I’m growing tired of watching these Mets pitchers compete for the fifth starter job. I just wish the Mets would go with Jon Niese at this point and let everybody else go. And I mean everybody including Tim Redding and his guaranteed contract.
I’ve seen all I needed to see from Redding. I’ve been opposed to him since the day we signed him and have debated him right here on this site and many other Mets sites in the past two months.
As if last weeks performance against the University of Michigan wasn’t terrible enough, Redding got smacked around by the Marlins who seem to rejoice in our misery. They partied like it was 1999 against Redding and lit him up for nine runs in just two inning including three homeruns that were literally crushed into orbit. His stuff has fooled nobody and in two outings he has yet to register a strikeout. And this is the guy who will be our long reliever because he sucked too bad to be a five starter?
Why do we sign these guys after they have offseason surgery sight unseen?
I can’t blame Redding for taking the Mets $2.25 million dollars when he had yet to prove he was even healthy. But I can blame the Mets for making the offer in the first place when there were so many other healthier options out there like Randy Wolf or Jason Marquis (via trade).
I applauded the Freddy Garcia signing at the time it happened ,because at least before he was hurt and had surgery, he had a record of accomplishment, plus it was a minor league deal.
But what exactly did the Mets see on Redding’s resume that prompted them to just hand him a guaranteed contract?
Every time I read something that suggests that Jon Niese will start the season in AAA I get totally peeved. In my opinion he is the best of the bunch right now and that includes Livan Hernandez. He has taken the competition more serious than anyone else and his curveball has been a marvel to look at along with his other pitches. He’s a lefthander and in the NL East you can never have too many lefthanders.
If I’m going to live and die with one of these pitchers than let it be Niese. He may not have the service time that the others have, or the gray hairs, or the extra pounds, but at least he brings a refreshing enthusiasm, an endless supply of energy and a mountain of upside.
