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.

38-year old righty reliever Jason Isringhausen looks like he’s starting to run out of gas. In 7 games so far in August, Isringhausen is 1-3 with 2 saves, a 15.00 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. On a positive note, he did get his 300th save of his major league career this month. He has now pitched in 49 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 3-3 with 7 saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Mets probably wish now that they dealt Isringhausen at the trade deadline on July 31st.

36-year old righty knuckleballing starting pitcher R.A. Dickey came out of nowhere to pitch well for the Mets in 2010. He pitched in 27 games (26 starts) for the Mets last year and he was 11-9 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The most amazing thing to me about Dickey last season was his control as he walked only 42 batters in 174 1/3 innings. This year has has already walked 14 batters in 26 1/3 innings and it has gotten him into some trouble. Dickey has pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 1-3 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Mets don’t have a lot of depth in the starting rotation, so they can’t afford to have Dickey revert back to the pitcher he was prior to 2010.

The Mets should just release 28-year old lefty pitcher Oliver Perez and eat the rest of the money owed to him. Perez has pitched in 14 games (7 starts) for the Mets this year and he is 0-4 with a 6.70 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. He has given up 50 hits (8 homers) and he has walked 37 batters in only 43 innings this season. Perez is refusing any attempt by the Mets to send him to the minors. He has now pitched in 98 games (91 starts) in his five years with the Mets and he is 29-28 with a 4.69 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Mets should bit the bullet and cut Perez as he is taking up a roster spot.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Holt came into this season as the Mets’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. It is very hard to imagine what the experts at Baseball America saw in this guy. He has pitched in 12 games (11 starts) in A+AA-ball so far this season and he is 2-6 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.10 WHIP. He has given up 53 hits and he has walked 29 batters already in only 39 innings showing just how awful he has been. Holt has now pitched in 46 games (45 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 14-16 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Holt better get his head on straight if he ever wants to pitch in the show one day.