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Another Aaron In Waiting? |
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Written by Eric Stashin
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Wednesday, 26 November 2008 |
I feel like we’ve gone down this path with the Mets before, should he
start or should he relieve? We have been hearing that debate
surrounding Aaron Heilman for years now. We hear about Heilman’s
desire to start (2008 being no different), though the Mets obviously
don’t believe he’s capable of handling those responsibilities instead
wanting him to remain in the bullpen. It’s a never-ending debate that
will hang over Heilman and the team until he is finally jettisoned.
Heading into 2009, it’s another pitcher that the debate will rage on about, though this one has a significantly different repertoire.
In Bobby Parnell the Mets have a pitcher with electric stuff, capable of contributing out of the bullpen and maybe even as a closer at some point in his career. Of course, with the rumors of Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes and seemingly every other potentially available pitcher with closing experience fresh in our minds, there’s little chance of that happening this season.
Instead, with the Mets looking to rebuild a bullpen that many felt was the cause of the 2008 collapse, the team has a decision to make. Do they shift Parnell to the bullpen, despite his struggles in 6 relief appearances for the Mets last season (5.40 ERA over 5 innings)? Do they keep Parnell as a starter, where he wasn’t much more impressive in Double A (10-6, 4.30 ERA, 91 K over 127.2 IP) and even less so at Triple A (2-2, 6.64 ERA, 23 K over 20.1 IP)?
The bright spot of his season would be his success in the Arizona Fall League, where he went 3-1 over 7 starts (20 innings), posting an ERA of 2.25 and striking out 20. His control was an issue, however, walking 9 batters over that stretch. In fact, walks were a problem in the minor leagues all season long, with a BB/9 of 4.02 at Double A and 3.98 at Triple A. His best number in his career at any level was 3.58 at Single A in ’07 (55.1 innings), so it certainly is not something that is tolerable from a reliever. When you enter the game in relief, you need to throw strikes, something he hasn’t done consistently. That’s certainly a strike against him coming out of the pen.
We all know that at some point this season the Mets will need someone to make a spot start. Stop using retread starters whose success is five years in the past, if they ever had any major league success. Enough of the Jose Lima’s and Brandon Knight’s of the world. I don’t want to see James Baldwin or Brian Lawrence taking the ball for the Mets. Almost every other team seems to have a young pitcher in reserve, ready to step in and try to steal the spotlight. Why don’t the Mets ever seem to have one of their own (Jonathan Niese excluded, but he’s likely to be in the rotation right out of Spring Training). Another reason for allowing Parnell to start the season as a starting pitcher at Triple A.
I definitely don’t want to see the Mets start him off in the bullpen, with the plan of stretching out as a starter if the need arises. I know there is little proof, but to me asking a pitcher who has been pitching an inning at a time to extend himself out over two weeks and suddenly start throwing 100 pitches could lead to a much higher chance of injury.
Maybe that’s wrong. Maybe that’s a bad assumption. Honestly, I don’t know, but we all saw Joba Chamberlain go through that transformation and ultimately go down to injury. It could be a coincidence, as I know there are pitchers who successfully made the change, but the risk/reward just isn’t there for me.
There are plenty of available arms that the Mets could bring in to fill out their bullpen. Sign a Juan Cruz or a Joe Beimel. Make a trade and bring in a few new faces to fill out the pen. It’s obvious a change is needed there and a power arm certainly could go a long way.
I would not take a shortsighted look at the 2009 season in November, however. Do what you have to do now to make sure you have more then enough bullets in the bullpen without needing someone like Parnell to step in and fill a slot. Over the course of the season, chances are you are going to need starts from 7, 8 maybe even 9 pitchers. Those games cannot be throwaway games started by guys we are throwing out there hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.
Someone is going to miss a start. Weather will necessitate a double header. Whatever the reason is, they need to have a pitcher who can actually take the ball and not only give the team a chance to win, but do so in spectacular fashion. You don’t generally get that with an over-the-hill, washed up cast-off. With Parnell, the opportunity is there.
Keep him in reserve. Let him continue to pile up the innings in Triple A. Don’t manage 2009 in a bubble of the here and now, you have to think long term.
Eric Stashin is a new contributor to Gotham Baseball. You can read more of his work at
RotoProfessor.com
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 26 November 2008 )
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