Livan Still Has The Edge

The battle for the fifth starters job got a little bit more murkier today when Jon Niese took the mound against the Atlanta Braves. Niese has more of an uphill battle because he not only has to pitch better than his rivals, he really needs to set himself apart in a big way for the Mets to give him the job. Today he failed to do that. The promising lefthander gave up two runs and three walks in four innings including a a two-run homer. Niese struck out three and settled down after the homer, but his ERA now stands at 6.75 and he is his 0-2 this spring. Livan Hernandez still looks like the favorite, but mostly because he has been a little less unappealing than the rest of the pack so far. By the way, the Mets lost to the Braves today 5-1 and now have a spring record of 7-9. The Braves lead the pack with a 13-3 record.