Manny Parra. What do we do with Manny Parra? That's the question that has to be answered this year. Like a lot of players on this team, he has a lot of potential and upside. But this 27-year old lefthander has yet to really put it all together. The problem with Manny Parra is that is seems to be all in his head. Without knowing him personally, I have no choice but to speculate on things like this. But I have intently watched these players for several years, so I feel like I am qualified to make these claims. And if I'm wrong then no troubles bubbles. After all, this site and these articles are just my opinions backed up for statistical evidence that tries to rationalize it all. And if you don't like it, start your own Brewers blog and counteract my claims. I'd love to debate you on the internet. Glad I got that out of the way. Other players with potential like Rickie Weeks have had a hard time getting there because they can't stay healthy. Manny Parra has been fine physically, but he seems to lose control in certain situations.
He has great velocity and he throws 4 pitches with lots of movement, and back in 2007 at AAA Nashville, Parra pitched a perfect game. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term (I don't know why I'm explaining this because you wouldn't be reading if you didn't know shit about baseball) a perfect game is when the pitcher (or a combination of pitchers) do not allow a batter to reach base and retire 27 consecutive opposing batters. To accomplish this feat (as only 18 pitchers have in Major League History) the pitching and the defense (because if a batter reaches base an account of an error, there is no possibility for a perfect game) needs to be spot on. Granted Parra did this at AAA, but regardless of which level you do it at it is still a pretty impressive feat. That was a little pointless and time consuming, but I felt that it was necessary to point out that Manny Parra is capable of pitching well and we should not give up on him yet.
As I have mentioned before (most likely in the Gallardo or Stetter article, I'm too lazy to go back and look at my own work) the Brewers have historically had difficulty drafting pitchers and moving them up to the Major Leagues. That is why Manny Parra's success with us is all the more important. We don't want to see him put it together as a member of another team. In 2008 he was 10-8 with a 4.39 ERA. Not too bad for his rookie year, but he's certainly capable of being much better. In 2009 he was being counted on (along with Gallardo) to anchor the pitching staff and provide the second half of a very good 1-2 punch. But Manny failed to deliver and was sent down to the minors to figure it out. After he returned he had a few good outings mixed in with the terrible ones, but they weren't enough to make his overall stat line look respectable. He finished with an 11-11 record with a 6.36 ERA. Obviously it was a big step backwards. This year we brought in two new lefties (Doug Davis and Randy Wolf) plus Chris Narveson emerged as a fantastic option at he end of last year and in Spring Training of 2010, so the question is what to do with Manny. He's out of options so he could and would be claimed by another team if we tried to send him back down. For all the reasons mentioned before plus a previous situation including former Brewers prospect Jorge De La Rosa, we need to stick it out with Manny and allow him to blossom in a Brewers uniform.
Jorge De La Rosa was a pitching prospect in the Brewers minor league system. He was ineffective as a reliever and had a 4.46 ERA in 2005. In 2006 he fell off the deep end and sunk to a 8.60 as both a starter and a reliever and he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. After struggling there he found himself with the Colorado Rockies, and in 2009 he went 16-9 with a 4.38 ERA. A lot of people including the Brewers management now feel like we gave up on him too early and we should have given him more time to work it out. But unfortunately 2010 for Manny is a make it or break it kind of year, as we simply do not have the time to allow a starting pitcher have a 6+ ERA. Parra is starting 2010 in the bullpen and could find himself in the starting rotation, but that is to be determined. There are several other factors to be considered before assigning him to that role.The Brewers already have 2 lefthanders in the starting rotation but that might increase if Chris Narveson continues where he left off last year. Jeff Suppan is currently on the DL which does temporarily open up the 5th spot for Parra, but first he will have to pitch in relief and earn that spot. I do believe that Manny is more effective in a starting role because of his mental instability. It takes a certain mindset to be a reliever rather than a starter because often you have to come in the game in tight situations and get out of the jam. If a starter gives up 3 runs every time they go out and pitch, that's considered pretty damn good. But if a reliever gives up 3 runs every time they go and pitch, that's pretty damn bad. A starter always has a little more leeway because they can start the game by giving up a run or two but then settle down and have a quality start. Manny Parra seems to have some kind of mental breakdown when the going gets tough. Most pitchers find a way to work out of the jams the create, but when Manny gets bad the floodgates open and the runs start flowing for the other team.
But that is where new pitching coach Rick Peterson comes in. If he can work with Manny to stay cool, calm and collected when the pressure starts to mount, Manny can be that #2 pitcher that everyone has predicted him to be. Manny has the best pure talent of any pitcher on the staff, and when he is on he dominates the competition. It is truly a pleasure to watch him pitch when he dialed in, but like I said it's frustrating to see him when he is not. Manny Parra is 27 years old, which seems a little too old to still be considered young. But a lot of pitchers get into their prime in their late 20's or early 30's, and I have a feeling that Manny is about to do that. 2010 will be a very important year for him, and he's going to have a breakthrough year if he puts up stats like this (assuming that he starts, which is what he has to do if he is to benefit the team):
4.14 ERA, 13-10 record, 171 innings pitched, 120 strikeouts and the be Manny that we always knew that he could be.
This is assuming that Manny Parra does find his way into the starting rotation. One player that may have a say in that is Chris Narveson, who came out of nowhere last year and became the answer to the starting pitching woes. Where other pitchers failed to step up and help the team, Narveson succeeded and earned himself a spot on the 2010 Opening Day roster. Like Parra, he too is currently pitching out of the bullpen. But if he pitches anywhere near like he did last year and in Spring Training of this year, it's going to be really hard for Manager Ken Macha to leave him out of the starting rotation. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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