Today against the Cleveland Indians Niese went 7 innings giving up 8 hits and 3 runs while walking 2 and striking out 3. You could look at that line and say it's ok but not impressive but that wouldn't be the whole story. Niese actually looked really comfortable on the mound and handled the opposition exactly how he should have. He was looking very dominant in the game despite being squeezed all night long by C.B. Bucknor. It wasn't until the Mets opened up the 3rd with yet another 5 run inning that Niese started to struggle a bit. Once they had the lead Jon, as most coaches would teach, challenged the other team and unfortunately Cleveland was able to make him pay for it. After that when the game got closer he really bore down and started dominating again. At one point he felt so comfortable with himself that he called the field crew in to fix a mound issue while he warmed up. After the repair he took the mound and decided the work was adequate enough for him to pitch on. It's nice to be Niese right now.
John Neise The Mound Hound
