Archive for the ‘Jonathon Niese’ Category

BY BRYAN ROTHENSTEIN
STACHE WRITER

Hitting grand slams,
Usually hard to do,
Unless you’re playing the 2010 Mets,
They make it easy for you.

10 allowed on the year,
Which lead to 40 runs,
I wish I was kidding,
But that’d not be much fun.

The reality is,
When the bases are packed,
Just swing the bat hard,
4 runs in just like that.

Doesn’t matter who’s pitching,
Whether Niese or Big Pelf,
Even Santana and Ollie,
Felt like sharing the wealth.

It really is crazy,
How easy it seems,
Unless the Mets are batting,
They like to play both extremes.

So next time the Mets are in town,
Gather up the fam,
Bring em all down,
Tell em you’re going deep,
Bringing em all home,
Cuz your facing the Mets,
Guaranteeing a crushing blow.

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY 
EDITOR

The Mets and Braves go back to battle tonight as the Mets look to even the 4 game series up at 1 game a piece. The Game can be seen on SNY and heard on 660 WFAN-AM starting at 7:00 pm

New York Mets Lineup
1. Luis Castillo, 2B
2. David Wright, 3B
3. Carlos Beltran, CF
4. Jeff Francoeur, RF
5. Ike Davis, 1B
6. Henry Blanco, C
7. Chris Carter, LF
8. Ruben Tejada, SS
9. Jonathan Niese, SP

Interesting Fact/Trend: David Wright went 0 for 5 on Monday to drop his average to .070 (3 for 43) in 12 games versus Atlanta this season. He also does not have a hit at Turner Field this season. The Mets have been held to three runs or fewer in each of the series’ last 11 contests, going 5-6.

Atlanta Braves Lineup
1. Omar Infante 2B
2. Jason Heyward RF
3. Martin Prado 3B
4. Derek Lee 1B
5. Matt Diaz LF
6. Alex Gonzalez SS
7. Melky Cabrera CF
8. David Ross C
9. Mike Minor SP

Interesting Fact/Trend: Jason Heyward is hitting .528 (19 for 36) over his last nine games which includes his four hit game from last night and has 4 Homers and 9 Rbi in that time as well.

On The Bump:
The Mets will give the ball to a lefty of their own in Jonathon Niese(notes) (8-6, 3.63), to bounce back as he surrendered seven runs – five in the sixth – and was removed after 5 2-3 innings of an 11-4 loss to Florida on Thursday.

Niese is making his Turner Field debut – he’s 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three home starts against the Braves. He has been excellent away from home recently, going 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in six road outings since July 1.

After matching a franchise record with 12 strikeouts in his latest start, Mike Minor (2-0, 4.00 ERA) will take the mound and look to improve to 3-0 in the Majors. Minor, the 7th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, led the Double-A Southern League in strikeouts before making just five starts in Triple-A, and didn’t waste much time making an impact once Atlanta called on him to start Aug. 9.

The left-hander beat Washington on Aug. 17 for his first major league win, then struck out 12 Cubs in a 16-5 rout Aug. 22 to spoil manager Lou Piniella’s final game in Chicago. He has never faced the Mets in his career.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game:
Hey David, wanna get a hit at Turner Field this season? The guy doesnt have a hit in this ballpark all season and when he isnt hitting, the offense which is so bad to begin with gets alot worse when Wright is not tearing it up in the middle of the order. He is supposted to be the big guy in the middle of the lineup and to be this bad against a team we are chasing, or WERE chasing is just horrific

This is a tweet from Adam Rubin…Mets batting splits … runner in scoring position: .251; scoring position, two out: .201; bases loaded: .194…My suggestion is to improve on this and there is no better time then the present.

Make the young kid work. Minor is just another member of a great young Braves staff and to me, the Mets need to work the count, not fall behind and try to make him throw alot of pitches and work with alot of runners on base and not feel comfortable at all.

LETS GO METS!

BY MATTHEW FALKENURY
EDITOR

Tonight is one of those days in the baseball season you look at your life and you think back to that time you decided the Mets would be your favorite team and you realize how stupid that really was.

Tonight is a game where the Mets should have cruised to a victory and yet again let a team hang around until they finally throw the hammer down and take a 2 run lead or more and the Mets are dead players walking.

Jon Niese had his worst start it seems in forever, Jose Reyes got hurt when he re injured his Oblique and was taken out of this game and that is just salt on the wound as the Mets went from up 4-0 after 3 innings to losing 11-4 after the Marlins scored 7 Runs, 4 of them with 2 outs.

The Mets had a leadoff walk in 7 of 9 innings, had what seemed like a million base runners against a Pitching staff that outside of Josh Johnson all seem to have been drafted out of Clown College.

This is the 3rd series in a row that the Mets should have had a sweep, and that is asking for alot, but they always dont make that pitch or get that hit when its needed and that is the difference between being in the Wild Card race and not even being on the standings page when the graphic comes on the screen.

The Mets saw Philly lose 4 in a row at home to a bad Astros team and the Braves get swept in Colorado and they could not take advantage of it, at home against a solid, but not great Marlins team.

