Jon Niese | New York Mets Fan Blog

Make a Move

The Mets are in the running for a playoff spot, a situation they have found themselves in the past few seasons around the trade deadline. Unfortunately for the past three seasons the Met have failed to secure a spot down the stretch and have missed the playoffs all three years. A common factor with these teams has been their reluctance to make a big time move at the deadline. A move that could put them over the top, changing them from contenders to leaders. So should the Mets change their tune this season and make a trade before the deadline?

I think it is really tempting to say yes, but I am not sure if its the best move. Once Cliff Lee was traded to the Rangers, the trade market lacked a true ace. Sure adding a Ted Lilly or Brett Myers would allow the Mets to move Takahashi to the bullpen, but those guys are not a big improvement over any of the other Mets starters. Come playoff time, it would be hard to take Niese, Dickey, Pelfrey, or Santana out of the rotation. So does the newly acquired pitcher get the boot into the bullpen?

Minaya has done a good job holding onto his prospects the last couple of years. It is finally starting to pay off with some nice depth and big league help, but it still isn’t deep enough to give top prospects away. If they can get one of these guys for scraps, perfect they should make the move. But if the cost is Jenry Mejia, or Fernando Martinez, or even Josh Thole I am not sure it is worth it.

Standing pat, I am not sure the Mets make the playoffs. Perhaps with Beltran and Reyes healthy the Mets offense goes on a tear, but with only four spots in the playoffs and a lot of contending teams, nothing is a lock. It is tempting to make a trade to put the Mets over the top, but not at the cost of tops prospects.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

July 19, 2010 Posted by slavite | Carlos Beltran, Evan Slavit, Johan Santana, Jon Niese, Jose Reyes, MLB, Mike Pelfrey, NY Mets Stuff, New York Mets, Original Content | Brett Myers, Carlos Beltran, Cliff Lee, Fernando Martinez, Jenry Mejia, Johan Santana, Jon Niese, Jose Reyes, josh thole, Mets, Mike Pelfrey, Omar Minaya, RA Dickey, Takahashi, Ted Lilly | No Comments Yet

The State of the Mets Rotation

Currently the Mets sport a rotation of Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathon Niese, RA Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi. Dickey and Takahashi did not start the season in the rotation, but after John Maine and Oliver Perez hit the DL Dickey and Takahashi took over. As of right now Dickey and Takahashi are pitching very effectively and are a big reason the Mets find themselves seven games over .500. With the likely return of Maine the Mets should avoid tinkering with the success of the rotation and put Maine in the bullpen.

To start the season the Mets held out hope that John Maine and Oliver Perez would finally be able to put it together and prove to be reliable pitchers in the rotation; however, neither impressed during their time with the team.

Oliver Perez, probably the player the Mets had the most staked into after awarding him a 3 year 36 million dollar contract a season ago, played so poorly the Mets tried hiding him in the bullpen. Unfortunately he was not even effective there and, after he refused a minor league assignment, the Mets banished him to the DL.

Maine’s story is a little more promising. He did not pitch very effectively to start, but after returning to being primarily a fastball pitcher Maine was able to pitch well enough to keep the Mets in games. The problem was he still had trouble pitching late into games and sustained an injury that forced him out of a game after throwing just five pitches before landing him on the DL.

Maine has recently thrown in a rehab game and is working his way back to the majors. The question is: Should the Mets put him back in the rotation? Right now the Mets are clicking, and a big part of that is the current starting rotation. In addition the bullpen has been more effective as pitchers are pitching six and most of the time seven innings. In fact Pelfrey and Niese started back to back games where they pitched for nine innings. While Dickey and Takahashi will never be top-line starters, they are getting the job done right now and that should not be tinkered with, especially in favor of a player that struggles to pitch five innings.

John Maine’s best career move looks like a transition to the bullpen. He has a lively fastball, but not a ton else and like I keep mentioning, he has trouble going deep into games. In the bullpen only one or two strong pitches are needed to be effective. It would be great to convert Maine into a set-up guy, or if we are lucky an eventual cheaper option to K-Rod at closer when Frankie’s contract is up after next season.

