Staff report
A 4-2 loss to the Florida Marlins ended the New York Mets’ season as well as their tenure at Shea Stadium. Citi Field will open next year, and Bobby Parnell (East Rowan) will go down as the final Mets pitcher to record an out at Shea. He entered with two away in the top of the ninth inning, and Jorge Cantu flied out to center field.
Parnell, a September call-up, threw a total of five innings in six appearances out of the bullpen. He allowed three hits, gave up three runs, issued two walks and struck out three batters en route to a 5.40 ERA. He didn’t allow a hit or run in four outings.
New York fell short of the playoffs on the final day of the regular season for the second straight year, and Mets general manager Omar Minaya said the 2007 team had more talent. He praised the 2008 squad for overcoming injuries that forced unknown commodities such as Parnell, Ramon Martinez and Daniel Murphy to contribute during the stretch run.
“We had a kid like Bobby Parnell pitching big innings for us,” Minaya told reporters. “I thought this team did a great job getting us to today.”