Tonight, Jonathon Niese gets the chance that he has been longing for ever since he was sent down to Triple A in the spring. He will get the chance to show the Mets what he’s got when he faces the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citifield tonight, and he could make Oliver Perez’s trip to the disabled list last a bit longer.
For Niese, it is not a question of stuff, but control always seems to be more of an issue. With the pitcher’s ballpark that Citifield is, Niese needs to utilitize the eight guys that play defense for him, and he needs to get some ground balls, and even some fly balls wouldn’t kill anyone either.
The Pirates have a reputation of being a roll over team, and that’s what concerns me. The Mets have won four in a row against the likes of the Braves and the Phillies, but they always seem to play down to the less than capable opponents.
One thing the Mets will not have in their favor tonight is the presence of Francisco Rodriguez, who gets the night off after four successful save conversions. If it were up to K-Rod, he would get 162 appearances per year.
Well here we go. Let’s dive for five. See you after the game.
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