Posted by D.J. Short on Monday, July 6, 2009 at 2:13 pm

Fernando Nieve got off to a roaring start as a Met, mowing down some pretty stiff competition (Yankees, Rays and Cardinals) while putting up a microscopic 1.31 ERA through his first four appearances (three starts). But over his last two outings, Nieve showed why the Astros gave up on him, allowing six runs on 17 hits including a six-walk implosion against the rival-Phillies on Saturday afternoon. While Nieve has regressed to the mean, Jon Niese is throwing perhaps the best ball of his professional career with Triple-A Buffalo. The 22-year-old left-hander hasn’t allowed more than two runs in six consecutive starts dating back to June 7. He’s put up a 4-1 record and 1.04 ERA during that time. The dominant run was capped by a complete-game five-hit shutout against Rochester on Sunday night, fanning a season-high 10.

While there hasn’t been much good news for the Mets of late, Niese was named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week earlier today. The distinction puts pressure on Omar Minaya, who has said time and time again that the team hopes to find solutions from within. Sure, Minaya hasn’t found many diamonds in the rough lately. Success by a pitcher of Nieve’s stature is something any general manager would like to point to. But having a legitimate talent like Niese toil in Triple-A runs counter to everything Mets fans have experienced in the recent past. Aaron Heilman, Jose Reyes, Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Fernando Martinez and even Niese were all rushed to the majors, with varied levels of success.

Now, there are the practical reasons why Niese shouldn’t be called on right now. Along with ace Johan Santana and Oliver Perez, who will return on Wednesday, Niese would be the third southpaw in the starting rotation. This is hardly ideal, obviously. Likewise, Niese has struggled in five major league starts, putting up a 6.57 ERA and 1.78 WHIP. But behind those discouraging numbers, Niese managed a 1.41 GB/FB ratio. His 1.80 GO/AO ratio through 14 starts with Buffalo — a much larger sample-size — is an impressive tally that plays to the Mets advantage in the spacious Citi Field. You know, as long as they can actually field the ball, something that can’t be taken for granted right now. The bottom line is that Mets fans would rather lose behind the knee-buckling curveball of Niese, a guy who was born on the day of the team’s last World Championship, than a pitcher who will surely be wearing another team’s uniform before long.