Benjamin Grimm

That Carlos Gonzalez is pretty good, huh? Too bad the rumors of him being traded to the Mets are so implausible.

I'm sure he'd appreciate it, but doesn't he already have all his parts?

In that case, trading him would have been a bad idea.

You left off the other part: "And there's the potential that he won't be pitching as well." And I know YOU won't be saying that. (Yes, I know I said "everybody" and you always take that personally. I should have said "almost everybody" or perhaps "many people".)

Well, hopefully you'd trade him for someone of a similar age and salary. But maybe get an everyday player instead of a reliever. I think the point of these "trade Parnell" articles is that now really may be the time of his peak value, exactly because of his age and his distance from free agency. A year from now he'll be a year older, paid a bit more, and a year closer to free agency. And there's the potential that he won't be pitching as well. If that happens, everyone will be saying, "Stupid Wilpons! Stupid Sandy! Why didn't they trade Parnell in July 2013?" I at least give credit to the writers who are saying it now, instead of to those who might start saying it once they have hindsight. As I said above, my biggest concern in trading him is that there's no one to replace him that I can see. If dealing him leads to another Frankie Rodriquez or Frankie Francisco, then much, if not all, of the benefit of the trade (whatever it might be) gets undone.

The thing is, I've long believed that closers are overrated, and I still do, but I also see how good it is to have one who's reliable. This is, of course, because whether your closer is good or bad, they're going to be pitching in the ninth innings of close games. Without a good closer, given the managing style that's in vogue, you're going to turn too many wins into losses. So, since closers are so highly valued, then the Mets probably should consider selling high on Parnell. But my problem is: who replaces him? Are they going to turn to another Frank Francisco type? (Gah! I hope not!) Or is there someone that they can groom and who will be ready to step in and get the job done on that contending team that we're hoping (logically or not) to have in 2014?

By Matt Meyers | ESPNNewYork.com wrote: The case for trading Bobby Parnell By Matt Meyers | ESPNNewYork.com As Mets fans learned when the club traded Carlos Beltran for Zack Wheeler two Julys ago, there can still be reasons for summer excitement even if your team is out of the race. Of course, this year�s Mets club has no Beltran-type player -- a star on the verge of free agency who can bring back an elite prospect. So you�re left with a rebuilding also-ran that probably won�t be able to make any big moves at the July 31 trading deadline. A little sad, right? But I�m here to tell you that the Mets have a very valuable piece of trade bait, and they can significantly improve their long-term outlook if they do everything they can to trade closer Bobby Parnell. And here are three reasons why. 1. HE�S GOOD, BUT NOT THIS GOOD Parnell is one of the better player development stories to come through the Mets' system, as he was a ninth-round pick in 2005 out of a small college (Charleston Southern) who had an 8.86 ERA the year he was drafted. He�s become a reliable reliever in recent years, posting a 2.49 ERA last season and a 2.45 mark this year to go with 13 saves, which gives him some cred with those who believe a you need a Proven Closer. Of course, he has a .253 batting average on balls in play, which is by far the lowest of his career and seems a bit flukey, and when you factor in the Mets� brutal defense -- which fails the eye and metric tests -- it almost certainly is. Additionally, he�s given up 22 fly balls this year and not one has cleared the fence. Last year, he allowed 43 outfield flies and 4 left the yard. Also a bit flukey. In other words, sell high. 2. RELIEVERS ARE EASY TO FIND OK, maybe not so easy for the Mets, but a good bullpen is a low priority for a rebuilding club, and reliever performance is so volatile that it�s impossible to know if Parnell will still be effective the next time the Mets are contending. Not only that, but the Mets actually have an impressive group of pitching prospects in their system, and odds are that at least a few of them will end up as relievers because they can�t develop a third pitch, with the likes of Domingo Tapia, Jake DeGrom and Hansel Robles all being prime candidates. As we know, Parnell was a starter for almost his entire minor league career, but the lack of a changeup pushed him to the pen. 3. SCREW THE PHILLIES I�m sort of stealing this idea from ESPN Insider�s Dave Cameron, who argued that the Nationals should trade Rafael Soriano to undercut the market for Jonathan Papelbon, who will presumably be the best closer on the market once the Phillies come to their sense and realize they need to rebuild. Parnell is about as effective as both of those pitchers and under team control for just as long (through 2015). But while it would cost you $26 million for two more years of Papelbon and $28 million for two more years of Soriano, Parnell will probably earn one-third of that over the next two years via arbitration. In other words, the Mets could undercut the market for all expensive closers on the market by offering up Parnell. He is a more attractive trade option due to his price and age, and could probably fetch you a decent prospect from a team like the Detroit Tigers, or possibly an elite one if you also throw in one of the promising arms in the minors (non-Montero or Syndergaard division). That�s right, it�s a chance to add a good prospect and screw over the team�s biggest rival. Sounds like a win-win! Parnell has been a nice story for the Mets, but he�s the best trade chip they�ve got. The club would be doing itself a disservice if it does not try to trade him now because his value will never be higher.

Voting for Tuesday night's loss to the White Sox will close on Friday afternoon after 2 p.m. Schaefer POTG 6/25/13 - White Sox 5, Mets 4 SCHAEFER METS PLAYER OF THE WEEK, 2013 Week ending April 6: John Buck, 7.21 points. Week ending April 13: Matt Harvey, 9.04 points. Week ending April 20: David Wright, 6.24 points. Week ending April 27: David Wright, 4.68 points. Week ending May 4: Ruben Tejada, 5.03 points. Week ending May 11: Matt Harvey, 5.94 points. Week ending May 18: Daniel Murphy, 10.08 points. Week ending May 25: Daniel Murphy, 6.86 points. Week ending June 1: Daniel Murphy, 5.80 points. Week ending June 8: Omar Quintanilla, 4.59 points. Week ending June 15: David Wright, 6.68 points. Week ending June 22: Omar Quintanilla, 5.20 points.

I'd watch that show!

So this is the opposite of the Yahoo Contributor Network thread? I think it may be simultaneously the best of times and the worst of times.

Box score Brown 0.6 Lagares 0.6 Marcum 5.6 Parnell 0.6 Satin 0.6 Young 2

Those stupid fucking Wilpons!

Nellie Fox had the luxury of never having to face Chris Sale!

Nope! Sorry!

Pssst! Aardsma is right handed!

Byrd's pretty good. Nice Swoboda-like catch!

I think we're going to need another nutty album on the CPF Facebook page.

Just bumping this to the next page, otherwise nobody will see it... Elena, by the way, is a snowboarder (or something). Everyone else's photo indicates what they do. Sydney, in case it's not clear, is a soccer player. Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'll let someone else look up the dudes on the list. Elena Hight Agnieszka Radwanska Courtney Force Daila Ojeda Carly Booth Swin Cash Sydney Leroux

I'll let someone else look up the dudes on the list. Elena Hight Agnieszka Radwanska Courtney Force Daila Ojeda Carly Booth Swin Cash Sydney Leroux

I'm a solid 0 for 13. I fear I might be sent to Las Vegas.

He could have simply meant "less pathetic."

Zvon awarded 12 points, and his votes were prorated as follows: Wright 3.08 Lagares 0.83 Quintanilla 0.83 Brown 1.67 Aardsma 0.42 Hawkins 2.17 Edgin 0.33 Parnell 0.67