Mets Pitcher Jon Niese Rides Uniform Violations To Victory In Washington

Though no one at Major League Baseball would comment on it, Mets pitchers have been the target of a uniform violation crackdown in the last week. This is clearly part of a larger conspiracy to keep the Mets from finishing better than fourth in the division, thus preventing them from reaping all of the benefits that being a third place team entitles you to. While I'm not sure who would benefit from such a conspiracy, I can tell you one Mets player has decided to do something about it.

Last night in Washington, Mets starter Jon Niese took the mound in the bottom of the first wearing about 17 different uniform violations. Some of the violations were minor, such as a slightly untucked jersey, but others were more flagrant like the diamond studded "bling" he wore around his neck.  In a show of solidarity with teammates R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana, Niese wore a glove made entirely of gold on his right hand and about 15 friendship bracelets on his left wrist.

Umpires allowed Niese to throw two warm-up pitches before they approached him on the mound and requested he remove the items. According to Niese, this was his plan.

"I just didn't want them to bother me once I got going, so I figured I'd get it out of the way early.", said Niese.

His plan worked.  Niese tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings en route to a 2-0 Mets victory over the first place Nationals. Mets skipper Terry Collins said it was "refreshing" to have his pitcher be allowed to do his job without having to stop for nonsense.

As for Niese, when asked if the umps missed anything, the lefty told reporters, "Strangely enough, there was no rule against the hunting knife strapped to my ankle but I decided to remove it anyway."

All articles featured on The Apple are fictitious. No Mets were harmed in the writing of this story. Follow me on Twitter @readtheapple.

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