligence and insanity.

Wanting to use Rice as often as he has is totally understandable given that he’s held batters to a slim .198 batting average this season – only Parnell and Matt Harvey have been better. But to use him with such reckless abandon is what the big issue is. There’s always a price to pay when you abuse an arm like that, and usually it’s the pitcher or the team that pays the price. On Sunday it was both.

Rice walked four batters and struggled mightily with his command. Questionable still was Collins’ decision to leave a weary-armed Rice in the game to face right-handed slugger Marcell Ozuna who ripped a two-run double to tie the game. Chris Coghlan would follow and put the Marlins ahead with an RBI groundout to hand Rice his fourth loss of the season.

In his first 22 appearances Rice posted a 2.67 ERA. Over his last ten appearances he’s posted a 5.00 ERA  and is now at 4.00 for the season. Coincidence? I think not.

Prior to this year his stats backed up my assertion. His career 1.45 WHIP was anything but lockdown. Despite a brief cameo as the closer in 2011 that produced six saves, he didn’t look comfortable in the role. Something happened, however, when he took over the closer role last September: Parnell started to pitch effectively. He didn’t strike out batters at an elite clip, but he did enough to save three games, post a 0.933 WHIP and an ERA of 0.60. At the very least it was an encouraging sign.

He came into this year as the closer by default due to Frank Francisco‘s elbow injury. Nobody was pining for Francisco anyway, but if they were Parnell has made them forget him with his 8 saves, an ERA+ of 192 and stingy 1.93 ERA. Even the percentage of runners left on base – a huge issue in the past- is at a career-best of 77%.

I think Parnell’s maturation can be best illustrated during his sequence to Travis Hafner last night. After two 96-mph heaters, Parnell offered up consecutive sliders (according to MLB.com) or knuckle-curves (thanks Izzy), depending on how you look at it. The 1-2 knuckle-curve just missed, and set-up Hafner for the heater that led to the game-ending pop-up.

That wasn’t a caveman performance. It wasn’t Parnell wide-eyed on the mound throwing a fastball as hard as he can. He seemed poised even after the Ichiro walk. In the past that four-pitch walk would have signaled a major meltdown.

What is even more impressive is how this came during the bright lights of the Subway Series. Sure, the series doesn’t have the same juice as the late nineties, but fans and media treat it as something more than a regular season game. A blown save will put anyone under the microscope, doubly so for Parnell based on history.

Closers are volatile. They are also expensive and often don’t live up to big free-agent contracts. Parnell is under team control three more years until he hits free agency in 2016. This could turn out to be a good value for an organization that needs as much of it as it can get.

Perhaps the Mets found themselves the answer to the ninth inning. Maybe Bobby Parnell has finally grown up.

On Sunday, Bobby Parnell notched his sixth save of the season, recording the final three outs of the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Cubs.  With the save, Parnell now has 20 in his six-year career with the Mets.  Now that may not seem like much, but it does give Parnell a special title.

Tell me, my fellow Mets fans.  Do you know which homegrown Met has the most saves in team history?  That would be Tug McGraw, who had 86 saves in a Mets uniform.  (Jesse Orosco, who had 107 saves in Flushing, made his major league debut with the Mets, but was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins and made his professional debut in their minor league system.)

McGraw is followed by Roger McDowell (84 saves), Neil Allen (69 saves), Randy Myers (56 saves), Doug Sisk (33 saves), Bob Apodaca (26 saves), Danny Frisella (24 saves) and Parnell.

Did you notice that all of the homegrown relievers ahead of Parnell pitched for the Mets exclusively in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s?  When Randy Myers was traded for John Franco after the 1989 season, that began a nearly quarter century stretch in which the Mets went with closers whom they traded for or signed as free agents.

First it was John Franco (acquired from Cincinnati).  Then it was Armando Benitez (acquired from Baltimore).  Benitez was followed by Braden Looper (free agent signing), Billy Wagner (free agent signing), Francisco Rodriguez (free agent signing) and Frank Francisco (yup, another free agent signing).  During that 20-plus year stretch, homegrown pitchers were used to close games primarily when the incumbent closer needed a day of rest or was on the disabled list.

