If I Were GM...

So, if I were GM I would make a lot of moves that would make sense. This club has more potential than a .500 team and everyone knows it. Making key acquisitions can change this all around and this is how I would do it. And this is in no particular order or importance:

1. Demote Elmer Dessens, promote Bobby Parnell.

Why is Elmer Dessens not in AAA? I don't think anyone can answer that. The only logical reason I can think of is that when they tried to promote someone, it got lost in translation and Elmer accidently came up and Omar was too chicken to say anything. I mean, why else?

Parnell can gas it up to the high 90s. That is a plus fastball that was able to throw past MLB batters last year pretty effectively but he was sent to the minors to work on his secondary pitches. But wait, isn't Jenrry Mejia IN the majors to work on his secondary pitches? Something doesn't add up.

2. Demote Gary Matthews Jr, promote ANYONE

Gary Matthews Jr. is batting .193 and has 1 RBI. That is not a player worthy of the major leagues. Why can't we promote something like Mike Hessman or Jesus Feliciano? Some say they're quadruple-A players and will not carry over their numbers to the bigs... So?? Will they hit better than .193? Would they not be so much better than 11/57 at bats?

The main argument I guess is that they can't play the outfield. If that is what is keeping GMJr on this squad then that is outrageous. Stick Tatis in the outfield, or even Chris Carter. This choice is obvious and is being handled very poorly.

3. Demote Jenrry Mejia after the All-Star break

I have recently accepted the idea of Mejia on the big league roster. If they see Jenrry as a top of the rotation starter, why not prep him by giving him big league batters to adapt against? He's done a great job and now that he's gotten his feet wet, my move would be to send him down. People were outraged when he was granted the bullpen role, but in all honesty, he is 20 years old. How can we say that this will mess him up when he probably won't be in a big league rotation until 2011, with 2010 being a stretch?

In my opinion, getting his feet wet with big league batters is a decent move to get him some of the action he'll be expecting when he is finally ready to fulfill the hype. We all know he's meant to be a starter and a 1-2-3 of Johan, Mike, and Jenrry will be nothing short of incredible.

4. Activate Beltran, Francoeur to the bench

Sorry, Frenchy, but when Beltran is eventually activated from the DL its bench warming or water boy duties for you. Frenchy won't even be a good bat off the bench due to his serious and almost concerning first pitch swing addiction. It almost looks like he just wants to swing at the first pitch and doesn't necessarily believe he got a good read on it.

Pagan has been real solid all season and I can't see him going back to the bench. I can see a RF platoon with Pagan/Frenchy with Jeff only hanging on due to his arm. I love Francoeur, he's a great guy and I love his passion, but I can't watch him struggle at the plate any longer. Hell, I can't even spell his last name.

5. Send Castillo to the DL, promote Reese Havens

I don't know if I'm breaking a certain Mets code, but I like Castillo. I'm not saying I love him, but he's been pretty solid this year and continuing his success from last season. He'll get on base, he'll steal a base, he'll give you average defense, he'll never strikeout. Watching him last night limping with that foot injury, yet also stealing a base, hustling down the line and making a couple of great plays really shows something to the fans. Nobody likes Castillo, but hey, he's not as bad as people say.

I want Castillo out, but he is a pretty solid second baseman for us. I say send him to the DL so he can get his foot a rest and promote Reese Havens. Havens can hit and field, so I think giving him playing time for the 15 or so days that Castillo will be on the DL will get his feet wet and prep him for a serious look he'll most certainly be getting next spring training. Worst comes to worst is he's not ready, and you promote Ruben Tejada or just give Cora the nod.

These are the moves that I would make right now if it were up to me. They don't seem outlandish and they don't seem like a stretch. I didn't add a Cliff Lee trade or a trade for another pitcher because that would be something that would take a while to accomplish, and these moves are meant to be active immediately.

Tell me what you think.. I think it's pretty reasonable.

Who would replace Maine?

