tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20149989.post7901825358657717839..comments2024-01-10T16:29:30.043-05:00Comments on Fonzie Forever: Bobby Parnell is Good-NotJames Esattohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13823705871077609158noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20149989.post-84133407857113246162010-02-19T17:27:55.317-05:002010-02-19T17:27:55.317-05:00parnell was blowing away the red sox, where were u...parnell was blowing away the red sox, where were u then?<br /><br />im not saying he is the second coming<br /><br />but he has the potential to be a gr8 8th inning man/closer, seriously when he was shutting the door day in and day out, he was more than just an asset, he WAS the 8th inning man<br /><br />the guy was shifted around to the bullpen and it was his first yr in the majors with all those innings as a bullpen man, i think he deserves a break for how he pitched as a reliever/starter late in the season...<br /><br />the guy was phenomenal early in the season against very good competition...to say he is not good is just not fair...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20149989.post-62126111348779772932010-02-19T11:44:25.565-05:002010-02-19T11:44:25.565-05:00Chris,
Predictably, I agree with your agreement ...Chris, <br /><br />Predictably, I agree with your agreement of me (haha).<br /><br />I will say however that high walk/ high strikeout guys are more likely to be able to have a high WHIP and still succeed. You see it all the time. <br /><br />That's because a walk is less harmful than a hit, and a strikeout is the best kind of out. So Parnell doesn't necessarily have to get that WHIP under 1.30 to be good.Brian Manganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163919142076839950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20149989.post-53619165903998920732010-02-19T11:31:32.279-05:002010-02-19T11:31:32.279-05:00I totally agree with you. Too many fans fell in l...I totally agree with you. Too many fans fell in love with Parnell in the first two months of the season because of his ERA while his WHIP was mediocre. I cautioned people to temper their expectations because he walked too many hitters to keep his ERA at that level. In the first two months, his ERA was better because he kept the ball in the park; but the wheels predictably came off when he continued to allow 1.50+ base runners per inning. For Parnell to turn into a quality 8th inning setup man, he will have to lower his walk rate significantly; otherwise he's actually a worse version of Sean Green...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664921035541309568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20149989.post-84120509280653964792010-02-19T11:26:08.381-05:002010-02-19T11:26:08.381-05:00Thanks for the compliment, Lew.
I'll tell y...Thanks for the compliment, Lew. <br /><br />I'll tell you though - the stats I quoted above were only from his bullpen work. His starting work was unspeakably bad. <br /><br />I'll definitely give him the benefit of the doubt that he can improve if given another full year in the bullpen (where I think he belongs).<br /><br />He will really need to work on things though. His fastball actually graded out as a below average pitch last year despite its speed -- maybe because he threw it 78% of the time. His slider was actually above average. <br /><br />I'm optimistic about his future usefulness (and maybe he's got a 5% chance of becoming really good) but I don't think he's even close right now.Brian Manganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163919142076839950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20149989.post-48632057894326133112010-02-19T10:00:53.510-05:002010-02-19T10:00:53.510-05:00You guys have a great blog and I generally agree w...You guys have a great blog and I generally agree with what you write, but I disagree here. <br /><br />We all know there is a big difference betweem starting and relieving. One of the reasons Parnell walked so many in the minors was because he was trying to develop his not-so-good secondary offerings. <br /><br />In the pen, he can pretty much focus on two pitches and dial the heater up a few mph. <br /><br />I am not ready to annoit him the 8th inning guy, but I think it is too much a swing in the other direction to call him "not good." <br /><br />I think his walks will decline this year as he gets more established in the pen and in the ML. <br /><br />I also like my rose-colored glasses!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05107443295708283998noreply@blogger.com