So since the departure of Randy Myers following the 1989 campaign, which homegrown pitchers have registered the most saves for the Mets?  Here is the top three list:

1. Bobby Parnell (20 saves)
2. Anthony Young (18 saves)
3. Aaron Heilman (9 saves)

The only homegrown pitchers to record at least ten career saves for the Mets since Randy Myers’ last season in New York are Anthony Young and Bobby Parnell.  Young is also the only homegrown closer since 1990 to record an individual season of more than seven saves when he saved 15 games in 1992 – the same year he began his major league-record 27-game losing streak.

Bobby Parnell has been given the closer duties by manager Terry Collins.  He is the first homegrown pitcher since 1989 to earn that responsibility out of spring training.  And he is now the team’s all-time saves leader for homegrown pitchers since that year.

The Mets have not developed many closers over the past quarter century, choosing to bring in closers from other teams.  Bobby Parnell is finally getting a chance to become the next Tug McGraw, Roger McDowell or Randy Myers.  If he succeeds, he stands to join those pitchers as the best homegrown closers in franchise history.

Our ninth inning savior has finally arrived!  And his name is Bobby Parnell.  It sure is nice to see a familiar face on the mound in the ninth inning instead of a recruit from another team.

This is a scene that very few homegrown closers have been able to repeat.

Frank Francisco

Terry Collins said he would first like to see how Francisco responds after back to back appearances on Sunday and Monday before the team makes plans to activate him from the disabled list.

Either way, there’s no question that Bobby Parnell will continue on as the team’s closer after Francisco returns.

“Parnell has done a good job,” Collins told reporters.

This isn’t really surprising as we’ve been saying it’s Parnell’s job no matter what since spring training. If Francisco didn’t know that already, he does now. This is Parnell’s bullpen.

“He’s just asserting himself as the leader of the bullpen and the guy you want in the ninth inning,” team captain David Wright said. “No question, there’s a different mindset for him.”

Parnell was angry during one game during the recent road trip when he was bypassed in a save situation, and he let Collins know it.

“When it comes the ninth inning and it’s a save situation or a close ballgame, in my head, that’s my inning,” he said. “Every one of us down there can pitch in that inning. Every one of us is capable of doing that. But since Day 1 of Spring Training, in my head, I’ve thought, ‘That’s my inning.’ I want to be out there.”

Parnell has come a long way and for a while I didn’t think he’d be able to handle the role. But his tenacity on the mound has made me a believer.

Kristie Ackert of the Daily News had a nice piece yesterday about Bobby Parnell and his being the closer of the 2013 New York Mets.

Parnell was called in to close out the ninth on Monday in the series opener against the Marlins and failed to shut the door, leading to a 15-inning affair and an eventual loss. Due to the fact that the Mets young closer threw two innings and 35 pitches, Terry Collins opted for Brandon Lyon to try to stop the bleeding following Jeremy Hefner’s terrific outing. Wednesday, Parnell was out there to slam the door and hand the Mets a hard-fought victory.

Parnell “wasn’t happy” about the decision to not be called in to close on Tuesday but “understood”.

“He’s protecting me and I understand that,” Parnell said.

Collins decided it would be best to err on the side of caution rather than calling on him Tuesday after throwing so many pitches the day prior.

“I am just not gonna blow this guy out,” Collins said. “He had some elbow (issues), nothing serious, but a year ago we did this and his elbow came up sore for a while. It’s just too early.

I completely agree with Collins on his decision not to push it too far with Parnell. It is also nice to see that Parnell understands the fact that his manager is looking out for him long term. Bobby Parnell is the future of this organization out of the ‘pen and there is no reason to overwork him, especially so early in the season.

Hard throwing pitchers such as Parnell put so much force into every pitch, that if overused can cause serious damage. Just look at Neftali Feliz of the Texas Rangers, who is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. The ability to throw 100+ takes a great deal of energy, and can take a toll on the body. The craft is rare–granted, becoming less rare–and should be used by a manager properly as Collins has, and not abused.

