The second definition of the word “awkward” is “causing or feeling embarrassment or inconvenience.”
This afternoon, newly re-acquired southpaw Jon Niese will have the unenviable opportunity of embodying this word as he returns to a Mets clubhouse that he slammed upon his trade to the Pirates last December for second baseman Neil Walker. Upon hearing of the trade, Niese remarked “I’m sure what I’ll appreciate more than anything is the way they play defense. I’m looking forward to that.”
The implication as that Niese felt that the Mets defense behind him was less than satisfactory. As many of you fellow Met fans may recall, Niese often melted down whenever an error was committed behind him. I suppose the saying “picking up your teammates” was one that Niese had never heard before. Lest anyone be less than clear on his opinion of his former team, Niese went on to remark “It’s always a great feeling to be wanted. I’ve got that feeling here.” Of course, Niese made that remark in January. Last week, the Pirates GM openly pondered whether he’d have been better off taking some prospects for Walker instead of Niese when he made that trade.
So here we are now. The Mets just traded catcall magnet Antonio Bastardo, who certainly lived down to his last name (which sounds awful like a certain epithet), for an equally maligned Jon Niese. Two lefties returning to their former teams after a brief and unsuccessful sojourn in a new environment. For the Mets, Niese gives them someone who can spot start if necessary and, at the end of the season, someone they can cut with little hardship.
The Mets have a pair of one-year team $10 million options on Niese with a $500,000 buyout. I am guessing that unless Niese starts pitching like the second coming of Sandy Koufax, the Mets are more than likely to buy him out in November. However, Niese has to deal with the fact that he made a pair of remarks that would likely lead the party to whom they are directed to remark: “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Maybe Niese should contact former Met and replacement player Rick Reed on how to handle a hostile clubhouse?
Whatever does transpire, I am guessing the return of Bastardo to the Bucs is a little less painful since I don’t recall him saying anything stupid about his former employers when he signed with the Mets during the offseason. In the future, Niese would do well to heed the old saying “if you’ve got nothing nice to say, say nothing.”
