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Parnell, Niese Mets feature

By Brian MoritzPress & Sun-BulletinNEW YORK - The New York Mets' playoff chances have been, and could still be, inthe hands of Jon Niese and BobbyParnell.Niese's third big-league start came on Monday in a 9-5 loss to the Chicago Cubsin front of a nearly packed Shea Stadium in a game with huge pennant-race implications.He was considered for a key start today against Florida before Friday's loss put the Mets' playoff hopes at risk. Instead, ace Johan Santana will start on three days' rest.But, in three big-league starts Niese got the chance to be in the middle of a major league playoff chase."It's an adrenaline rush for sure," Niese said on Wednesday. "But I try to treat it like any other start and go out there with the same mentality that I did when I was pitching in the minors: Try to get outs as early and as often as I possibly can."In the later innings, the Mets' playoff hopes could fall to Parnell, who would be making just his fifth big-league appearance."The thought crosses my mind, but I try to push it right out," Parnell said. "Istill have to go out there and perform, go out there and get some outs. It's all pressure you put on yourself."Niese and Parnell have come a long way since the first week of April, when they

opened the season as the Binghamton Mets' top two starters.Niese has made three major league starts, and is 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA. Parnell has been converted to a reliever, and he has allowed just one earned run in his four appearances."They've done a great job and really handled it well," said Mets reliever AaronHeilman, who played for the B-Mets in 2002. "They've come out here and worked hard, they do their work before the game. It's certainly difficult to have that kind of put on them right in the first month, but to their credit, they've done agood job."New team, new rolesIn some respects, Niese expected to be right where he is this year.The Mets' seventh-round pick in the 2005 draft, he was the B-Mets' opening day starter this season. He went 6-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 22 Double-A starts. After a s

tellar month at Triple-A (5-1 in seven starts), he was called up to New York."I've always dreamed of playing in the big leagues," Niese said. "My goal was to get here as soon as possible, and I think I've done the right stuff."In his second start, Niese fulfilled the promise he showed on opening day at NYSEG Stadium, where he threw five innings of one-hit, five-strikeout ball againstTrenton. On Sept. 13, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves, he threw eight shutout innings to pick up the win.But on Monday, he gave up a grand slam to Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis in a costly loss at Shea. He has made it past the third inning just once in three starts."It's been kind of a roller coaster at times, but all in all it's been good," Niese said. "I'm feeling great. You know, I've had a couple of bad innings, but all in all, it feels great."Mets manager Jerry Manuel kept his options open all week. Along with Niese, one-

time B-Met Nelson Figueroa and Brandon Knight were candidates for the starting role today. Manuel also brought up Parnell's name."Parnell has started (in the minors), but he hasn't been stretched much, and he's a young guy," Manuel said.Parnell finds himself in a new role. He has been a starter for virtually his whole life. He came up to the majors having made just two relief appearances in his pro career - in his first minor-league appearance in Brooklyn (where he relieved future B-Mets teammate Salvador Aguilar) and in his last one in New Orleans last month."It's different - you've got to be ready every day and waiting for that phone ca

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ll (from the dugout)," said Parnell, who was 10-6 with a 4.30 ERA in 24 starts with the B-Mets. "As long as I'm pitching I can come out of the 'pen or be a starter. Once you get in a role, get in that routine, you get used to it."Parnell has a 5.79 ERA with three strikeouts and two walks in the majors. On Friday, he allowed two earned runs on one hit and a walk in the Mets' 6-1 loss to the Marlins. On Wednesday, he threw a scoreless eighth inning, throwing 12 pitches, five for strikes, and getting Kosuke Fukoudome to ground into an inning-ending double play.Life in the big leaguesOn the floor of Parnell's locker in the back of the Mets' clubhouse in Shea Stadium sits a good-sized pink backpack."This is the second one, actually," Parnell said, picking it up and turning it so the front faces out. "The first one had a pretty little princess on it. This one's got a big frog on it."The backpack's filled with assorted necessities. Things like fingernail clippers, band-aids, pain relievers. As the pitcher with the least big-league experience among the Mets' relievers, it's Parnell's job to carry the pink backpack to the bullpen before the start of every game."I don't mind carrying it," Parnell said. "I'd rather be carrying a pink book bag up here than be in the minor leagues. It's really an honor to carry it."It's the kind of rookie hazing that all first-year big leaguers have to go though."We all had to dress like swimmers, (wearing Speedos) like Michael Phelps," Niese said. "But all the guys have been great."

Adjusting to life in the big leagues has been a bit of a challenge for Niese and Parnell - as it is for any pitcher called up, especially one in a pennant race."It just takes a while to kind of feel like you belong," Heilman said. "Everybody goes through that adjustment period where you wonder, 'Is my stuff good enough? Do I need to do something different?' Once you realize that what you have is good enough, that it was good enough to get you here and have success at each level, you kind of start to relax a little bit and just go out there every day anddon't try to do too much."They're adapting well. Life in the majors is everything Niese and Parnell always dreamed it was."It was just a lot different than the minor leagues," Niese said. "I had a sense of it, but not all of it. The food, the way they treated us on the road, the hotels ...

"It's all just a dream."