Topic: Don't turn Bobby Parnell into another Aaron Heilman.

This team has a history of putting round pegs into square holes.  Bobby Parnell has pitched as a starter all the way up through the minors and now, without even giving him the chance to see if he could succeed as a starter, Manuel/Omar turned him into a reliever where he's had mixed success to say the least.  It's too late this year (they should have made him a starter when Perez went down - and I'm pretty sure I'm on record as saying that back then) and there's no telling how much they have screwed him up already.  You don't take a young kid who has been a starter and throw him into the bullpen just because the team has a need at that particular time.  It's so short-sighted and potentially damaging to him both physically and mentally.  It takes a long time to re-adjust to being a starter after being converted to a reliever (see Joba) while it takes just two off days to convert a starter into a reliever.  Mets management decided that Aaron Heilman would be a reliever even though he had begun to show potential as a starter (threw a complete game 1-hitter) and never gave him that shot again despite a ton of injuries.  They kept Heilman in the pen (which he hated) while giving starts to Chan Ho Park, James Baldwin and Jose Lima.  I don't want to see Parnell pigeon-holed as a bullpen guy before he gets a legitimate chance as a starter.

Excellent points and I totally agree with you, however; despite our agreement; I'm afraid the Mets brass plan on Parnell to be their setup guy in the future. Putz has an option for 2010, but pretty sure the Mets won't honor it, so the role for the 8th slot will most likely go to Parnell.