27-year old righty reliever Bobby Parnell can throw fastballs through concrete walls (100 mph fastball), but when he was given a chance to close, he wasn’t up to the challenge. The Mets hope that changes in 2012 as the Mets will probably give him another chance in spring training to win the closer’s job. Parnell has pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 4-6 with 6 saves, a 3.66 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He has given up 59 hits in 59 innings but he has walking 27 batters and that’s way too many. If he can tighten up his control a bit, he should be very effective at the end of ballgames as he has whiffed 64 batters so far this year. Parnell has now pitched in 174 games (8 starts) in his first four years with the Mets and he is 8-15 with 7 saves, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The potential is there for Parnell to have a huge role in the pen in 2012 and beyond, but that will be up to him to take advantage of the shot he’s going to get.

The Mets are now on their 3rd closer since dealing Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers. Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell both failed to keep the job, so 30-year old righty Manny Acosta will be getting his chance. Acosta has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 3-1 with 2 saves, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has given up 44 hits in 42 1/3 innings this year, but he has limited the damage due to only walking 13 batters while whiffing 43 of them. It will be interesting to see if Acosta is up to the challenge or not.

Coming into this season, 26-year old righty swinging infielder Justin Turner played in 21 games in his first two years in the majors and he was 4 for 35 (.114 avg, .368 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs. Turner was needed to play quite a bit this year for the Mets due to injuries all over the infield and he has done a good job. Turner has played in 107 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 110 for 411 (.268 avg, .697 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 4 homers, 49 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. It looks like Turner has found a new home with the New York Mets.

36-year old righty knuckleballer R.A. Dickey has been outstanding lately for the Mets. In his 7 starts in August & September, Dickey is 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 30 games (29 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 8-11 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only walked an amazing 47 batters while whiffing 119 of them in his first 187 innings this year, which proves that Dickey has really mastered the knuckleball due to his control. Dickey has now pitched in 57 games (55 starts) in his first two years with the Mets and he is 19-20 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Dickey is a late bloomer who could pitch for a long time as the pitch he likes to throw doesn’t cause too much stress on the arm.

Injuries and deals have opened up P.T. for some of the younger players on the Mets’ roster, and they have responded well so far. 21-year old righty swinging Ruben Tejada has taken over at 2B for the Mets. He has played in 76 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 70 for 249 (.281 avg, .703 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 0 homers, 26 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Tejada might get a shot to start in 2012 for the Mets at SS (if Jose Reyes leaves as a free agent) or 2B (if Reyes re-signs). 25-year old lefty swinging RF/1B Lucas Duda has been swinging a potent bat since Carlos Beltran was dealt to the Giants. He has played in 85 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 70 for 249 (.281 avg, .830 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 9 homers, 45 RBIs and 1 stolen base. 25-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Nick Evans has also played well for the Mets so far this year. He has played in 38 games for the Mets so far this year and he is 27 for 92 (.293 avg, .893 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 17 RBIs. There is no reason to think this trio won’t continue to get a lot of P.T. the rest of the year, and the Mets hope that all of them finish strongly.