For the life of me, I just can’t ever figure this team out sometimes. Here we are hanging on the edge of a cliff and praying that we don’t fall into complete obscurity, and yet with help just a phone call away, the Mets refuse to dial 911.
During the All Star break, I blogged about Jon Niese and wrongly predicted that he would start the second half of the season in the rotation… Nobody’s perfect.
On July 7th, Jon Niese was named the International League’s Player of the Week.
Niese’s five-hitter with 10 strikeouts led the Bisons to a 5-0 victory over the Red Wings. It was the Herd’s first nine-inning blanking since a four-hitter by Scott Elarton over Charlotte in 2004. Niese was 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA in two starts for the Bisons last week.
At the time. Niese had won four straight decisions and was 4-1 with a 1.04 ERA in his last six starts with 39 strikeouts.
Last night, Niese continued to make a strong case for a promotion, but you just never know with these Mets. The Buffalo News writes,
The New York Mets’ prize left-hand pitching prospect won his fifth straight decision, throwing a two-hit shutout at the Toledo Mud Hens, 1-0, in seven innings in the first game of a doubleheader before a crowd announced as 8,485 paid.
Niese needed just 87 pitches, 56 strikes, to dispose of the Mud Hens in a brisk 1 hour, 24 minutes. Even though he had only two strikeouts, Niese was dominating. The two hits against him were singles. The Mud Hens hit only three other balls to the outfield.
I’m really dumbfounded as to why he still remains in AAA, and Nelson Figueroa too for that matter! Figgy pitched another shutout yesterday in the second game of their doubleheader. We have a rotation with Pelfrey and Perez struggling and inconsistent, and Livan Hernandez and Fernando Nieve continue to slide.
Niese has now won five straight, and his ERA in his last seven starts is – get your microscopes out – an incredible 0.72 during that stretch.
Niese remained hopeful when asked about a possible promotion after the game.
“It’s all out of my hands,” Niese said of any possibility of an imminent promotion. “I just concentrate on each outing, try to do my best and hope it’s good enough to get to the next level.”
The Bisons say that Niese came into yesterday’s game as one of the hottest pitchers in all of minor league baseball. The lefty entered the game 4-0 over his last five starts with a 0.83 ERA and 40 strikeouts. He has allowed a mere four runs over his last 43.1 innings pitched.
Why is Tim Redding still wasting a roster spot on the Mets? Lets be done with him already.
If we’re going to keep playing below .500 baseball, I’d rather do it with guys like Niese on the field instead of players who won’t even be on this team next season.
We’re not out of it yet, but there’s nothing wrong with playing the season competitively, and with an eye toward 2010. We have some players that we need to assess for next season. Lets get those players on the field, especially when it looks like they would represent an upgrade anyway.