John Maine has been doing awful, no getting around that. If he's plunked from the rotation, who would take his place? We clearly didn't think about this before Opening Day, you know, if our starters weren't going to pan out to what everyone was raving about in spring training (because the previous years weren't clear enough). So, my question is, who would replace John Maine is he bombs his next start?

My first thought would be Jenrry Mejia, as if everyone's probably. If they wanted him up in the MLB bullpen, what's stopping them from wanting him in their starting rotation? If they're this high on him and eventually see him as a dominating starter, why not throw him in to the rotation? They'll say he's not ready, but is he really ready to be in the bullpen?

I can obviously scratch off Fernando Nieve for the starters role. Jerry's frequent usage for him late in games, and Nieve being effective, makes me wonder if he'll ever see another start as a Met again. I think if he can lock up the 8th inning and maybe Igarashi can lock up the 7th inning, our starters would only have to go 5 or 6 innings and that helps. But is 5 or 6 innings of giving up a reasonable amount of runs too much to ask of Ollie these days?

I think the next plausible choice would to give Hisanori Takahashi a go. He was fabulous in spring trainging when he started and Manuel might take that into consideration. Though much of the off season was to get a second lefty in the bullpen, I'm not sure if he'd pluck Takahashi as a pen lefty to stick him in the rotation but could easily just be a short term solution.

Maybe give Raul Valdes the nod? He's been talked about a lot and his name has been going around so maybe Manuel will give him the start. He's been highly effective in the bullpen, pitched 5 innings of 3 hit ball, giving up no earned runs and striking out 7. I'm not sure if Manuel wants to tamper with the rhythmn he has being effective in the bullpen, but that's his decision.

Let's not forget about Bobby Parnell, though. Sure, he wasn't sharp when he had a few starts in the 2009 season, but he's over his first season woes and has been fine tuning his splitter in the minors. Why can't Parnell be a starter? Yes, he was good in the bullpen with that fastball that lingers in the upper 90s but if he can improve his secondary offerings and harness a nice splitter, then age is on his side compared to the other contenders for Maine's spot if he loses it soon.

With the bullpen being completely lights out so far, I find it hard to believe Jerry will yank one of those guys without looking at other options. Due to a dominant bullpen early on in the season, maybe Mejia will be sent down to the minors or maybe stick him in the rotation (!). Maybe they'd bring in a free agent (Pedro???) or maybe just leave Maine in there and watch him embarrass himself every fifth day.

Time will tell. What are your thoughts?

Parnell's story

Bret Strelow of the Salisbury Post wrote this article on Bobby Parnell and his college baseball attitude and time as a corner infielder.

I like Parnell a lot. He was a very effective reliever and showed that he can hold his own in a couple of his starts (even though the rest were forgetful). After JJ Putz flopped, he was penciled in as the set-up man and showed he can be effective late into games. He has a great fastball that has the ability to dial up to 100 MPH, but I feel he needs to work on his second offerings. If he has a great changeup to go with that great fastball he could be lights-out with some more training.

Parnell had a great full first season and I look forward to watching what he can offer in 2010 after he has some great MLB experience. In Spring Training he'll fight for the set-up role along with Ryota Igarashi and Kelvim Escobar.

Bobby Parnell, starter or reliever?

Bobby Parnell got the call up in early September to join the Mets 2010 roster. He probably wasn't even ready, but everyone saw his bullet of a fastball and decided to stick him in the pen. I wonder, though, if the Mets would've let him matured in Triple A and practice his secondary pitches (like that splitter), would he of been an effective starter?

He's got the look of one. He's always poised, and always seems focused. Unlike Pelfrey, he doesn't spill his emotions out when someone hits a home run or scores against him. He stays concentrated from start to finish. He doesn't even smile.

Can Parnell be an effective starter? His scouting report includes a hard sinker, high 90s fastball, mid-80s slider which is his strikeout pitch, a developing splitter and a below MLB quality change up. If Parnell would of still of been in Triple A, would he of developed his pitches more efficiently like other young and talented pitchers, such as the Braves' RHP Tommy Hanson and be ready for the 2010 season?