Mike Piazza Update

[Guest vtmet]

We aren't talking about a 30 year old Mike Piazza...we're talking about a 37 year old catcher that was weak defensively when he was young and healthy...and hasn't been healthy enough in over 3 seasons to be productive offensively, other than hitting HRs...

[metirish]

True,Snow is no health freak either though, I agree he's a good pick up for Boston though.

[Guest Edgy DC]

J.T. Snow will be 38 next season himself. And earned fewer win shares than Piazza, health or no.

I don't know who advocates offering Piazza $20-24 million, but that's not been going around here.

[Guest cooby]

Prolly Ms. Kelly

[metirish]

Hell maybe Piazza goes to play in Italy or goes to Japan and plays for Bobby V.

[Guest vtmet]

Edgy, that was $10-12 over 2 years, not $10-12 per season over 2 years...but still, IMO, way too much money...especially when based on his last 3 years production, I can't say that he earned that $45 mil that he made in that timeframe...

[Guest vtmet]

cooby wrote: Prolly Ms. Kelly

I like said poster, but it's funny...she labeled Omar as evil for stringing Mikey and Al "digger" Leiter along, pretending to show interest in keeping both...where's the loyalty...

[Guest cooby]

Vermont, you're not serious, she thought they should saddle themselves....er...resign Leiter?

[nymr83]

]there was about a 6 week stretch where we had a much better winning percentage when Shrek was our starting catcher over when Mikey was our catcher...and it wasn't because Shrek was the world's greatest complete catcher, just that he had less "achillies heels"...

six weeks is a small sample size in that regard, besides which it might have helped that Piaza was catching Ishii while Castro was our best pitcher's personal caddy.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yup, you did say total.

But whether Piazza lived up to his last few year's salary is a very different question from what is a good price to offer him in 2006.

[Guest vtmet]

she's not the only poster that I argued with over Leiter's & Franco's (lack of) value last year...between the buyout money and the Marlin's money, he was so far overpaid last year...especially when the season before he was talking about how shot his shoulder was and that doctors recommended surgery but he said he was too old for that...and then surprise, surprise Digger threw with the accuracy of a blown out shoulder...

[Guest vtmet]

Nymr83 wrote: ]there was about a 6 week stretch where we had a much better winning percentage when Shrek was our starting catcher over when Mikey was our catcher...and it wasn't because Shrek was the world's greatest complete catcher, just that he had less "achillies heels"... six weeks is a small sample size in that regard, besides which it might have helped that Piaza was catching Ishii while Castro was our best pitcher's personal caddy.

actually last time that I went thru that sample group, Piazza was catching Pedro much more often than Castro was (and those were the games that the Mets were losing, despite Pedro pitching)...

[Guest cooby]

Two points:

1) I am not about to start a Ms. Kelly bashing discussion, so calm down Edgy

2) I know I hate Al Leiter more than anybody else on this board does, for reasons even I can't pinpoint (except his pitching)


but anybody who championed for Leiter to return to the Mets after last season is just deranged.

Piazza, whatever, whether he stayed or left was okay with me.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You got the wrong cat.

[Guest cooby]

Oh. Well then, never mind

[Guest Edgy DC]

Those six weeks are almost irrelevant if it can't be demonstrated what Castro and Piazza actually contributed to those wins and losses.

[metirish]

Who is Ms. kelly?

[Guest cooby]

She's the nun that wrote that article in Catholic Digest

[metirish]

Ok, so what is Sister Kelly doing on this board, it seems I missed quite a bit while in Ireland.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Former poster.

Last I heard, not actually in religious life.

[Guest vtmet]

Edgy DC wrote: Those six weeks are almost irrelevant if it can't be demonstrated what Castro and Piazza actually contributed to those wins and losses.

merely coincidence? It's next to impossible to prove what results a pitcher would have had if a different "thought process" was behind the dish calling the pitches...one thing that I like about Castro and even when Jason Phillips would catch, is that their pitch calling wasn't as predictable as Piazza's was...I get so frustrated watching a Mets pitcher get a head in the count 0-2 or 1-2 and then Piazza would just keep calling for pitches low and away, at least 6 inches off the plate, until the count was full...whereas, Castro/Phillips would come after the batter a little more, calling for some inside pitches before going outside to keep the batters at a disadvantage...I don't know if you still have Pedro's opening day start from last year, but I just watched it about a month ago...in that first inning where Pedro gave up 3 runs, he was ahead in the count either 0-2 or 1-2 to all 3 batters that got hits that inning (and scored), and then after the bomb by Dunn, Pedro appeared to started throwing what he wanted instead of what Piazza wanted...

[metirish]

Pedro calls his own pitches, no matter who caught him he had problems with what they were calling.

[Guest vtmet]

I seem to remember Jason Varitek doing Pedro's pitching in Boston...I think that first inning in Cinci., woke his ass up though...