Manuel has talent to work with in bullpen

One aspect of this Mets team that Jerry Manuel is excited about is the improved back end of the bullpen.

Unlike last September when he made repeated trips to the mound, sometimes on a batter-by-batter basis, everyone knows who will pitch the eighth and ninth innings this season. J.J. Putz gets the eighth, followed by Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth.

What figures to be interesting, however, is the road to the eighth.

Sean Green probably will get the first crack at pitching the seventh inning, but Manuel has raved about the progress made by hard-throwing righthander Bobby Parnell. Continue