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New York Mets pitcher Jon Niese ready for rehab; injury has kept Defiance graduate sidelined

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By TIM McDONOUGH

mcdonough@crescent-news.com

It's been just over a month since New York Mets' starting pitcher Jon Niese suffered a season-ending leg injury during a game in New York back on Aug. 6, but it won't be long before the lefty begins rehab in the hopes of being ready for spring training in 2010.

Niese, a former Defiance High School standout, tore his upper hamstring from the bone during a game at Citi Field in New York against the St. Louis Cardinals. Covering first base on a play early in the contest, Niese stretched too far for a throw to the bag and ended up doing the splits. After walking around following the play, the lefty tried to throw a warm-up pitch before going down in a heap.

"The game started off good, I was facing the Cardinals and the next thing I knew I was running to first for what I thought was a routine play," said Niese, who was 1-1 this season in five starts for the Mets. "I stretched too far, and the next thing I knew I had trouble getting up. Once I got up, it didn't hurt, I walked around and I was told to throw some warm-up pitches.

"The next thing I knew, that first pitch pulled my hamstring and the pain was something like I've never felt before," continued Niese. "I have never been hurt so I really didn't know what to expect. The Mets took me straight to the hospital, I had a MRI done and I had surgery the very next day."

After his examination and MRI, it was revealed that Niese had torn the hamstring of his right leg from the bone and would indeed need surgery to repair the damage, thus ending his season. The DHS alum had successful surgery the next day at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, before coming back to Defiance that weekend to rest.

"Before surgery I asked at least a million questions ... I really wanted to know if I could comeback from this and how soon I could come back," said Niese. "The doctors told me not to worry, I'm young and once I had the surgery, it would heal."

Niese has been home since early August, but will now head back to New York on September 22 to meet with the team doctors, get re-evaluated and begin rehab so that he can get back to form in time for spring training of 2010.

"When I go to New York, it will be six weeks that I've been in a brace, and if everything is healing the way it's supposed to, I'll have at least another six weeks of rehab before they shut me down again," Niese said. "After I take it easy following rehab, I should be ready to go once spring training comes around."

Having never been seriously injured before, having to sit out and not play baseball hasn't been easy for Niese. As a matter of fact, it's been a big adjustment to just try and get around in his everyday living. "The first two weeks were real tough, I really couldn't get out bed. Just getting around was difficult," Niese said. "Once I started moving around with a brace and crutches, it got better every day. It wasn't long before I didn't need the crutches anymore ... but it really was a struggle for a while. Now I'm getting around fairly well and I'm really looking forward to going to New York to begin rehab."

Jeff Niese, Jon's dad, was watching the game in which Jon was injured at Buffalo Wild Wings in Defiance. Jeff remembers well the feeling he felt when his son collapsed in pain on the mound on that August day.

"We were watching the game here (at Buffalo Wild Wings) and once he stretched out like that at first base, my first thought was, 'That don't look good,'" said Jeff. "Once he got up and was walking around, I felt a little better. But once he threw that warm-up pitch and he went down, my heart fell to my knees.

"It felt like I couldn't breathe and all I all could think was, 'What happened,'" added Jeff. "It had been a long road for Jon to get to that point, for him and the whole family, and I saw what happened and I was just praying that it all wasn't over for him."

After Jon was looked at by doctors, the Mets got in contact with the Niese family and arranged for Jon's parents to come to New York before his surgery.

"The Mets gave us a call and told us they had tickets for us to fly out of Detroit at 8 a.m. the next morning so we could get to New York and be there for Jon," said Jeff. "The Mets were great to us and I was really impressed with the way everything was handled. When Jon's surgeon came out after surgery and told us that he would be okay, I said to my wife that the oxygen was going in and out of my lungs a whole lot easier.

"This whole experience has been a humbling experience not only for Jon, but for our whole family," added Jeff. "It makes you think about life and what's really important. You can be on top of the world, and 30 seconds later everything can change. That's something we've all learned and I know Jon's success isn't something we're ever going to take for granted."

Soon it will be off to New York to rehab for Jon, with his focus on his future.

"Before I got hurt, I had fought my way back from a poor start to the season at (Triple A) Buffalo and I was back in New York," said Niese. "I was pitching well and I was really looking forward to pitching a lot more before the injury.

"I know there's a lot of hard work ahead in rehab, but I'm ready to get started so I can be ready to go next spring," concluded Niese. "I learned a lot at spring training this year and during the season, so I'm really looking forward to getting healthy and to competing for a spot again in the Mets' rotation."