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5.08.2003
Piazza (finally) on the move, eventually (soon) Steve Phillips apparently called a press conference this evening announcing that Mike Piazza will be moving to first base, at least some of the time, in the "near future". Of course, there's no set definition of what that means, though Phillips and manager Art Howe (who spoke about the subject as well with MSG Network's Talk of our Town) seemed to indicate that a move would not take place right away...when it would make sense, as first base is currently left relatively vacant with Mo Vaughn sidelined for an undetermined amount of time (Tony Clark is manning the position currently). Clearly, this move has to happen and is almost certainly overdue. Mike Piazza, while still an excellent offensive player, has devolved into a terrible catcher. While he can still catch the ball with some effectiveness, he has an extremely weak arm which baserunners now take advantage of on a regular basis. Despite his objections, in the interests of the team, he's got to move, particularly with Vaughn hurt and the Mets not tempted to run him out there because of his massive salary. That said, this is not the way to go about it. It appears (based on the quotes in this article) that Piazza is no longer as opposed to a move as he once was...and the correct way to handle it would be to quietly let him take some ground balls and play a few innings, once he's comfortable, at first. Making a statement at a press conference without first consulting Piazza seems pretty stupid. Excuses, excuses Part of the reason I've been skipping posting these days is because I'm pretty wrapped up in my playoff-involved teams in other sports, the Devils and the Pistons. It's 10:15 and I'm about to get into baseball for the night (at least while I'm not watching Kings-Mavs and Wild-Canucks), but I'd be remiss not to mention the ridiculous display just put on by Pistons rookie Tayshaun Prince, who hit the game-tying shot to send the game to OT and then scored seven points in the extra session. I feel stupid using that terminology, but I don't like to repeat words if I can avoid it. So Detroit leads that best-of-seven series 2-0. And the Mavs and Kings just combined for 84 points in the first quarter (44-40 Mavs)...I get the feeling it's going to be difficult to tear myself away from that one. - |