It is good to see that Terry Collins is thinking long-term and not just in this single season. It’s difficult for a manger to not use his best tool out of the bullpen in a key situation like what occurred Tuesday, but what is most important is the future and the longevity of the younger players like Parnell, and I am glad Collins recognizes that.

Most everything about the Mets these days is about the future. From Matt Harvey, to extending David Wright, to the trade of R.A. Dickey and protecting Zack Wheeler, we’re talking about 2014 and beyond.

Sure, it would be great to compete now, but 2013 is mostly for establishing the foundation. It is the development of Harvey and Jon Niese; giving Wheeler major league experience – while avoiding free agency for a year – and hope Ike Davis and Lucas Duda improve their offensive efficiency while still producing power.

This trend should extend to the bullpen, where Bobby Parnell, despite limited save opportunities, has performed in the role that should hopefully define his career.Manager Terry Collins told Parnell at the beginning of spring training he would be the closer if Frank Francisco were not ready. Collins should pull Parnell aside tomorrow at Citi Field – today is an off-day – and tell him he’ll have the job when Francisco returns.

Parnell spit the bit on previous chances, but is grasping the brass ring now. And, tightly. Parnell struck out two Washington Nationals in a perfect ninth Sunday to earn his second save of the season. Parnell is following up last year’s strong second half with a blistering start.

He has a strong traditional statistic in a 1.35 ERA – mostly overrated for relievers – with an even stronger new wave stat of a 0.45 WHIP.  He’s given up three hits and a run in 6.2 innings. He’s been virtually untouchable.

More to the point, he’s pitching the way the way the Mets always hoped.

Collins and GM Sandy Alderson saw that coming at the end of 2012, when with Francisco on the disabled list, Parnell went 3-1 with a 0.96 ERA and paltry .196 opponent’s batting average in 17 appearances.

The Mets might feel obligated to return Francisco to the closer role based on his $6.5-million salary, but they need to resist that temptation. It is not an obligation to return Francisco to the closer role, especially because it is anticipated he will not be re-signed this winter.

If Francisco were in the Mets’ future plans, I might think differently. Parnell, however, is expected to be here next season and beyond. The Mets – namely Jerry Manuel – have jerked around Parnell to the point of messing with his confidence. They must not do it again by changing his role.

Perhaps this is nothing more than a hot stretch for Parnell; perhaps it is the beginning of something special. We need the time to see.

We don’t know to what degree Parnell will develop. What we do know is Francisco will not be here next year and Parnell will. Parnell must stay in the closer role, and remain there in good times and in bad.

That’s the way to build for the future, which is now for Parnell.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I don’t think this will be an issue when the Mets activate Frank Francisco. Having the highest paid pitcher on your active roster doing mopup duty isn’t exactly an ideal situation. But that’s exactly the way the Mets should handle Francisco until he can work his way back into a more significant role.

I thought that Francisco two-year deal was an awful signing to begin with, but now that’s past and his $6.5 million is just something we’ll need to deal with and if it means ultimately eating it – so be it.

That said, I don’t think the money situation will keep Terry Collins or Sandy Alderson from doing what is best for the team.

I would be absolutely shocked if Parnell were to go back to a setup role when Francisco returns. I just don’t see that happening.

The Starting Pitching

Two words: Matt Harvey. Harvey has been stellar … actually more than stellar, he has been intergalactic. What has impressed me about Harvey is his poise and his fledgling ability to control the came by sheer force of will. No one wants to face Harvey right now, he is overpowering … that’s a scary weapon to have on any team. Need a win? He’s your guy. You can’t put a value metric on that. You aren’t getting swept if Harvey is pitching. If he’s pitching the final game and you’ve won the first two you’re probably looking at a sweep.  Never underestimate the power of a true ace. Matt Harvey really does remind me of Tom Seaver, and there really are some uncanny similarities.

Then there is John Niese, who has been outstanding. I continue to maintain that Niese’s curveball is one of the most underrated pitches in the major leagues. When he’s dropping that thing in for strikes he’s as tough as anyone in baseball. Previous years Niese would unravel after a bloop and a walk. Not so since about half way through 2012, Niese is showing some tenacity under duress, which makes him pretty tough to beat. Right now Harvey and Niese comprise a legitimate one-two punch and there’s a school of thought that subscribes to the belief that two ace level pitchers at the top of a rotation is all you really need to contend. Unfortunately I’m not sure that’s true.

