Bring Him Back

[Centerfield]

Mike Piazza is currently 5th amongst all catchers in OPS

Of the four in front of him, two of them (LaRue and Barret) play in pitchers parks, and another was once (before Big Papi's September) considered the MVP for his team. None of them, of course, are available.

Ramon Hernandez, often mentioned as a possible replacement for Big Mike, checks in with an OPS of .779...which is only .009 higher than Ramon Castro.

Speaking of Castro, between Ramon and Mike, the Mets have gotten 27 HR's and 103 RBI from the catcher position demonstrating that is still a strength for the Mets. I say that's plenty. And for those that have seen Castro drive in runs and might be entertaining thoughts of making him the starter, a look at the stats reveals that Mike beats him in every single offensive category with the exception of stolen bases. (Castro 1, Piazza 0).

And I don't agree with the general conception is that Mike's defense has faltered to the point he should go to the American League. Mike has never been a great defensive catcher...it's always his offense that has justified him being in the lineup. And though it's not as patently obvious as it used to be when he was hitting .320 and mashing 35 HR's, I say his offense still makes him a productive player.

Let the other guys sign the Alberto Castillo's of this world.

On Edit: Edgy, can you fix my link? What am I doing wrong?

[Guest Edgy DC]

How 'bout those Molinas of the world?

Listen, I'm behind this. Sign him for 1.5 to $2 million base with incentives that could take it up to $7-7.5 million. Even throw an option year for the same in there.

But don't think for a minute those guys yelling "One more year!" won't rip the Mets if the deal goes sour. The important thing is to have contingencies in place for when his productivity no longer out his defense and his increasing fragility. Jesus Flores crapped out at Hagerstown this season, but Mike Jacobs, Joe Hietpas, and Andrew Wilson (not to mention Castro) still give them a chance to resign Piazza and transition on the fly, which is a beautiful thing when it works.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

I have been thinking the same thing for weeks now. It began as sentiment, but I truly think they would have a tough time coming up with a more productive combo than Castro/Piazza.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I kind of like the idea of Piazza as part of a 3-headed catching corps which would leave him to DH in interleague, get starts at catcher when feasible, but mainly to be an extremely threatening version of Jose Offerman.

[Theoldmole]

I've got no problem with this.

[Guest sharpie]

count me in.

[Guest ABG]

I could forsee a scenario where the market dictates to Piazza and the Mets that a reasonable arrangement could be made in the 4-5 mill guaranteed range with incentives piled on.

I would hope this came after we plugged up the pen and settled 1b/2b/of.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there

He is young
He's afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.

He's like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son.
The summers die
One by one
How soon they fly
On and on
And I am old
And will be gone.

Bring him peace
Bring him joy
He is young
He is only a boy

You can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die, let me die
Let him live
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.

[Willets Point]

Now we see where La Diva gets it from.

[Valadius]

Who says we haven't found our first baseman already?

Mike Jacobs has an OPS of 1.018. Give the Jake-Monster a shot.

[Guest sharpie]

'Course he could very easily turn out to be Rico Brogna, who also impressed in a short stint.

[Guest ABG]

sharpie wrote: 'Course he could very easily turn out to be Rico Brogna, who also impressed in a short stint.

Or Jason Phillips. Catcher turned 1b who had an out-of-nowhere nice rookie season.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Seems to me they'd want a RH hitter would they give 1B to Jake, perhaps a another reason to hold onto Piazza, if he gets over his bad self.

[Elster88]

I posted this a while back and everyone ignored me. *pouts and stomps his feet*

[DocTee]

Count me in-- at the time of his hand injury, Mike was second in the bigs among catchers in HR/RBI.

[Guest KC]

Count me in on the Piazza-signs-in-a-diminishing-role-for-not-too-much-
and-an-incentive-laden-contract camp. Other than that, sayonara.

[nymr83]

i wanted to find someone to platoon with castroanyway, if piazza is CHEAP then fine, but i dont want to see him getting a gauranteed 5 or 6 mil just because of his name.

[DocTee]

Despite fewer AB's (nearly 200), Mike outperforms Beltran (among others) in almost all offensive stats.

I'm not saying we break the bank for him, but if it comes down to spending comparable sums on MP or Ramon Hernandez,for argument's sake, it's an easy decision.

Piazza deserves to be bought back on performance, not just on his name or his past accomplishments.

[Zvon]

One thing I really enjoyed about this season was not hearing anything from Fred Wilpon about anything.
He couldnt stay quite, unfortunately, and did go on record the other day saying he wishes Mike well, where ever he ends up.

I personally would like to see Piazza stay on.
Ive come to accept the fact that this is a looooooongshot.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I think Piazza is still a better option than most of the catchers that may be available to replace him. I too wouldn't mind seeing Piazza back if it was at a reasonably affordable, incentive laden, short term contract. However, I doubt seriously that we will see Piazza in a Mets uniform again. He will likely get more lucrative offers to play as a DH/catcher in the AL.

[Guest Edgy DC]

ONe more reason to hate the AL and their stupid rule --- it queers the marketplace.

The time has come
A fact's a fact
He belongs to us
Let's bring him back.

[Willets Point]

Anyone still in favor of this after the Mets free agent rampage? Is Piazza even still a possibility? I'm not stating pro-or-anti, just curious of the option.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

I think that a reduced role/salary on a team with Delgado and Wagner is probably a little more appealing to Piazza than it was before those improvements. On the other hand, he may be resentful that Mets have likely offered several million to two other catchers that in his opinion are neither much younger, or any better than he is, and decided to move on regardless of what happens.

I still think Piazza/Castro is a good option, but the Mets have made no secret that they plan to do do something else.

[Elster88]

]"Nothing signals the arrival of summer more than watching Mets baseball and enjoying delicious Wise snacks." - Jeff Wilpon, June 2005

Now THAT'S a sig line.

[Centerfield]

Bring him back anyway.

Trade Lo Duca.

[Elster88]

Me too.

I miss Mike already.

[Centerfield]

I guess it was inevitable, but I caught this tidbit in today's News:

Minaya confirmed that Mike Piazza's tenure with the Mets officially will end tomorrow when the club declines arbitration to the future Hall of Famer, forfeiting negotiating rights.

This means only one thing. That the Mets have to trade LoDuca today and finalize a deal with Piazza later tonight. Do it Omar.

[Centerfield]

You know, sometime around the trade deadline next year, the Mets should look to get a veteran presence off the bench. Someone who bats right-handed and has a little bit of pop...

[Valadius]

Someone all too familiar...

[seawolf17]

How great would that be!! Let's say Mike signs a one-year deal with someone who turns out to be a non-contender. We're two games out of the wild card spot, it's July 29, and the best right-handed bat we have on the bench is Chris Woodward.

I'd send a mid-level prospect somewhere to bring back Mike for two months.