For the first time since last July 30, Bobby Parnell faced live batters on Saturday and threw 36 pitches to his teammates David Wright, Eric Young, and Daniel Murphy – whose bat he shattered. When he was done, it was all smiles for a confident Parnell.
“There was no pain. There was no soreness,” the Mets closer said. “There was nothing holding me back today, so it was a good first step.”
Parnell is returning from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck on Sept. 10.
When asked if he’ll be ready for Opening Day, the 29-year-old right-hander asserted that there was no doubt. “I’ll be good to go,” he said.
I sure hope so…
After the last three day’s of performances by his potential replacements, it’s imperative Parnell is ready to go when the season starts.
Nobody came away impressed after watching Jose Valverde pitch on Friday, and yesterday Kyle Farnsworth couldn’t push his fastball past 88 mph.
Farnsworth’s velocity has been declining each of the last five seasons, steadily dropping from 96.0 mph in 2009, 94.9 in 2010, 94.7 in 2011, 93.2 in 2012 and 92.6 last year.
So far, Scott Rice, Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia have been the only probable relievers to distinguish themselves and each have looked to be in mid-season form. However, of the three, only Familia is assured of a spot in the bullpen. And that’s not definite.
Memo to Sandy: Don’t stop now… Go with the kids…
(Photo by Brad Barr, USATSI)