The rotation gets pretty dicey after our top two. Dillon Gee and Jeremy Heffner have been wildly inconsistent with command issues. You get the sense that maybe Gee wasn’t quite ready coming out of spring training, and Heffner just seems to leave too many fat pitches over the middle of the plate. We need Shaun Marcum to hurry up and get better because one more reliable starter and I think the balances are tipped in Mets favor in terms of matching up with other rotations. Lets just say Aaron Laffey seems ill-equipped as his replacement.

The Offense

Two words: Homer happy! The Mets have been hitting home runs like it’s 1998 … Duda hit one the other night at CBP in Philly that I swear was still going up when it hit the upper deck. The man may be lost in the field, but his power is freakish. I feel like he hasn’t even really gotten a hold of one yet, what happens when he does? He could knock a satellite out of orbit, he could hit one to North Korea. How about John Buck? Yeah yeah yeah, I keep hearing how he’s going to come back to earth, whatever. Here’s the thing, with the head start he’s got? Barring injury he’s going to have to come down pretty hard and pretty fast and extremely soon because if he keeps up this rate in another week or so it wont matter, he’ll be able to go back to his lifetime averages and still have the best season of his career (and probably make the all-star game). John Buck is playing with house money at this point.

David Wright I’m not worried about, and Jordany Valdespin needs more playing time. Ike Davis is going to break out sooner or later if he can get his head straightened out. Here’s the thing about Ike. When Ike first came up I was amazed that he was able to make as much contact as he did given his long loopy swing. He was able to because he has great timing, problem is when his timing is off he really struggles, again because of that long loopy swing. The thing that frustrates me about Ike is that he’s playing into the opposition’s prescribed approach. They put the stupid shift on (it’s stupid the shift – no other way to describe it) and they toss him a steady diet of breaking pitches.

Now, correct me, but when Ike came up didn’t he hit to all fields? I remember him talking about how his dad used to make him hit to the opposite field when he was a kid. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened, the stupid shift happened, it got into his head. Ike has fallen into the trap of not adjusting his game to the shift, like it’s taboo or something to change your approach because your approach is what got you to the bigs. Well the problem is, hitting to all fields IS what got Ike to the bigs … since when did he become a strictly pull hitter? I remember Keith Hernandez was incredulous at first that they were even trying the shift on Ike because Ike was always a guy who spread the ball around. Ike needs to get together with Hudgens and practice punching the ball down the third base line, get a few easy doubles, get that average up, get himself going, then he can hit as many homeruns as his heart desires. The rest of the lineup has been playing more or less as expected. We need an outfielder, badly, but in the meantime, Baxter and Valdespin should be splitting lead-off duties.

The Defense

Outside of a few misjudged fly balls by Duda and an inexplicable run of poor play by Tejada I think the defense is actually improved. Murphy has been solid. Ike hasn’t been great at first but I think he’ll settle in. Baxter is a great outfielder and Byrd can hold his own. Center field hasn’t been the disaster we were afraid of, and again, Duda plays the outfield like he’s wearing boots of lead. Wright has been a gold glove third baseman and John Buck has given us a strong veteran presence behind the plate. This team isn’t going to win or lose because of it’s defense, and that is actually a marked improvement.

The Bullpen

Jeckyl and Hyde. The bullpen has had it’s good nights and it’s nightmares. Greg Burke, after one bad outing has been pretty good, that freaky windup of his makes my eyeballs hurt so I can’t imagine it’s easy on hitters. Scott Atchison has been the token “scary old guy” in the pen and he’s been quality through and through, Hawkins has been inconsistent — pretty much the same guy I remember in Minnesota, and Bobby Parnell is throwing a 92 mph change up (need I say more?) I will say more … when he figured out how to dial it back to 91 or 92 to improve his command little did we know he’d still bring the 99 mph heat after he’d get ahead ..  so it amounts to a 92 mph changeup — which is SICK! Anyway, Parnell is fun to watch … and the rest of the bullpen is giving me hope. Josh Edgin has been shaky but reliable and I think he’ll settle in. Overall, with Francisco and Feliciano and Carson and (potentially) Mejia in reserve this bullpen may actually have some depth to bridge the inevitable injuries during the dog days of summer. Fingers crossed on this one.

