Bobby Parnell Needs a Robert Downey Jr Comeback

We are all witnesses to the ultimate demise of Bobby Parnell. Right there on your TV or in person at Citi Field you are beholding the public destruction of a human being. Parnell is being trotted out to the mound to act as someone who can perform when ultimately he cannot succeed.

Last night Collins had him on the mound in a tie game in the 7th inning with runners on 1st and 2nd. 2 pitches later to Ryan Zimmerman the Nats took the lead for good. Not a save opportunity for Parnell, but a continuation in the pattern of failure that he has stitched for himself this season.

Hitters are batting over .300 against Parnell. That's just ridiculously bad. Parnell has blown 5 out of 10 save appearances, but instead of placing him in situations where he can succeed and get some confidence, the Mets are using him like he is a reliable arm to use in close games.

Parnell seems to be a quiet guy, but this public humiliation has to be eating at his confidence and can't be of any help to his performance. Very few people can come back from public disgrace. You can rattle them off pretty easily all those that have failed and yet to be redeemed. Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Richard Nixon, Bill Buckner (except for a recent Curb Your Enthusiasm cameo), Lawrence Taylor.  You get the point.

Robert Downey Jr. is one of the few exceptions. Guy was as low as you can get and now we can't get enough of him. From drug and alcohol abuse to being Iron Man. That's quite a leap.

Rick Ankiel is one of the few sports examples I can think of as far as an insurmountable comeback, but he had to switch positions to do it.

I doubt that Parnell can make this type of comeback. I think mentally he's finished. Remember Eddie Kunz? Yeah, me neither, but about 3 years ago he came up from the minors to be the Mets closer while Wagner was injured. One blown save later during a pennant race, you'll never hear from him again.

That's where Parnell is headed. Unless he's got some Iron Man rejuvenation in him somewhere.

Solving the Pitching Equation

Move over John Nash, I'm here to rewrite the formula for the Mets pitching.

So Billy Wagner is out. John Maine is questionable. Pedro Feliciano is dead to me. And there's crazy talk about limiting Mike Pelfrey. Last I checked this was the major leagues, not Little League where you could only pitch 6 innings a week.

Here's my not-so-humble opinion on what the Mets need to do with their current pitching situation.

1. Leave Johan Santana, Oliver Perez, and Mike Pelfrey alone.
Don't touch 'em. Don't talk to 'em. Just let them be. Right now all three of these guys are pitching consistently well. They're in a groove and you don't want to screw with that. Who knows what an extra day off will do to Perez's psyche? Extra time to think is the last thing he needs. Pelfrey is at the top of his game and is getting into the flow of pitching every 5th day. Giving him a week off at a time could totally throw off his timing. If it's not broke don't fix it.

2. Bring Me Young Arms
Get on the phone and call New Orleans or Binghamton and bring up some young arms. If John Maine is out I want Jon Niese pitching in the big leagues. If we're going to blow this season let's get the kids some reps so we know what kind of chops he's got. I don't want this year's version of Brian Lawrence or has beens. Let the kids pitch. Also bring back Eddie Kunz. If I have to watch Feliciano, Heilman or Duaner blow another game I might just kidnap them so I don't have to see them again. Let someone else blow games. Kunz wasn't given the opportunity to get into an every day role and he deserves a better chance. Can he possibly be any worse than what we saw against the Astros?

3. One more arm
If the Mets are serious about a run this year, they have to go out and get one more arm. Don't tell me that no one's available. We got Luis Ayala for a song and a dance. There are people to be had, but the Mets aren't taking the risk to get them. I'm not for trading any top prospects for a two-bit reliever, but I think it's fairly evident that this bullpen needs an enema. Give me another arm to change the scenery behind that right field wall. I don't care who it is, but I'll take anyone over Blowenwess at this point.

The Winds of Change are Gusting

The Mets are no longer in first place. Their proclaimed everyday left fielder is no longer playing left field. Their starting rotation now has huge holes. And the oldest team in the NL now has 4 rookies on their roster.

All this happened in the span of a week.

Welcome to life as a Mets Lifer in 2008. John Maine is now headed for the DL leaving an enormous gap in the starting rotation. Pedro is unreliable. The Mets refuse to win for Johan Santana. Mike Pelfrey is having to deal with making adjustments midway through a season. And unbelievably Oliver Perez is the most reliable starter.

You want to know the crazy thing? The starting rotation isn't the biggest problem. As you well know, here at Mets Lifers we've  been preaching about the Mets need for bullpen help since April. So what does Mets management do about it? Nothing. Well, actually today they called up Eddie Kunz from the minors to hopefully invigorate a beleaguered bullpen that can't close a game to save their lives.

Kunz will be the 4th rookie on the roster joining recent call-up Dan Murphy, Nick Evans, and Argenis Reyes.

Why has the team's situation changed so drastically in the last week? Because it's the Mets and this it what they do. Be prepared for a long stretch of games coming our way. We're playing some of the worst teams in the NL over the next two weeks and the Mets desperately need another win streak to right this ship. This team should handedly beat the Padres, Pirates, and Nationals over the next 14 days, but that doesn't mean they will.

The sad part is even with all this change, it's not the change the Mets need. The right type of change is spelled B-U-L-L-P-E-N-H-E-L-P.

Dan Murphy, Welcome to the Big Leagues

Adam Rubin of the Daily News is reporting that minor league phenom, Dan Murphy, has been called up to the majors to replace Marlon Anderson who was put on the 15-day DL. Marlon Anderson apparently has a"hamstring injury." If this is the only way to get Marlon Anderson off the Mets, I'll take it.

Some are calling Dan Murphy the Mets best hitting prospect, even better than Fernando Martinez. Apparently Murphy has played a little bit of everywhere in the minors this year including 3B, 2B, 1B and left field.

I love watching the young guys get playing time, but not as much when we're in a losing streak and slowly slipping away. However, I've heard a lot about Dan Murphy that makes me curious to see what this kid has got.

Is he being called up as trade bait? Possibly, but I think it's a little late for that kind of maneuver. If the kid can truly hit he might be that little spark that gets a club going.

Too bad he can't pitch out of the bullpen. Anyone have Eddie Kunz's number?

2008 Mets Top Prospects

The always informative TopProspectAlert.com just released their updated mid-season list of the top prospects in the Mets farm system.

We all know #1 is Fernando Martinez, the prize jewel of the Mets farm system, but the rest of the top 10 is a mix of unknowns and once heard. The big surprise to me is that pitching prospect Eddie Kunz, who started the season as the #2 prospect dropped to #7, and was replaced in the 2 spot by little known pitcher Ike Davis.

Evan young Nick Evans cracked the top 10 after his call up this season. Check out the top 10 list and other information on the Mets farm system by visiting TopProspectAlert.com.