As Football Coach Bill Parcells once said, You are what your Record says you are, based on the fact they are 20-32 in their last 52 games, they are as crappy as their record claims.

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BY RANDY SHEMANSKI
STACHE WRITER

Just a few hours after manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen talked to the media about a possible innings limit on rookie Jon Niese, the lefty turned in another strong outing in a rain-shortened, 5-1 win over the Pirates.

Niese allowed a run on five hits and a walk while fanning five in five innings. It’ll go in the books as a complete game after heavy rain forced a delay and the eventual end of the game after five innings. The victory was Niese’s first since July 27, but his fourth straight start in which he allowed one or no runs; he earned no-decisions in the other three. He improved to 8-5 with a 3.33 ERA with the win.

Niese has now thrown 138 innings, easily a career high. At just 23 years old, the Mets will discuss how to use him over the season’s final six weeks when they return home. Manuel said before the game that it would be difficult to put Niese on an innings limit while trying to win games. Warthen seemed to be in favor of a limit. With the Mets on the fringe of contending – they’re just 62-61 – they’d be wise to protect Niese unless they get hot and using him could give them a chance to reach the playoffs.

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BY SCOTT ILOWITE
STACHE WRITER

The Mets take on the Bucs tonight at beautiful PNC Park, game time is 7:05 pm.  The game can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 or heard on WFAN 660 AM.

New York Mets Lineup
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Angel Pagan, LF
3. Carlos Beltran, CF
4. Chris Carter, RF
5. David Wright, 3B
6. Ike Davis, 1B
7. Josh Thole, C
8. Ruben Tejada, SS
9. Jon Niese, P

Interesting Fact/Trend:  The Mets have a chance to win their first road series of the year versus a National League team with a win today.  Yes, that’s right.  FIRST ROAD SERIES WIN….it’s August 21st!!!

Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup
1.  Andrew McCutchen, CF
2.  Jose Tabata, LF
3.  Neil Walker, 2B
4.  Garrett Jones, 1B
5.  Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6.  Ryan Doumit, RF
7.  Ronny Cedeno, SS
8.  Chris Snyder, C
9.  James McDonald , P

Interesting Fact/Trend:  With last night’s loss to the Mets, the Pirates have ensured themselves of a losing record for the 18th consecutive season.  That’s the longest streak of being under .500 in American major sports history.  For how miserable it’s been to be a Mets fan the last 3 years, could you imagine 18 consecutive losing seasons?  That’s absolutely pathetic.

On The Bump:
Jon Niese (7-5 3.38 ERA) takes the ball for the Mets tonight.  Jon has pitched 3 consecutive games in which he has gone 7 innings and allowed 1 run.  But in typical fashion, he has 3 no decisions in that span.  James McDonald (2-2, 4.26 ERA) will be on the hill for the Bucco’s tonight.  He’s pitched well since coming over in a trade with the Dodgers.  He’s gone 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA in three starts for Pittsburgh.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game:

1.  Stay Hot Jose – Jose Reyes has been on absolute fire the last 7 games.  Even though the Mets have only scored 19 runs in the last 7 games, Jose has hit .452 with 2 triples, 4 steals and 5 runs.  I know, you know and the whole world knows…AS JOSE GOES THE METS GO. 

2.  Same Lineup as Yesterday – The Mets pounded out 15 hits last night.  It seems like they haven’t had 15 hits since the All-Star Break.  They kept the line moving and it produced.  Chris Carter took advantage of being inserted into the cleanup spot with a homer.  The last time he hit a homer (which was allllllllll the way back in Baltimeore), he followed up the next game with one as well.

3.  Beat this bad team like they should be beaten -The Pirates are a BAD team.  And if the Mets really believe that they still have a shot at making a run to the post season, they MUST win tonight and tomorrow.  They need a 15-5 type run, and hopefully it started last night and will continue on.

LET’S GO METS!!

BY MERIWYN TRAVISANO
STACHE WRITER

Oh the stars at night…are big and bright…

The Mets opened a 4-game series tonight against the Houston Astros in beautiful Minute Maid Park. The Mets showed some spunkiness and fight tonight as they took the first game by a score of 3-1.

How long has it been since the Mets have been able to say that pitching wasn’t an immediate problem? Lefty Jonathon Niese pitched another brilliant game, going 7 innings, with 1 run and 5 strikeouts, which is bizarrely like his last two starts (both of which were 7 innings, 1 run and 7 K’s). Spooky. On the downside, he records yet another no-decision as the game was tied 1-1 when he departed after the 7th inning.

On the defensive side of things, David Wright seems to have pissed himself off enough that he was absolutely great in the field tonight. He caught a few line drives and made some great stops. Luis Castillo showed why he still wants to start as well by making some great plays tonight as well. Throw in Mike Hessman (Ike Davis sat against lefty Wandy Rodriguez) and you had something cooking tonight!

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BY BRYAN ROTHENSTEIN
STACHE WRITER

Tonight the Mets open a 7 game road trip beginning with a 4 game series in Houston as they look to right the ship and get back in the playoff race.