Overall

I’m hopeful. Right now, as constituted, if they can stay relatively healthy I think this is a .500 team. Maybe a few games better. Things need to break right, the back end of the rotation will need a boost – either by means of Marcum or Wheeler coming to the rescue or Gee and Heffner figuring out their command issues. Ike has to get it going and Wright needs to hit a few out of the park (has he hit any since his injury?). There are concerns, this team’s success is tentative at best. The back end of the rotation let us down in Philly but hopefully Philly won’t always be lucky enough to face Gee and Heffner in the same series in their band box of a home park.

This next series against Minnesota is important. They need to establish resilience, and what better place than a sub freezing tundra on the edge of the great plains against a young and scrappy American League Central team with Ron Gardenhire as their manager. I’ll be there for every game with my lucky hat and my heat-treat pocket warmers.

TARGET FIELD: I think we’re gonna need a bigger shovel.

Mets’ relievers Frank Francisco and Pedro Feliciano threw a simulated game in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday.

Francisco continues to recover from off-season elbow surgery, and is currently on the disabled list, retroactive to March 22. The righty threw an inning of work, which consisted of 20 pitches.

Mets lefty reliever Feliciano continues to work on his arm strength, and also threw one inning of work in Tuesday’s simulated game.

Both Francisco and Feliciano remain serious candidates to join the Mets bullpen, should someone falter. Francisco is more likely to get the first crack first due to his contract ($6.5 million) and potential to close games, especially if Parnell struggles early this season.

David Wright was all smiles yesterday.

“If you like grand slams and scoring lots of runs, what’s not to like?’’ Wright said. “Of course, we’re not going to score 11 runs every game.’’

His qualifier continued: “It’s only the first game.’’That it was, and as good as they looked in mauling the Padres, the Mets remain loaded with questions.

When the Mets introduced their team, only nine players were the same time last Opening Day.

One question is not Johan Santana, and in several respects that’s a good thing because the Mets won’t have to deal with the lingering questions of about when, or if, we’ll see him. Or, was he worth the money.

All three can be answered in the negative.

Actually, there was a Santana sighting. He’s on the cover of the media guide. So is Terry Collins with a broad smile. Wonder how long that will last?

It depends on the answers to the following questions, five each on the mound and at the plate:

PITCHING QUESTIONS

 Q – Will Jon Niese assume the role of No. 1 with Santana done with the Mets?

A – Niese downplays the ace title, but that doesn’t alter the fact he is No. 1. He showed what he is capable of yesterday. The Mets need 200-plus innings and for him to exceed his career high of 13 victories.

Q – Matt Harvey: Boom or bust?

A – The anticipation for Harvey is intense after just ten starts last year. Fans want him to be another Dwight Gooden or Stephen Strasburg. His teammates expect it of him, too. Not fair, but that’s the way it is.

Q – What will they get from Shaun Marcum?

A – He’s on the DL, but expected to come off and pitch Sunday. He needs to win at least 12 games as the No. 4 starter in the rotation and be an innings eater. The Mets got him on the cheap, but he must outpitch his contract.

Q – Will Bobby Parnell seize the closer opportunity?

A – He’s had chances before and did not. Frank Francisco figures to be out at least a month and Parnell can take this job for good. If he does, and Francisco is healthy and pitches well in whatever role he is in when he returns, he gives the Mets a trade chip.

Q – How good is the bullpen?

A – Parnell is the only one from last year’s Opening Day pen. GM Sandy Alderson has built a pen with the combination of unproven and veteran arms. Basically, it is Parnell and six questions. Come to think of it, Parnell is also a question.

HITTING QUESTIONS

Q – Will David Wright respond to his contract?

