Parnell was one of the few players that actually excited me going into last season. He started out like a bullet fired from a shotgun in April and May looking rather dominant as the Mets’ seventh inning man. He even had a brief period of success once J.J. Putz went down as the eighth inning guy before losing his confidence, and ultimately his meaningful innings. The Mets could not stop the bleeding with this guy, and after his confidence was completely destroyed, he was further confused when the Mets made him their 5th starter. That was a total disaster, because the Mets barely afforded him the time to stretch out his innings and get comfortable once again as a starting pitcher. Instead, they fed him to the wolves without any confidence or comfort whatsoever. I believe that Parnell still has some upside, which is more than I can say for most of the other members of the Met bullpen. If the Mets are to have any success, it will unfortunately fall on Parnell’s inexperienced shoulders once again. - link
Former World Series MVP Livan Hernandez is coming back for a third tour with the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals and the right-hander agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract, and he will compete during spring training for a spot in the rotation. If added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $900,000, one-year contract and the chance to earn $1.25 million in performance bonuses. The 35-year-old Hernandez went to spring training with the New York Mets last year on a minor league deal and won a spot in their rotation, going 7-8 with a 5.47 ERA in 23 starts before being released Aug. 20. - link
Jeff Francoeur is baseball's 5-hour Energy drink. And when he's swinging the bat well he's the perfect pick-me-up for the Mets. "He's the definition of an optimist," David Wright said yesterday on the eve of the Mets' first full-squad workout, the day the page officially is turned on the disastrous 2009 season. "He's always in a good mood," Wright added. "He always sees the positive side of things. And for everybody else in here, sometimes it's tough to share that optimism in everything in general, but you look at him and it kind of puts you in a better mood." - link
Rod Barajas received his Mets uniform yesterday, but will have to wait for assurance he will be the team's starting catcher. Though no catcher in camp has a resume comparable with Barajas', that isn't stopping manager Jerry Manuel from declaring an open competition for the starting job. "I am not going to anoint that particular spot," Manuel said after yesterday's workouts - link
Manager Jerry Manuel can envision a roster that includes both of the Mets' Japanese imports. The manager watched Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi throw morning batting practice, and seemed impressed by the ability of both to throw strikes. Manuel's battle cry this spring is for all his pitchers to throw strikes. The right-hander Igarashi -- who features a split-fingered fastball -- figures to compete for the setup role while the left-hander Takahashi could be a swingman. - link
No comments:
Post a Comment