While Dickey and Takahashi’s effectiveness might wane as the season continues, John Maine is not a good replacement. He has had numerous times to prove his worth, and outside of 2007 has failed to do so.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

June 15, 2010 Posted by slavite | Bloggers, Evan Slavit, Francisco Rodriguez, Johan Santana, John Maine, Jon Niese, MLB, Mike Pelfrey, NY Mets Stuff, New York Mets, Original Content | Hisanori Takahashi, Johan Santana, John Maine, Jonathon Niese, K-Rod, Mets, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, RA Dickey | No Comments Yet

Young Guns

For all the heat Omar Minaya got over the off-season, it is about time we give him some credit. While it was definitely warranted to question him in the past, Minaya has looked over a farm system that has provided some quality players for the big league team this season. I am talking about first baseman Ike Davis, and starting pitchers Mike Pelfrey and Jonathon Niese.

Ike Davis has solidified first base for the Mets, a position that has not seen a full season of production since 2006. Carlos Delgado never picked up his play in 2007 and while he went on a tear the latter half of 2008, his bat was pretty much non-existent the first half of the season. With the injury to Daniel Murphy the 2010 season was looking like much of the same with journeymen Mike Jacobs and Fernando Tatis splitting time at the position. Luckily for the Mets Davis had hit well enough in Spring Training and the start of the season for the AAA Buffalo Bisons that there was little resistance to calling him up. While he is barely hitting .260 on the year, he has still provided power with 7 home-runs, great defense, and more importantly…hope for the future.

Pelfrey has flat out dominated from the start of the season. I do not think it is a stretch to say that I feel more confident when he takes the mound than when Johan Santana does. All Pelfrey has done is go 9-1 on the season with a 2.39 ERA. He has given the team the 1-2 punch they have needed, and gives the team loads of confidence every time he takes the mound.

Finally there is Niese. He came up last season and pitched pretty well, but suffered a nasty hamstring injury during his third start since the call-up. The fear was he would not be able to recover enough to warrant a spot in the rotation to start the season. That fear was put aside early as he pitched so effectively during Spring Training that Jerry Manuel put him in the second spot following Santana. During the season Niese has managed to keep the optimism going with a stat-line that reads: 3-2 3.61 ERA 45 K/ 19 BB. To follow that up, Niese had only one blemish in his last start, a double in the third inning. Despite that hit Niese was perfect in a complete game effort where he shut-out the Padres.

Since David Wright and Jose Reyes were called up quite a while ago, the Mets have failed to add impact players to their big league team. This is Pelfrey’s third season, but following last year his career did not look as promising. While it has only been a few months, at this point it looks like Minaya has done a better job with the farm system than anyone has given him credit for. Not to mention the great acquisitions of Angel Pagan, Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, Hisanori Takahashi, and RA Dickey.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

June 14, 2010 Posted by slavite | Bloggers, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Evan Slavit, Jon Niese, Jose Reyes, MLB, Mike Pelfrey, NY Mets Stuff, New York Mets, Original Content | Angel Pagan, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Fernando Tatis, Henry Blanco, Hisanori Takahashi, Ike Davis, Jerry Manuel, Johan Santana, Jonathon Niese, Jose Reyes, Mets, Mike Jacobs, Mike Pelfrey, Omar Minaya, RA Dickey, Rod Barajas | No Comments Yet

Right hamstring tear ends Niese's season

Mets starter Jonathon Niese is out for the season after a Wednesday magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed a complete tear of the right upper hamstring tendon from the bone, a club statement said.

Niese, who was examined at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, will have surgery and is expected to be ready for Spring Training next year.

Niese left Wednesday’s 9-0 win over the Cardinals at Citi Field in the top of the second inning after stretching to receive a throw while covering first base on a potential 3-6-1 double play. He went into a split, missed the bag and collapsed moments later while trying to throw a practice pitch with manager Jerry Manuel and the team training staff on the mound. The left-hander, who was 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA in five starts this season, was helped off the mound and into the clubhouse.

Click here to read the full article – By Doug Miller of MLB.com

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