Eric Niesen K Reel

I found this video on youtube. It's a K Reel from Mets prospect Eric Niesen, who has been invited to Spring Training.

The Mets drafted Niesen in the 3rd round (99th overall) in the 2007 draft. As a reliever, his fastball touches the mid-90s. His slider is decent, and his changeup is below average. He is a small lefty and will be auditioning to become a left handed specialist in the bullpen or possibly even the left long man.

From this video, Niesen has some pretty nasty stuff. His fastball has some very nice tail action and his breaking ball looks wicked. Should he harness these, he'd be a nice addition to the bullpen.

We'll see how Niesen does in Spring Training. I'm not sure if he'll make the team, he didn't do so hot last season. He split time between A+ and AA, and the results were also split. He found his rhythm in A+ where he posted a 3.28 ERA giving up 57 hits, 21 earned runs, 49 strikeouts and only 5 homeruns in 57 innings of work. Now when he was bumped up to AA, he posted a 4.66 ERA giving up 75 hits, 43 earned runs, 6 homeruns, and 85 strikeouts in 83 innings. His strikeout rate grew when pushed into AA, but he didn't fair well against the batters. His combined A+ and AA ERA for 2009 was 4.09.

I think Niesen will start 2010 in A+ where he found his groove. I really don't see him making the team but who knows, maybe I'll be wrong.

Johan on Pelfrey's bright future

John Harper of the Daily News talks to Johan Santana who gives his feelings about the pitching staff behind him, Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez. It's a very optimistic view and gives some insight on how excited and confident he is for the 2010 season.

On Pelfrey, he says:

"He's got the stuff to be great. Man, if I had his stuff, oh, my God. That sinker that he throws at 95 [mph], it's unbelievable. It's a matter of consistency and being more mature, and I really believe he;s a more mature pitcher after feeling like he had to step in for me (late) last season."

I love this. Johan Santana, the ace of staff and two time Cy Young winner, is jealous of Mike Pelfrey's stuff. This says a lot for the kid and a lot about the mentality this team has. If Santana thinks Pelfrey "can be great," then I'm pretty sure he has a lot more insight on pitchers and what they'll develop into than any of us.

A lot of people are extremely rough on Pelfrey and I don't know why. Sure, I was frustrated with him last season but I think it should go unnoticed due to everything that happened. The team's core player and even back up player flat out collapsed. How could anyone succeed with such a blemish? With all the papers writing about it, news, etc. Hell, Sports Center even had their very own Not Top 10 just for the 2009 Mets. How could people tune that out and not let it get to their heads?

Santana also labels Perez as "hungry" and Maine "pain-free." The players seem very excited about this season, so why shouldn't we? It's so repetitive on twitter and these sites saying how this season is going to be such a waste and Omar sucks and I can't wait until 2011. You're hating on the team now but if we win or go deep you're going to praise them. Let's just start baseball and quit complaining. We have so many key players to win us a championship, so let's do it.

Poll: 2010 NL East Mets prediction

What place will the Mets end the 2010 season in?

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Interesting Reads: Wellemeyer, 2010 opener, Race

Silvestricles of Caught Lookin' gives his opinion on Todd Wellemeyer.

Eli from Mets Underground predicts what the Mets 2010 opener will look like.

Tom Pich of MetsGuide writes a great article about race and how it shouldn't matter in baseball.

I have to agree with you, Tom. The argument that "the Mets only have one black player," who is newly acquired Gary Matthews Jr., is ridiculous. Why should a team sign a player because of his race? A player is signed so he can impact the team in a positive way, not just because they need another black player or another Latino player.

This Is Truly Rediculous

According to Metsblog.com, J.J. Putz never underwent a physical before being traded to the Mets.

Wow. Now that is ridiculous. How did this even happen? Why in the world would you not preform a physical on this big money guy and on trade of that magnitude?

In the a statement issued by the Mets they say: "In our review of the player’s medical records in the acquisition of J.J. Putz, we were aware that he had a bone spur before the trade." After "an additional exam and MRI" Putz was allowed to play in the WBC.

Didn't the Mets think of the possibility that the bone spur would flare up later in the season? And it did.

This should be the last straw for Omar Minaya and/or the Mets medical staff. But sadly it's not going to be, because it is the Wilpons' fault. It is doubtful that they will fire Omar, or find anyone who would replace him for that matter. It upsets all fans of the Mets that the management keeps getting beat down after beat down, but the management deserves it. They don't know how to properly run a Major League Baseball team. The Mets built a great new stadium, signed a great hitter in Jason Bay, have a great core of players, but don't know how to follow a plan.

Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel said that they wanted to build the team around pitching, speed, and defense. The only moves that support this are Henry Blanco, a very good defensive catcher, and Gray Matthews Jr. who is also a very good fielder and has some speed (94 career steals).

Ok, you could say that Ryota Igarashi qualifies for this plan, but he is a reliever. The Mets need starters and have signed only Josh Fogg, R.A. Dickey (faint reminder of Tim Redding, how sad...), and Kelvim Escobar, when Lackey, Sheets, Wolf, Duchscherer, and etc. were still available! How did this happen?

The Mets' management is dysfunctional. It is obvious, but it needs to said, this management needs a complete overhaul! New Owners, new GM, new manager, new everything! The only thing that should be left by the end are the core (Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Bay, Santana, and K-Rod) and a few complementary pieces (i.e. Francoeur, Maine, Parnell, maybe Feliciano?).

Yes, I am calling for it. I'm calling for an overhaul. It is about time, because this is truly ridiculous.

Poll: Most successful pair in 2010

Who is going to be the most successful pair in 2010?

• P Santana/Pelfrey
• 1B Tatis/Murphy
• OF Franceour/Matthews Jr.
• P Parnell/K-Rod
• C Santos/Blanco

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Parnell's story

Bret Strelow of the Salisbury Post wrote this article on Bobby Parnell and his college baseball attitude and time as a corner infielder.

I like Parnell a lot. He was a very effective reliever and showed that he can hold his own in a couple of his starts (even though the rest were forgetful). After JJ Putz flopped, he was penciled in as the set-up man and showed he can be effective late into games. He has a great fastball that has the ability to dial up to 100 MPH, but I feel he needs to work on his second offerings. If he has a great changeup to go with that great fastball he could be lights-out with some more training.

Parnell had a great full first season and I look forward to watching what he can offer in 2010 after he has some great MLB experience. In Spring Training he'll fight for the set-up role along with Ryota Igarashi and Kelvim Escobar.