A – Wright is not one who will coast. Looking for .300, 25-30 homers and over 100 RBI.  That’s the minimum requirements for your best hitter. Wright said he didn’t feel any differently being named captain. That’s because he’s had the role long before it became official.

Q – Can Ike Davis put together two strong halves?

A – Mets got little from him at the start last year, but he rebounded to finish with 32 homers. With his power 40 is reasonable. Unfortunately, so are 160 strikeouts. He had four yesterday.

Q – How will the outfield shake out?

A – Collin Cowgill beat out Kirk Nieuwenhuis, but nothing is etched in stone. Yesterday’s grand slam is a good start, but the key is sustaining. Marlon Byrd and Lucas Duda are in the corners. The Mets desperately need Duda’s power. If he hits 20, he could out-homer the rest of the outfield.

Q – When will we see Travis d’Arnaud?

A – For future free-agent considerations, he shouldn’t be here before May. However, Alderson said if he’s needed that wouldn’t be a barrier. We’ll see.

Q – What will the Mets get from Ruben Tejada?

A – He was solid last season, but hit less than .100 in spring training. He’s good with the glove, but Mets need something from him and his double yesterday was a good sign. He’ll never replace Jose Reyes’ numbers, but if he fields the position and hits around .275 the Mets will be happy.

You won’t like me when I’m angry…

Bobby Parnell has been something of a wildcard for the Amazin’s each of the past few seasons. He has been bounced all around the pitching staff,  however in 2012 seems to have found himself a home in the late innings of New York Mets baseball games.

The question remains however, which inning does the young fireballer belong? He hasn’t exactly found success as a closer, but has proven to be a very effective set-up man. With Frank Francisco likely starting the year on the disabled list,–and better off staying there–Parnell has been handed the job and has a golden opportunity to prove he deserves to stay there. In his six Spring Training games, he is certainly on the right track, but the question is will Parnell be able to incorporate this exceptional performance into higher leverage situations as the year goes on. The common perception among Met fans is no, Parnell is not a big game pitcher, however if we see this Bobby throughout the 2013 season, we could be looking at a completely different pitcher than in years past.

Parnell overall went 5-4 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Last season, despite a history of having command issues, walked only 20 in 68.2 innings pitched. He also struck out 61 and opposing batters only hit .249 off him with a .303 on-base percentage, both career bests for Parnell.

Let’s see some swagger in 2013!

The now 28-year old had seven saves, three of which came in September out of just as many opportunities. Also pitching to a 0.60 ERA in the final month of the season, Parnell definitely showed signs that he can handle the ninth.

Although it has only been a matter of six outings down in St. Lucie, Parnell has dominated every time he has been out on the mound this past month. Will that electric stuff continue? That remains to be seen. Throughout his career, Parnell has struggled when the going gets tough, however so far it appears as if we are seeing a changed athlete. One who wants the ball when the game is on the line. One who doesn’t get around hitters, but goes after them and blows them away.

Which Bobby Parnell will show up? I can’t say. But in my opinion, these Spring Training outings, unlike most, are a sign of more than just a hot start in a few meaningless games.

We have slowly seen progression from Parnell  each of the past four seasons, and I believe 2013 is his time to shine.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I don’t have much to say other than to look at my images in this post and their captions. It’s time to see some fire in the belly from Parnell – not in the seventh inning, but in the ninth. It’s put up or shut up time for Parnell. He’s not a kid any more and it’s time to man up… No more “deer in the headlights” look either… It’s time to get mean… It’s time to get angry…

With the Mets rebuilding for 2012, there are some priorities that the team needs to address first, and foremost.  We should all know by now that the top priority for this off-season will be to resign the Mets offensive catalyst, Jose Reyes.  But when the Reyes extension saga is finally over, what other priority will be tops on the Mets priority list?  We could possibly hear the team going after a closer, a catcher, an outfielder (or someone who can play center-field if Pagan is non-tendered), and relievers.

In my opinion, I believe that the top priority the Mets are going to need to address for 2012 is a closer.  The Mets have tried to have Parnell close, but that plan ultimately backfired on them.  They have used Isringhausen, but he has been ineffective at times, and has been hurt.  They have used Acosta to close and that didn’t work out either.   Really this team is going to need to look at getting someone who to me, is younger, and can handle the pressure that comes with closing out the game, and securing the win.

