CATCHER IN THE COOKER; PIAZZA'S STATUS STILL UNSETTLED.Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres hopes to be laughing about all this someday, because right now, he isn't smiling at all. This was the year he was supposed to get the largest contract in baseball history, continue to put up Hall of Fame numbers and lead the Dodgers deep into the playoffs. Instead, he's playing for his third team, the New York Mets
If it sounds like Piazza is living one of those steamy nights at Shea Stadium • • [ with the planes roaring overhead, it's because he is. Sure he has an $8,000-a-month apartment on Manhattan's Upper Eastside, enjoys his New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of celebrity and has plenty of commercial endorsements. But now he acknowledges that mistakes were made by both sides in the attempt earlier this season to make him a Dodger for life. ``I'm not going to lie, it's definitely been a tough year, mentally,'' said Piazza, who will be facing his former team tonight for the first time. ``Maybe in a year or two when everything is boring, I can look back on all this and joke about it, remembering how everything was so up in the air. Boring would be good right now.'' Boring is not an option right now. The Mets, like the Dodgers, are in the wild-card chase that could have a severe impact on the look of these two teams next season. For the first time in his career, Piazza looks stressed. Even when the Dodgers were fizzling at the end of the past two seasons, he deflected most criticism by producing at the plate. Last year he batted .362 with 40 home runs and 124 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . His numbers through the first five years of his career were better than any catcher in baseball history. And he was best in the clutch, batting .361 with runners in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on , including .306 with two outs. This season the overall clutch numbers are down to .281, and .118 with two outs. ``He's the best I ever saw at that,'' former teammate Raul Mondesi said. ``Something must be up.'' So far, New York has been an unforgiving place for Piazza. The Mets were 24-20 without him in the first 44 games and 22-22 with him the next 44. And though the Mets are a hot team, winning eight of their past 10 entering Thursday's game against San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , Piazza's numbers have a hollow ring and fans are upset. He has hit safely in 18 of his past 19 games and is batting .345 since joining the Mets on May 23. But Piazza, who was traded by the Dodgers to Florida on May 15 and onto New York eight days later, has only 23 RBI in 54 games. For that he has been criticized repeatedly by talk-show callers and newspaper columnists. Every time he fails with runners in scoring position, they wonder what he will be doing for the Mets in 2005. There also have been hints that the Mets are worried about his signability and are willing to trade Piazza rather than lose him to free agency at the end of the season. That story originated after Mets general manager Steve Phillips
Steve Francis Phillips (born on May 18, 1963) was the general manager of the New York Mets from 1997-2003. said he would never trade Piazza. Fans translation: Piazza must have been available and then taken off the market. Mets co-owner Nelson Doubleday said recently, ``We will do whatever it takes to re-sign Mike.'' But Piazza, who was seeking a seven-year, $105-million contract from the Dodgers, hasn't sold the congregation. After the non-trade, trade story, Piazza responded by hitting two home runs in a 7-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies “Phillies” redirects here. For other uses, see Phillies (disambiguation). The Philadelphia Phillies are a professional baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. . But with the cross-town Yankees enjoying a record victory pace in the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). , fans aren't too impressed with the Mets' wild-card push. ``Booing is suddenly a big part of my life,'' said Piazza, who heard it from Dodgers fans for the first time after turning down three offers earlier this season. ``I understand. I'm not pleased with the way things are going. ``In a lot of ways there are many similarities here to the Dodgers. The bullpen struggles for a while, then it's the offense and then the starters have trouble. But right now we're not playing well. That's how you win the fans.'' The future, however, remains clouded. Wednesday, the Mets said they hope to have Todd Hundley Todd made his major league debut with the New York Mets on May 18, 1990 when he was only 20 years old. do some catching down the stretch. Piazza replaced the popular Hundley, who was out until mid-July after undergoing reconstructive surgery reconstructive surgery n. Plastic surgery. reconstructive surgery, n surgery to rebuild a structure for functional or esthetic reasons. on his right elbow. Several National League executives also said Piazza's desire to become baseball's first $100-million-man was not realistic despite his gaudy statistics. Before Pedro Martinez signed a six-year, $75 million contract last winter with Boston, baseball's record contract was the six-year, $61 million deal signed by the Dodgers' Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968 in Tampa, Florida) is a Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. , then with Florida. Giving Piazza what he wanted would have been $39 million more than the biggest contract from just two years ago. Piazza's agent, Dan Lozano, maintains they never asked for $100 million. Lozano and Phillips have talked about a new contract, but Piazza is expected to explore free agency. Piazza has told teammates he does not want to go to a rebuilding team that would not provide protection in the lineup. That could rule out expansion Arizona, which spent freely during its first season. The Yankees, with a $70 million payroll, always are a free agent's best friend. They could lose center fielder Bernie Williams Bernabé "Bernie" Figueroa Williams (born September 13, 1968, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and a guitar-playing jazz recording artist. A switch hitter, Williams has played his entire career (1991-2006) with the New York Yankees. to free agency but are not considered in the running for Piazza. Among the contenders are Colorado and Baltimore, both disappointments this season. Baltimore, which has a $73 million payroll, could make room by not re-signing second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Roberto Alomar The Rockies could be looking at a complete overhaul, including a new manager and general manager. Dante Bichette He began his career with the California Angels in 1988 but was a streaky hitter and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991. and Ellis Burks Piazza has said privately that he doesn't consider the Dodgers an option for next year. His father, Vince, a close friend of new general manager Tom Lasorda, wants Piazza to sign with Philadelphia. As for the Dodgers' interest, Lasorda said, ``I can't say anything about that, because he's not on our team. I think he likes New York. I hope he's satisfied where he is.'' Piazza said his mistake was thinking the Dodgers would just open the vault because of past performance. He said the Dodgers failed because they did not recognize that give and take was part of the negotiation process. ``You always have regrets in life,'' Piazza said, ``but I think you're OK if you truly believe in your heart that you've made the right decision. ``This thing has been so draining, but it's been a learning experience. You can sit and dwell on the negatives or make it a positive, which I think will make me a better person and player in the second part of my career.'' FROM L.A. TO N.Y. A comparison of Mike Piazza's statistics with the Dodgers and New York Mets: Dodgers Stats N.Y. Mets .282 Batting avg. .345 149 At-bats 203 20Runs 36 42 Hits 70 9 Home runs 8 30 RBI 23 11 Walks 23 27 Strikeouts 29 CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) Teams might soon be waiting on deck for Mike Piazza's bat, which might not have been enough for New York. Mark Lennihan/Associated Press Photo Illustration/Daily News BOX: FROM L.A. TO N.Y. (see text) |
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