Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Everybody Loves Parnell


According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mets balked at trading Bobby Parnell for Scott Hairston. Omar Minaya's not alone in his love for Parnell - 83% of MetsBlog readers wouldn't have made the trade, either.

I don't understand the infatuation with Parnell. OK, he throws really hard. That's nice. But, he's almost 25 years old and the results are lacking. Parnell has a 4.88 ERA this season. He has 26 Ks and 16 BBs in 31 innings. He has a GB/FB ratio of less than 1. All of these numbers are below average. His minor league track record isn't great, either. The last time he had an ERA under 4 for a whole season was for the Cyclones in 2005. I know he throws really hard, but what's the upside? Solid middle reliever. That's what we're clinging to?

Scott Hairston is not a superstar, but he's pretty useful as a cheap everyday player. He has an .894 OPS this season and is a strong defensive player. But, this isn't about Hairston. If Omar's getting a lot of inquiries about Parnell and thinks he can get someone better, that's fine with me. My fear is that the Mets are missing out on an opportunity to trade him while his value is at its highest. Once Parnell has a full year of crappy results under his belt, will the offers still be coming?


Props to Coachie for the images.

6 comments:

Coachie said...

On a team like this, going nowhere, with the window of opportunity for winning closing, if not closed, no one should be untradeable.

Anonymous said...

What about Heath Bell? Why shouldn't Minaya hold on to young power?

cannatar said...

The comparison to Heath Bell isn't fair. Bell's ERA with the Mets was shitty, but he had an excellent 3.5:1 K:BB ratio.

So, there was plenty of reason based on his stat line to think that Bell was a quality reliever. There's nothing similar in Parnell's stat line.

Anonymous said...

Yes, but what is really the point? The team has so many holes, acquiring role players is not going to make a difference. We may as well ride it out.

coachie said...

That's exactly the point, the Mets have been sliding towards this point for the past few years. Time to abandon ship.

Fred Coupon said...

Perhaps Parnell can build on his tiny scoreless inning streak to increase his trade value. He can join Sheffield, Feliciano, Church and Schneider on the trading block. Those are the only worthwhile players on the roster for other teams to consider.