Reds 4 Mets 0
For the second time this season, the Mets were shut out as they lost for the 26th time this season, and 14th time in Flushing.
Mets Game Notes
I have always liked Mike Leake, even during his days at Arizona State. But, he...
Reds 4 Mets 0
For the second time this season, the Mets were shut out as they lost for the 26th time this season, and 14th time in Flushing.
Mets Game Notes
I have always liked Mike Leake, even during his days at Arizona State. But, he’s not an exceptional pitcher — he’s a solid, steady, back-end starter who eats innings and gives his team a chance to win. So to see the Mets manage only three hits and two walks against him in seven innings probably says more about the Mets hitters than Leake’s prowess. Leake was hitting his spots, but he didn’t have filthy stuff.
It took Jonathon Niese 48 pitches to get through the first frame, which is not only unacceptable from the perspective of judging Niese but there’s also an argument that he should never have been left in that long. He was sucking wind by pitch 30, and I get that there were two outs so Terry Collins and Dan Warthen were just hoping the next pitch would turn into out three, but at that point there should have been urgency in getting a reliever warmed up and Niese removed from the game. It wasn’t until Niese was well over 40 pitches that Colin McHugh began tossing in the bullpen. Injuries occur when athletes are fatigued, and Niese was beyond fatigued.
After making Niese throw almost 50 pitches in the initial inning, I was a little surprised to see the Reds so aggressive in inning two. I suppose they figured Niese would be pounding the strike zone after that marathon inning, but I might have considered forcing Niese to throw a strike and try to push him out of the game and get into the Mets bullpen by the third or fourth inning.
During the postgame on SNY, Terry Collins admitted that he wasn’t going to allow Niese to throw more than 60 pitches in that first inning. WHAT???!!!!! Where does that number come from, pray tell? Does he normally throw a high-intensity, no-rest, 60-pitch bullpen session? If so, OK, maybe I understand the logic behind that. Otherwise, that kind of comment is grounds for death by firing squad.
To provide some perspective, most organizations automatically remove their young minor league pitching prospects from a game if they throw between 30 and 35 pitches in one inning, to protect them from injury. News flash: a 21-year-old arm and a 26-year-old arm are equally developed and have completed development; there’s no concern for damaging growth plates or anything. In fact, the older arm is more prone to a fatigue injury because it’s had more years of use. I’m not suggesting that Niese should have been removed at 35 pitches. Rather, I’m suggesting that there should be some kind of organizational edict that protects MLBers — they’re being paid much, much more money, after all, and if they go on the DL it’s much more financially painful than losing an A-ball guy. Sixty pitches? Really? Unbelievable. I wish a beat writer would ask Collins where that number came from.
Considering that Niese threw 48 pitches in the first frame, he gave the Mets pretty good length. I thought for sure he wouldn’t make it through the fifth inning, yet he managed to finish six full frames.
What’s wrong with Niese? I’m not entirely sure. We discussed the arm angle issue, but he’s been able to perform reasonably well with that issue in the past. He’s normally a bulldog who remains unflappable in the face of adversity, who keeps his confidence in tough spots such as he experienced in the first inning. But on this particular evening, his face changed — he looked lost. The battler we’re used to seeing didn’t show up. Is he pitching through pain? Is it the overall malaise of this club weighing down on him?
The Mets’ defense wasn’t helpful in picking up Niese in the first inning, but, in their, um, defense, it’s tough to keep focus and your edge when you’re standing out in the field for so long, watching ball after
