Jon Niese didn’t take his trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates too bad. In fact, you could say he sounded like a guy who was relieved to be putting the /New York Mets behind him.’
Never being one to hide his emotions, especially if his defense let him down, Niese told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “I didn’t enjoy facing the Pirates; they have a great lineup,” Niese said. “But, I’m sure what I’ll appreciate more than anything is the way the Pirates play defense. I’m looking forward to that.”
Biertempfel said Niese sounded like someone who wanted to get his issues with the Mets defense off his chest. “It would seem that’s been stuck in his craw for awhile now, and it came flying out the first chance he got on Wednesday.”
According to Big League Stew, Niese joins a Pirates team that led MLB in total chances (6,459), putouts (4,469) and assists (1,868) in 2015. But they also made 122 errors, the second most in MLB, the price he says of being aggressive.
Niese, who went 9-10 with a 4.13 ERA in 33 appearances with Mets last season, must have given Pirates GM Neal Huntington an earful as well.
During his press conference, Huntington said that his new left-hander’s numbers should improve because last season Niese was unhappy with how the Mets used him especially when he had to pitch in a six-man rotation.
Methinks thou dost protest too much, Mr. Niese. We’ll see you on June 6 when the Pirates come to Citi Field for a three-game set. June 6… D-Day.