Your thoughts?

This spring, there is a tug of war going on between the diehard Mets fans on both sides of the proverbial fence. Some say they are optimists and see the Mets as post season contenders, while others say they are realists and consider the upcoming season to be a bust. The battle between Optimism and Realism has begun to take on a life of its own.

For the purpose of full understanding, the word ‘Optimism’ means: a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome.

Conversely, the word ‘Realism’ means: interest in or concern for the actual or real, as distinguished from the abstract, speculative, etc;  the tendency to view or represent things as they really are.

I don’t tend to take spring training numbers too seriously because of the many things that are going on behind the numbers themselves; adjusting arm slots, new batting stances, adding secondary pitches, coming back from injuries. The Mets starters have given up 65 total runs in 76.2 innings. I admit that this does not ring confidently in most Met fans’ ears especially after last season. But at what point do we look toward the 162 games in front of us in a matter of days? One of the big arguments is that fans are looking at these pitchers in ST and not seeing anything change from last year. One can’t have it both ways. Either you see validity and importance in the ST numbers or you look to the regular season as the numbers that count.

Deal or no deal? Would you feel more at ease if the “Big Three” shut down every batter they face but then when they face continuous ML-ready competition, they gave up meatballs constantly? Or would you prefer them to do what they have done this spring and then when the Opening Day bell rings, they compete? The tough part about this scenario is that we don’t see the fullness of the picture. They are still playing Spring Training games. Not one regular season game that counts has been played yet. From what I hear, Jerry and Omar don’t even know for sure who will be in the bullpen, or the starting roster, barring a few exceptions. That’s still to be determined. The fact that Niese is being discussed on March 30th as the possible #3 starter, then Maine discussed as the #2 on March 31st, the claiming of Manny Acosta from waivers, and the impending return of Henry Owens says to me that they are still scrambling to make changes to the makeup of the team. So how serious can we judge the total picture in March? C’mon, how many of you knew with no doubt that Green and Parnell would be heading to Buffalo? If you’re honest, most of us had no idea. You heard how the Mets raved about them and you figured them a lock, too.

Optimism is what the Met fans see in the potential of guys like Mejia, Takahashi, a renewed and healthy Reyes and Beltran, the newly acquired Jay-Bay, a revitalized D-Wright, and young bats like Chris Carter, Ike Davis, F-Mart, Russ Adams, and Ruben Tejada. The optimists are looking at what they have and expect a favorable outcome, such as a Wild Card berth and higher than the much-projected 4th place finish in the NL East. Realism is those concerned with what is actually there. They represent the things that are actually there. But the realists’ scope is a small sample set because all they can see is ST performances against mainly minor league competition. Is this enough to make the realists’ case for a Mets team that is not good enough for the postseason? Is any other data or information needed before making a final determination?

Reality is when you look at the Mets, you see a team with a winning ST record. Why doesn’t that excite the realist? Real numbers, real results. Wins. The reason why the fans that consider themselves realists and say that the Mets current team has no chance and they will be in 4th place at season’s end is because they don’t see the full picture. My intended point is that the realists can’t possibly win this war over optimism until the battle is actually over. I will even revert back to a comment I made and still make today. Give the “Big Three” 20 games into the regular season before we determine what is real. Let’s say Friday, April 30th to be exact. This should give them approximately three starts a piece. We don’t need much more than that to see if what we have is a mirage which will culminate into a 4th place finish and another disappointing season or if what we have, with the implemented changes, is a real chance at contention in the East and possibly into the playoffs.

Optimists, realists, the floor is yours. Keep it clean and respectful. Make your points. Share your opinions. As far as I’m concerned, the war belongs to the optimists until and perhaps after April 30th for that matchup against the Phillies.By then, all of our starters would have registered three starts each and we will know at that point, if the Optimists or the Realists got it right.

Ultimately, I just want our Mets to compete and to realize their full potential; A World Championship back in the City That Never Sleeps. Orange and Blue Till I Die.