There's a lot to like about the young pitcher on the Mets staff, and I really don't feel that I have, personally, appreciated what he brings to the team until last night. Home grown players always add a spark to lineup because they come with none of that “spoiled” feeling on them. They seem pure in the sense that they are, for at least some period of time, void of greed and don't have a corporate, money-minded, cynical aura around them. This is automatic in home grown talent (at least until the time for the first major extension).
As a pitcher though, there is a lot to like about Niese. As I alluded to before, here at 213, I don't think I spend enough time highlighting him as a player and that is sad because he really embodies a lot of qualities that I like to see in players. First and foremost, he seems very modest. When describing himself for the first half of the season, he said he feel's that he has been “allright”. Niese, you have been a lot more than “allright”. The recent pitching performances you have had since coming off of the DL put you right behind Santana and Pelfrey on this team. No longer is there a feeling of (although I don't believe there ever was) “awww man Niese is pitching today” because your games dictate that you are better than that.
When I do talk about Niese here, I generally spend a lot of time on his curveball. However there are three other aspects of Niese the pitcher that I really should focus on more. The first is that he works extremely quickly. I like baseball as much as any other fan, but sometimes games can get really long and really boring. The monotonous looking at the bases and routines before throwing add minutes to the game that are superfluous. Niese working quickly makes him seem more confident and makes the game easier to watch while being more entertaining. The other two aspects of Niese that are not really spoken about here are two of his other pitches, his fastball and cutter. I am generally a fan of when a pitcher can throw that high heat, and not get into trouble with it. It reminds me a bit of 2006 and 2007 John Maine. However, his cutter is really the star. It has become a great pitch and really is starting to give some hitters a lot of trouble, especially with that late movement. His K's from the last several starts show that he is getting behind his stuff.
Anyway, I know that was a bit of a ramble but I was just going through some posts recently and I realize for all the time I spend on Santana, Pelfrey, Dickey, Wright, K-Rod, Pagan, etc, I really should share some thoughts on Niese more.
