Expectations of Eleven: Bobby Parnell

[Edgy MD]

Robert Allen Parnell (Hey! He's an R.A. also!)



Pos: rp; BR-TR.

Born: September 8, 1984 in Salisbury, NC. (He'll be 26 in 2011.) The Mets, hanging on in their first pennant race in forever, and coming off a 10-0 drubbing of the Cubs, get shut the fuck down by Rick Sutcliffe, pitching the best baseball of his life. Thanks for nothing, Ray Knight.

Acquired: Drafted by the Mets in the 9th round of the 2005 amateur draft and signed June 11, 2005. It was as deft a move as one could hope for, considering Bobby went 3-5 with an 8.86 ERA at Charleston Southern that year.

Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	OPS+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	BB-Ref WAR	FG WAR
Buffalo	IL (AAA)	1	1	.500	4.14	24	0	10	0	0	4	41.33	36	22	19	3	17	0	42	1	0	1	177		1.3	7.8	0.7	3.7	9.1	2.5
NYM	NL	0	1	.000	2.83	41	0	10	0	0	0	35.00	41	13	11	1	8	2	33	0	0	0	149	140	1.4	10.5	0.3	2.1	8.5	4.1	0.4	0.7
Total	All	1	2	.333	3.54	65	0	20	0	0	4	76.33	77	35	30	4	25	2	75	1	0	1	326		1.3	9.1	0.5	2.9	8.8	3.0

Wife: None known to man. No woman could handle him.

Random Nickname: Um, "Bobby Tres Nueve."

Namesakes: Goodness, me...


Best Day in 2010: Spending the first half of the season back on the farm, Parnell emerged in the second half seemingly more physically and emotionally mature. At least one of those traits was on display on August 18, as a thundastruck Bobby made nobody long for the injured and suspended and shamed K-Rod, pitching two perfect win-or-go-home innings, striking out three, and hitting 102.5 on the gun, the fastest pitch recorded in the season by anybody to that juncture. Good scoutin', Omar.

Last Word: Bobby enters the season as the team's consensus number two reliever, and sentimental favorite for number one in some quarters, at least until he starts letting those speed gun readings go to his head.

What do you expect of Bobby Parnell in 2011?

[Edgy MD]

Interesting descrepancy between how he was used by Oberkfell and how he was used by Jerry last year. In Buffalo, he pitched 1.72 innings per appearance. In Flushing, it was 0.85.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

That's be awesome if he started going by R.A. Parnell.

Relief pitching is impossible to predict. If he stays healthy and keeps the walks down, he's got the goods to produce Apodacian success:

3-4, 13 saves, 1.49 ERA, 45-28 K-BB in 46 G/84.2 IP, but maybe few less games/innings and a few more whiffs per.

[Ceetar]

I've liked Parnell. I actually think he'll do really well next year and improve. Biggest issue is probably the hits, which maybe means he needs to get his secondary stuff a wee bit better.

I tend to worry, perhaps too much, about guys throwing that hard though. some can handle it, and speed guns are mostly new, but I think about Joel Zumaya who's body seems to explode whenever he throws. Parnell's a different build though.

He'll pitch well enough to have everyone livid (livider) about K-Rod's option early on. I'm looking forward to seeing him come in in relief of Dickey. I want to see opposing batters cry trying to hit 102 MPH fastballs after flailing at knuckleballs all day.

He'll maintain is 4 K/BB rate and cut back on the hits a bit. just a shade under a 2 ERA and 1.3 WAR earned.

[Edgy MD]

If he can level out at 100, I'll be happy.

I think his effectiveness will depend on his usage pattern. We all know that Jerry Manuel was where setup men went to die and Willie Randollph wasn't much more merciful. I was an early adopter of Terry Collins, and I'm hoping for better from him.

[Vic Sage]

projecting relievers is a largely futile excercise.
except for the inevitable blown elbow.

[Theoldmole]

Top setup man, closer if K-Rod injured.

[smg58]

I'll say 68 IP with a 3.00 ERA and 7 saves.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

A K-per-inning suits me just fine, and-- really-- so is the hit rate (his .374 BABIP will come down a bit, but given the straight-ish fastball, he'll always be hittable for the quick bats and choke-up artists). That is... as long as he keeps the walks down.

I'm thinking the usage changes to something more rational (mostly 1-inning jobs, but with a few 2-3 inning stints, and very occasional ROOGYing), and the performance yo-yo act continues to an extent, but a solid overall season emerges:

62 G
66 IP
2-3 record
3.17 ERA/2.50 FIP
1.22 WHIP
61 K/16 BB
9 SV

[Edgy MD]

He has as good a chance as any to be the Angel Pagan Breakout Dude of 2011.

Throwing that hard --- somewhere he can find an location or an angle that can make him untouchable.

Problem is that --- though he may be one adjustment from untouchable --- that walk rate is already kinda high, and he may be one adjustment from a mess. Nonetheless, I'm betting he turns the corner like a righthanded version Randy Myers 1988.

5-2, 2.29 ERA, 55 G, 63 IP, 64 SO, 19 BB. In every interview, he praises Dan Warthen in tones so reverent that it begins to get creepy.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I was thisclose to using Rob Dibble's age-26 year as a template... but his control was just SO much better than Lil' RA's control.

[Guest attgig]

2.89 ERA
9K/9IP
27 saves
1.387 WHIP