Piazza, Mets making the best of their time together
Posted: Thursday June 04, 1998 10:29 AM
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ST. LOUIS (CNN/SI) - The month of May must have seemed like one long road
trip for Mike
Piazza.
But, wow. What a trip.
Piazza, the ex- Los
Angeles Dodgers catcher who had a brief stopover with the Florida Marlins, has
landed with the New York
Mets now -- and it looks like both Piazza and the Mets are better off
for it.
The Mets, on a nine-game winning streak, have won seven of those since
Piazza joined the team. And Piazza, just wanting to fit in with his new
team, has done his part: He's hitting .419 (13-for-31) with the Mets
through Sunday's game, he's hit safely in all seven of his games and he's
raised his average 22 points since invading the Big Apple.
Timing is everything.
After a terrible few months in Los Angeles - terrible off the field, with
the contract problems and the eventual trade - Piazza seems to be happy now
with the Mets. Whether it's just a rent-a-player situation or not, we'll
find out. Piazza still is a free agent after this season.
But right now, he's doing everything he can to make the Mets, or anyone
else out there, have a reason to throw the big money at him after the
season.
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With Piazza in the lineup, the Mets averaged 15 hits over one streak of seven straight wins
(AP)
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What's not to like about Mike? He has power, he hits with average (he's a
career .332 hitter in seven seasons in the majors) and he sprays the ball
around the ballpark. I saw him the other day take a ball low and away and
go the other way with it. He's got great plate coverage. He's a guy who can
carry you offensively.
There's been a lot of talk about maybe moving him to first base, because of
his supposed bad knees and because the Mets have another decent catcher in
Todd
Hundley.
But, in talking to Mike, he says there is nothing wrong with his knees. He
likes catching. Still, Mike is the type of player who will do whatever his
manager asks him to do.
The other knock against Piazza is the leadership thing. His former
teammate, Brett
Butler, made headlines saying Piazza was self-centered and no leader.
It's a great asset to have somebody show the leadership on the field and be
boisterous in the clubhouse when the team needs it. Unfortunately, those
people are few and far between.
Piazza isn't paid to be a cheerleader. He's paid to get it done on the
field. And he does.
The big question now is whether Piazza's presence is enough for the Mets to
turn the corner. They're five games behind the Atlanta Braves in the
National League East. It's going to be tough to overcome the pitching-rich
Braves.
But, with the type of pitching the Mets have, they can make a run at it.
They certainly have a good shot at the wild card, at least.
Thanks to their wild card - Mike Piazza.
The 6-4-3 with Ozzie: The Randy Johnson
watch continues.
Seattle's "Big Unit" has heated up in his past couple of starts, making him
that much more valuable as trade bait as pitching-poor teams make their bid
for the disgruntled lefty.
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Getting better with age: Johnson is averaging an AL-best 11.96 strikeouts per 9 innings, improving his career average to 10.45
(AP)
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It's kind of strange, but the better Johnson pitches, the more likely it is
he'll stay in Seattle longer.
Right now, Johnson is throwing the ball extremely well. He had a couple of
tough outings to start the season, but with an arm like his, it's just a
matter of time before he comes back.
Johnson has had to be dealing with some things mentally, too. With all the
trade rumors, the sour taste he has from dealing with Seattle management -
it's amazing Johnson is pitching well at all.
The Mariners, of course, should make out in this, too. They'll hold on to
Johnson as long as they can because they know Johnson has to pitch well to
make himself attractive to other clubs. And the more attractive he is, the
better off the Mariners will be.
Eventually, the Mariners are going to get an offer they can't refuse. And
then Johnson will be on his way.
Ozzie Smith is baseball analyst for CNNSI, the 24-hour sports news
network from CNN and Sports Illustrated. His column appears every Monday on
CNNSI.com.
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