Niese may be shut down because of innings pitched
New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathon Niese throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning. (Aug. 21, 2010) Credit: AP
PITTSBURGH - The Mets might decide to put the brakes on Jonathon Niese when they meet next week to discuss an innings limit for the 23-year-old lefthander.
Niese has accumulated 138 innings through last night's start against the Pirates, and with six weeks left in the season, he's on pace to pitch many more innings than last year's combined 120 innings with the Mets and Triple-A Buffalo.
Extensive studies suggest that pitchers under the age of 25 should not exceed the previous season's total by more than 50 innings. They have shown that it can be damaging to a young pitcher's health - or at the very least sabotage him for the following year.
But not everyone subscribes to those findings, and although pitching coach Dan Warthen is a believer, he might have to work on manager Jerry Manuel, who is reluctant to mess with one of his best starters.
"These guys have to convince me," Manuel said. "Because the more he gets out there, the better pitcher he's going to become. I don't mind having dialogue, but I'm not a believer in that. That's just me."
The topic has yet to be broached with Niese, but he's given no indication that he would object to such a move. Niese didn't voice much disapproval earlier this month when he was lifted because of his pitch count, sounding like a pitcher on board with the program.
Niese said after last night's game that he feels fine but that he won't fight the powers that be. "I'm not a guy to challenge what the manager and the coaches say," he said after improving his record to 8-5. "I know they know what's best for me."
If the decision is made to limit Niese, Manuel would rather have him skip a few starts - as the Yankees have done with Phil Hughes - than deliberately shorten Niese's outings.
"I would probably rather shut him down, from a manager's point of view, because if you've got a guy pitching, trying to win - it puts some shackles on you," Manuel said. "It's tough. What if a guy is throwing a no-hitter? I would rather just say, hey, let's shut it down."
Extra bases
Through last night, the Mets have 17 wins from rookie pitchers this season - eight from Niese, seven from Hisanori Takahashi and two from Raul Valdes. The total is second only to the Reds, who entered the day with 18 . . . Jose Reyes now has a 21-game hitting streak on the road. Keith Hernandez had a 22-game streak in 1987, Mike Vail had 20 in 1975 and Moises Alou had 20 in 2007.