TV- SNY 8 PM
Radio – WFAN 660

New York Mets Lineup
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Angel Pagan, LF
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Carlos Beltran, CF
5. Jeff Francoeur, RF
6. Mike Hessman, 1B
7. Henry Blanco, C
8. Luis Castillo, 2B
9. Jonathon Niese, P

Interesting Fact/Trend-  The New York Mets have scored 81 runs since the All Star break which is dead last in all of major league baseball.

Houston Astros Lineup
1. Jeff Keppinger, 2B
2. Angel Sanchez, SS
3. Hunter Pence, RF
4. Carlos Lee, LF
5. Jason Michaels, CF
6. Chris Johnson, 3B
7. Brett Wallace, 1B
8. Juan Castro, C
9. Rodriguez, P

Interesting Fact/Trend – Wandy Rdriguez has gone 6-1 over his last 9 starts with a 1.79 ERA yet lost to the Mets when facing them last season.

On The Bump

For the Mets, Niese (7-5, 3.50) takes the hill looking to continue to impress in his rookie campaign and ease some Mets concerns for next season when omes to their rotation.  Niese has made 1 prior start against the Astros earning a win by going 7 innings and allowing just 1 run.

For the Astros, Wandy Rodriguez (9-11, 4.18) toes the rubber looking to continue his run of dominance.  He has been lights out over his last 9 starts and one of the few bright notes for this lowly Astros club.  If only Rodriguez could get some bullpen support, his numbers may look even better, but then again that is why the Astros are a team with 51 wins.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game

Jonathon Niese needs to continue to go out and battle hitters.  At times it has been easy to forget that he is just a rookie but he just makes pitching seem effortless when he is on the mound.  Then again, pitching has been far from the Mets problem.

To start this series, and this road trip, off on the right foot, the offense needs to get something going, and get it going early.  Mets pitchers can not continue to take the hill feeling if they let up any runs they will lose and the only way to resolve that problem is to score runs.

Rodriguez seems like a good candidate to break out against as the Mets continue to do well against left handed starters. This could be a wakeup call for Wright as he usually feasts on lefties like Wandy, but lets just hope we can get guys on around him to really cause pressure.

On the other side we need to be careful of Hunter Pence and Chris Johnson as they have both been on tears and carrying the Astros offense for the last month.  Their lineup is not very deep and if we can get past their hot hitters then there is no reason we can’t run away with this series.

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Yes the Mets are bad right now and yes there is a strong chance they will not make the playoffs but I’m trying to find a silver lining here and I think I got something.

The Mets starting pitching has been pretty good this year. Up until now the Mets have the league’s seventh best ERA (3.70) are 19th in WHIP (1.40) and 16th in K’s (825). Led by the saint of a man R.A. Dickey and his 2.54 ERA in 111 innings pitched the Mets have a pretty strong foundation set for 2011.

With Jon Niese really progressing alot better than some people thought the Mets have 4 pitchers pretty much set if they choose to re-sign Dickey. And why not. It’s clear he can pitch in the league, especially at home. 100 innings is nothing to sneeze at and traditionally knuckleballers bloom late in their careers.

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BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

I’m still trying to figure out the worst part of the most recent Mets loss, a 6-2 beating at the hands of the Colorado Rockies. Was it the bullpen ruining another strong Jon Niese start? Was it David Wright’s golden sombrero? Was it the seven Mets strikeouts in a row between the 6th and 8th innings? I’m really not sure.

After Angel Pagan’s 2-run-homer in the 1st inning, the Metsies managed just one base hit for the rest of the game. It doesn’t help when you go 2 and 2/3 innings without hitting a ball into fair territory.

A lot of credit goes to Colorado starter Jeff Francis, who settled down for 5 Ks and 1 walk in 6 innings after serving up the meatball to Pagan, but the Mets offense has been dreadful this year.

The Mets only out-slug San Diego, Pittsburgh and Houston. Their on-base percentage is only greater than Pittsburgh and Houston. I know Howard Johnson gets a lot of the blame, but the front office has done nothing about the punch-less positions of right field and second base since last winter.

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BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

The Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 tonight. It was another bad one. Yes, all the Mets losses are bad, but we tend to perceive the ones in which the Mets are leading in the 7th inning or later as worse. It’s probably because our hopes get higher. Or maybe it’s because if they go down early we don’t waste our whole evening. Hypothetically I would probably more upset if Jon Niese had another bad start than if the Mets lost the way they did. At least with a nice bounce back start in which his curveball looked nasty, Jon Niese avoided going down the Pelfrey path… for now.

As for Bobby Parnell, I thought his slider looked really good when throwing it to Jayson Werth. He threw it when Werth was expecting heat and made him look foolish. Unfortunately, Parnell’s location was not consistent tonight and it failed him the most when he was trying to finish off Werth and Ben Francisco. Bobby got ahead of both Philly outfielders but allowed both to reach on singles.

With Manny Acosta pitching well recently, it’s a wonder Jerry Manuel didn’t hand him the ball in the 8th inning. With no one solidly earning the set-up role, you’d figure it would be a good idea to go with the hot hand. I’d like Bobby to take the role in the long run just like everyone else, but Manny has been pitching better right now. Oh well, it’s not like we haven’t grown used to humiliating losses to the Phillies.
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