In his fourth relief appearance of the season, Jon Niese retired two batters and allowed one hit against the Nationals on Sunday. He also pitched a scoreless inning during Saturday’s game, and has yielded just one run in 3.2 innings of relief during this week.
This performance probably cements his spot on the postseason roster. Collins already made it sound like he was a lock prior to yesterday’s appearance, and said he was comfortable with Niese pitching out of the bullpen. (Howie Kussoy, NY Post)
“I’m comfortable because of the fact that he’s not going to beat himself,” Collins said. “What we got to do is get him to understand relieving is just different from starting and to approach it a little bit different early in the count.”
“The one thing about Jon Niese, he’s a perpetual strike thrower,” Collins said. “When you come out of the bullpen, hitters are swinging early. That’s just what you tell guys when you see a relief pitcher.
“We talked about it the other day, don’t be afraid to do something else and don’t be afraid to miss with it because you can throw strikes. If you fall behind, you fall behind, but he’s a good enough pitcher he can throw strikes. It’s a work in progress and we don’t have a lot of time but we’re trying to get him in there.”
While Niese has been disappointing this season with a 4.13 ERA, he can still be a valuable reliever out of the pen. He gives the Mets an experienced lefty and could provide a lot of innings in long relief if needed.
It’s still great to see him be part of the team’s playoff run even though he won’t be rewarded with a start. Niese was a good pitcher for the Mets during some very tough years, and he’s finally getting a chance to experience the postseason.
Niese has been a member of the rotation for eight years, and owns a career record of 61-61 with a 3.91 ERA. Prior to this season, he had a three year stretch with a 3.49 ERA during 84 starts.
