Potential New Rule Is Open To Interpretation

Former Mets reliever Ryota Igarashi reacts to the news that his interpreter has left the building.

A Japanese pitcher, a catcher and a pitching coach walk into a bar.  Think you understand where this joke is going?  No?  Well, the protagonists of the joke didn't understand it either.  But come Opening Day, they'll have a better chance of getting it.

According to Jayson Stark of espn.com, baseball owners have approved a new rule that would allow interpreters to join managers and pitching coaches on trips to the mound.  The new rule would go into effect this season and would cover all languages.  If a Japanese pitcher needs a Japanese interpreter, one with fluency in Japanese would accompany the coach or manager to the mound.  Similarly, a Spanish-speaking pitcher would be afforded an interpreter fluent in Spanish, and so on.

Having an interpreter on the mound would eliminate potential confusion and misunderstanding between a pitcher, his catcher and his pitching coach or manager.  This is especially true in Asian pitchers, who might convey that he understands what his coach is saying with a simple nod, when in reality, he's just nodding to be polite and doesn't understand any part of his coach's instructions.

As told to David Waldstein of the New York Times, former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson once paid a visit to South Korean-born pitcher Jae Weong Seo on the mound in a game against the Atlanta Braves in 2004.  With the newly-retired Chipper Jones still in the prime of his Met-killer career, Peterson instructed Seo not to throw Jones a strike.  He had a number of statistics to back up his reasoning for the instruction, but did not tell Seo because he wanted to make it as simple as possible for his non-English-speaking pitcher.  Seo simply nodded and said okay, leading Peterson to believe that his pupil had understood what he was asking him to do.  Jones promptly crushed a perfect strike off the Shea Stadium center field fence for a double, causing Peterson to say:

"You know, I don't think he understood a word I said."

Jae Weong Seo is no longer pitching in the major leagues, while Rick Peterson has bounced around from team to team since being fired by the Mets in 2008.  He is currently the director of pitching development for the Baltimore Orioles.  It should be noted that in Peterson's first year with the Orioles in 2012, the pitching staff lowered its ERA to 3.90 after registering a 4.89 ERA in 2011.  It was the first time the Orioles' team ERA was under 4.00 since 1997, which was the last time the team made the playoffs before 2012.

It's imperative that a pitching coach or manager get his point across to the pitcher every time they come out to the mound.  But what hope does the pitcher have of heeding his coach's advice if he has no clue what he's saying?

While he was a member of the Mets' coaching staff, Rick Peterson had difficulty conveying his point to his non-English-speaking pitchers.  Many other coaches have had the same problem as well.  But beginning in 2013, the language barrier between pitchers and coaches will drop due to an interpreter being present for all mound conversations.  Perhaps now, the barrier between being a successful pitcher and a mediocre pitcher will also drop for some foreign-born pitchers as well.

Jonathon Brings Hitters To Their Niese

When the season began, Jonathon Niese was supposed to be nothing more than a fifth starter on a team with established major leaguers in the rotation. Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez would lead the staff and Niese would follow.

Of course, Maine and Perez sucked and got hurt (not necessarily in that order), Pelfrey went from godsend to godforsaken and Santana slogged his way through June (four consecutive starts giving up four runs or more).

So of the original starting five, who has been the most consistent starter? None other than Jonathon Niese, the man born on the same day a fellow Mets lefty threw his glove up into the Flushing night after winning the World Series.

Entering his first full season in the major leagues, Niese was trying to help a team that had a questionable rotation. After a brutal leg injury ended his season last year, Niese was also looking to prove that he was fully recovered.

He started the season pitching like the fifth starter that he was, going 1-2 with a 4.79 through May 16. He had shown flashes of brilliance, such as his final three starts in April, when he gave up two earned runs in 18 innings, but for the most part, he was so-so over the first month and a half of the season.

Then Niese suffered a mild strain of his right hamstring and was placed on the 15-day DL. He was replaced in the rotation by R.A. Dickey while he recovered. Upon being recalled to the major leagues to start on June 5, Niese returned healthy and a changed pitcher.

Since his return, Niese (along with his injury replacement, Dickey) has been the most consistent starter in the Mets rotation. In 14 starts since his June 5 return, Niese has gone 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA. He has struck out 72 batters while walking only 24. Opposing hitters have been brought to their knees by the former fifth starter, batting at a .231 clip, while compiling a weak .290 on-base percentage.

Niese has given up one run or less in nine of those 14 starts, including his masterpiece on June 10, when he allowed only one runner to reach base against him in a complete game victory against the San Diego Padres.

Unfortunately, his success has not translated into Mets victories. He has given up one run or less in each of his last three starts, pitching to the tune of a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, but has not earned a victory in any of those games due to the inept Mets offense. In fact, Niese has given up one run or less 12 times this season (in only 22 starts) and has been credited with a victory in only six of them.

Despite his unfortunately inability to earn victories, Niese is still having one of the best rookie seasons for a Mets pitcher in recent years. In fact, in the 21st century, no Mets rookie pitcher has won more than nine games in his inaugural campaign. (The great Jae Seo went 9-12 as a rookie for the Mets in 2003.) With three more victories, Jonathon Niese will have the greatest season for a Mets rookie pitcher this century. That's as much a testament to Niese's fine 2010 as it is to the Mets' inability to develop a quality starter over the past 10 years.

Jonathon Niese's next start will be on Saturday in Pittsburgh, a game that will be attended by the Studious Metsimus staff. If things go according to form, Niese will pitch another great game but will be left without a victory. That would be a shame, since Niese has been one of the most consistent pitchers for the Mets this season and has definitely been the best rookie pitcher for the Mets in the early part of this century.

Jae Seo, watch out. Jonathon Niese is about to erase your name from the record books. Of course, if Niese continues to pitch as well as he has since he returned from the DL on June 5, Jae Seo might not be the only name Niese erases from the Mets record books.