Piazza ponders a trade

Jul/16/07 11:13 AM

A's designated hitter Mike Piazza, launching a rehabilitation assignment with the River Cats, singled twice in five at-bats Friday night as Sacramento lost 8-1 to the Portland Beavers at Raley Field, ending its six-game winning streak.

Piazza's Sacramento stay is scheduled to last through the final two games of the series today and Sunday. He expects to shift to Class-A Stockton next week while the River Cats are on the road.

After that? Well, the 12-time All-Star said he is eager to return to the A's but wouldn't be surprised if he winds up with another team before the July 31 trading deadline.

Piazza discovers he can't retire his glove yet

Jun/26/07 10:24 AM

NEW YORK -- Still die-hard two seasons later, Mike Piazza's fans were lined up outside Shea Stadium early yesterday afternoon.

Some held scraps of paper. Others magazines. Still others pictures for their hero to sign. One fan even held a prediction, all but guaranteeing that the former Mets catcher would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his time came and that atop his bust would be a Mets cap.

But Piazza, now with the Oakland Athletics, has much more immediate concerns than his choice of headgear for Cooperstown. After spending the past six weeks on the disabled list with a shoulder sprain, Piazza has been asked by the A's to, when he is fully healthy, become a catcher once again.

Bat ready, Piazza must get arm loose

Jun/26/07 10:11 AM

It was as incongruous a sight as you could have on a Friday night at Shea: Mike Piazza, wearing the green and gold of the Oakland Athletics, sitting on a stool in front of a giant American League logo outside the visiting clubhouse, talking about losing his designated hitter job to the immortal Jack Cust.

Piazza, who has been on the disabled list since May 3 with a sprained right shoulder, is ready to play -- ready to hit, at least -- but the A's don't want him as their DH anymore. That was kind of the whole point of his switching leagues, wasn't it?

No, the A's want Piazza behind the plate, at least some of the time, so he's going to spend the next two weeks working himself into catching shape.

Surprised Piazza willing to help the A's as a catcher

Jun/23/07 10:41 AM

OAKLAND – Mike Piazza picked up a message on his phone Sunday morning from the Oakland Athletics saying they planned to make him a catcher again once he's healthy.

So he stayed put. The catcher-turned-designated hitter was all set to make the 90-minute drive to Sacramento for a rehab assignment with the Triple-A club when the plan suddenly changed – with Piazza receiving no warning whatsoever the switch was in the works.

“That was a little strange,” Piazza, out since May 3 with a right shoulder injury, said Monday. “This game is unpredictable at times. I never thought this would be the case, especially at this point in my career, but I learned to go with the flow. Whatever they want me to do. ... I was just as surprised as anybody.”

Piazza will catch for Athletics after all - With Cust's hot bat at DH, Piazza may share more time with Kendall.

Jun/21/07 04:42 PM

So much for the end of Mike Piazza's career as a catcher.

The Oakland Athletics have decided to bring Piazza back from his stint on the disabled list as a catcher and a designated hitter, postponing the scheduled start of his rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Sacramento to give him more time to get his arm in shape. The 38-year-old Piazza has been sidelined since May 3 with a sprained right shoulder, missing his 41st game Sunday against St. Louis.

Piazza, playing in the American League and as a DH for the first time after 15 seasons as a catcher, is batting .280 with one home run and four RBIs in just 25 games so far in 2007.

A's manager Bob Geren, general manager Billy Beane and assistant GM David Forst met late Saturday and made the decision -- and a big reason behind it was the fact Jack Cust has done such a good job as DH in Piazza's absence.

Piazza surprised by switch to catcher - Says he received no warning from A's

Jun/19/07 09:53 AM

OAKLAND, Calif. - Mike Piazza picked up a message on his phone Sunday morning from the Oakland Athletics saying they planned to make him a catcher again once he's healthy.

So he stayed put. The catcher-turned-designated hitter was all set to make the 90-minute drive to Sacramento for a rehab assignment with the Triple-A club when the plan suddenly changed - with Piazza receiving no warning whatsoever the switch was in the works.

"That was a little strange," Piazza, out since May 3 with a right shoulder injury, said Monday. "This game is unpredictable at times. I never thought this would be the case, especially at this point in my career, but I learned to go with the flow. Whatever they want me to do. ... I was just as surprised as anybody."

MLB Notes: Piazza nearing return to A's

Jun/18/07 09:32 AM

Mike Piazza has no plans of interfering with Oakland's winning ways of late when he gets back in the lineup.

''It seems like we're playing well,'' Piazza said Saturday. ''I want to slide back on the bus.''

