Mets Fall to the Braves 7-6: Niese & Nieve Match Outings, Figgy Great Again

The Mets fell to the Braves today in Disney, 7-6 in 10 innings (box score). 

Highlights:

- Nelson Figueroa threw another 2 scoreless innings, while giving up only 1 hit and striking out a batter.

- Chris Carter drove in 4 of the Mets 6 runs, scored twice, and hit a homer.

- Russ Adams continues to murder the ball, going 2-4 with an RBI and a triple, raising his spring average to .600.

- Parnell threw a perfect inning, striking out two.

Lowlights:

- Niese and Nieve both had bad outings.  Niese went 2 innings giving up 3 runs, on 3 hits and 2 walks.  Nieve, meanwhile, went 3 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, and 2 walks.

What To Take From The Day:

While both Niese and Nieve struggled a bit today, Nelson Figueroa did not.  Figueroa is looking to make on push on the 5th starter gig, and has been making some nice headway on it.  With Niese and Nieve both struggling today and cancelling each other out with similar performances, it was nice for Figgy's opening day chances to keep pitching well. 

Although I like Figgy, I doubt he's got a spot on the opening day roster barring some major break down from Niese and Nieve, because of the three Figgy is the least valuable to the team.  NOW, before you freak out, let me explain why.  It is believed that there are two staff positions up for grabs, 5th starter and set-up.  Of the three, Niese has the best upside as a starter, in that he's the young guy with a high ceiling.  To me, Niese is most likely to start the year as the 5th starter.  Nieve, on the otherhand, probably has the best ability to strike people out, which is very valuable out of the pen.  That would leave Figgy as the odd-man out.  Since Figgy is older, and doesn't strike out many batters, it's hard to see him fitting into the Mets plans for opening day unless Niese really struggles, which outside of today, he hadn't really done yet this spring. 

It seems to me that Figgy's only shot to make the opening day roster is to completely outperform Niese, and steal the 5th starter's job.  He's pitching well enough to do that now, and if that continues, will make for an interesting story-line for the rest of spring...