Jonathon Niese pleased after five year contract extension with New York Mets - MLB Update
A much speculated deal has revealed that Jonathon Niese has been awarded a five year contract extension by the New York Mets and he is extremely satisfied with the agreement.
Thinking of it as a major reliever, he believes he can now maintain his focus right on the game.
As a player nearing the end of his contract, Niese was to grow extremely conscious of his fate with every passing day. His insecurity will have its share on his mind and will definitely have to affect his performance. By signing the deal, Mets have at-least
steered his attention toward a single path, which otherwise was to be torn apart among various options.
“I’m not really surprised because they wanted to do it and expressed interest. I think both sides wanted to get it done fairly quickly before the season started,” Niese said. “It means a lot to me. It’s a relief, just a burden off my shoulders and something
I don’t have to think about when I go out there and pitch.”
In light of a relatively ordinary career record, his happiness will not be a surprise for any.
Imagine in the opposite case, Niese will have his contract matured on 2016 and by then, presumably he had not impressed much with his performance in the intervening seasons, hardly there will be any club interested to take him from free agency.
By the time contract was under speculation, criticism was raised from various quarters as to the potential financial burden he may become for the club. If his existing career record was anything to go by, denouncement was not entirely baseless.
The kind of trust management has shown in him against all odds is reflective of their high expectations from him in the next couple of seasons. The task at hand for him is to live up to those.
Right now what is going to be a challenge for him is his 2012 regular season performance. If anything substantial does not come through from him, he will only prove critics right.
Whether he will succumb to the pressure and see his performance worsened further against criticism or will he surprise everybody will be interesting to see in the season.
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