It wasn’t a bed of roses for Jon Niese over the first two months of the year.
In April, Niese was playing with fire seemingly in every outing, striking the match but blowing it out just before it touched the paper. But in May, he wasn’t able to blow out the match without catching the paper, and it seemed each piece of paper was coated in gasoline.
In his final four starts of May, he witnessed his ERA rise from 1.95 to 4.42, allowing 20 earned runs, 31 hits, six walks and five home runs in only 20 innings during that span.
The most disturbing trend during those four starts was the rate on which he was allowing home runs, especially since he is known for burying cutters and curveballs in and fading his two-seam fastball away from right-handed hitters which have historically resulted in an above average groundball rate throughout his career.
But he turned his ship right around in the month of June, allowing almost half the number of runs he allowed in his final four starts in May but in 13 more innings. He also allowed only two home runs in five starts in June.
And on Tuesday night, despite falling to 3-8, he allowed just one run to the Cubs in six innings to finish June with a 3.00 ERA and lower his ERA for the season to 3.92.
“[Niese] did an outstanding job and certainly deserved a better fate,” Terry Collins said after Tuesday’s loss.
He got into a couple of jams, but for the most part Niese pitched a really fine ballgame. He had everything going for him and he was outstanding in mixing up all four of his pitches. He incorporated his curveball with regularity, which is something he hasn’t done a lot of this season and he managed to get the Cubs to chase it on a couple of occasions. It’s conceivable he could eventually can the curve considering he doesn’t have the same fastball velocity he once had and he’s had trouble fooling the opposition with at times over the last year. But it can be a nice show-me pitch to keep in his back pocket for the time being as well.
“My sinker is a lot better,” Niese said after Tuesday’s loss. “I’m staying back through the ball. Allowing my pitches to work. I think commanding that fastball is allowing the off-speed stuff to work better.”
Despite pitching arguably his best game of the season, Niese is now just 1-8 since April 21 and 0-6 since May 9. The Mets have lost ten of Niese’s last 12 starts.
“It’s tough to swallow, but you’ve got to be professional about it,” Niese said after his fine performance. “You’ve got to forget about it and not worry about it and go on to the next game.”
In Niese’s case at the moment, the win-loss totals on his ledger are less significant than the way he is actually pitching. In general, he’s pitched really well over the last month, and continues to distance himself from that ugly stretch of games in May.
What’s even better for Niese and the Mets this good stretch is coming at a very good time. The calendar has now turned to July, the All-Star break is just two weeks away and the trade deadline is about four weeks away. The Mets and even Niese have everything to gain with these kinds of performances, especially if they come against teams who might have an interest or need for Niese, such as the Cubs.
If his outing served as a showcase of sorts to the Cubs last night, Niese did anything but harm his value with his really outstanding performance. Whether this spawns some discussion between the two clubs remains to be seen, but the Cubs have a need the Mets can fill in Niese, and the Mets have needs the Cubs can fill with their vast array of infielders.
Potentially a true foundation for discussions was laid on Tuesday night? Time will tell.
Just Mets 