And the Athletics will be happy to have him aboard.

Piazza is slated to begin a rehab assignment today with Triple-A Sacramento, the last big step for the 38-year-old designated hitter before he rejoins the A's after being sidelined since May 3 with a sprained right shoulder. He missed his 40th game Saturday night, when the A's played the middle game of their interleague series against St. Louis.

Piazza, playing in the American League and as a DH for the first time after 15 seasons as a catcher, is batting .280 with one home run and four RBIs in just 25 games so far in 2007.

(sltrib.com)

Athletics' Piazza placed on DL

May/04/07 09:53 PM

The Oakland Athletics placed designated hitter Mike Piazza on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained right shoulder and purchased the contract of outfielder/designated hitter Jack Cust from Triple-A Sacramento.

Piazza suffered a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder at Boston Wednesday during a sixth-inning collision with Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell.

This is Piazza's first season in the American League, where he is hitting .282 with one homer and eight RBI in 103 at-bats as a designated hitter.

Over 15 major league seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and San Diego Padres, Piazza became the best hitting catcher in big league history with a .309 career batting average, 419 home runs and 1,291 RBI. His 396 long balls as a backstop is a major-league record.

Cust was acquired from San Diego on Thursday for a player to be named or cash. He was hitting .295 with eight homers and 19 RBIs in 24 games for Triple-A Portland.

(theolympian.com)

Piazza out 4-6 weeks with strain in shoulder

May/03/07 08:50 AM

Oakland Athletics designated hitter Mike Piazza is expected to be out four to six weeks with a strained right shoulder. He suffered the injury diving into third base in an effort to avoid being tagged out Wednesday.

With two outs in the sixth, Bobby Crosby hit a grounder to Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. Piazza, who was on second, and Lowell both charged for the bag and collided near it. Piazza was tagged out and stayed on the ground in pain.

He thought the shoulder was separated, but the injury was diagnosed as a strained AC joint.

(suntimes.com)

Piazza shows flexibility as A's DH

Apr/24/07 11:04 AM

BALTIMORE — The Oakland Athletics were scurrying off to the Camden Yards field for warm-ups Monday, and, instinctively, Mike Piazza grabbed a catcher's mitt, pounded it a couple of times and headed out the door.

The glove looked squeaky clean, so new I could smell the leather aroma that used to excite me so much when wandering around sporting goods stores.

Piazza still has an emotional attachment to a catcher's mitt, but this glove is probably going to be just as new in September.

What he should have reached for as the A's prepared to meet the Baltimore Orioles was a bat. That's his main tool these days. He's Oakland's designated hitter.

Piazza roles with it - He's a DH instead of a catcher now, but he still can sting the bal

Apr/15/07 11:31 AM

OAKLAND, Calif. - Mike Piazza has changed leagues and adjusted to being a contributing player rather than a superstar. At 38, Piazza is not the face of the franchise he was with the Mets from 1998 to 2005, when he was a perennial All-Star.

Yet the laid-back atmosphere Piazza signed on for when he inked a one-year, $8.5-million contract with the Athletics in December is an ideal fit for his mellow personality.

"Doors close, doors open," Piazza said, "and I think one thing that I've concentrated on in later years of my career is not focusing on what I've done in the past, feeling any sense of entitlement."

Piazza has accepted the fact that he is not a cornerstone player anymore. That would be a tough realization for many, but he seems OK with it, saying: "I think humility in doses is a good thing for anybody."

A's Batman Piazza won't need a glove in his new role in Oakland

Mar/30/07 08:16 PM

A season ago, veteran Frank Thomas helped propel the Oakland Athletics into the American League Championship Series and this year they are depending on another former perennial All-Star.

Mike Piazza, baseball's all-time home-run leader for catchers, is wearing the A's colors this season.

But the 38-year-old will not be behind the plate on an every-day basis for the first time in his 15-year career.

Like Thomas, Piazza will be the team's designated hitter and bat clean-up between Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher.

"All Piazza has to do is stand in the on-deck circle and you know he's there," Swisher said. "He will be a good addition to the team and a good guy in the locker room. I'm excited to see what he can do for 162 games."

A Spring Training Interview with Mike Piazza

Mar/26/07 09:14 AM

After a Spring Training game on Thursday, March 22 against the Kansas City Royals, Baseball Digest Daily writer Scott Edelman caught up with Oakland A’s designated hitter/catcher Mike Piazza in the visiting clubhouse at Surprise Stadium in Arizona. After a 2006 rebound season with San Diego, in which he batted .283 with 22 home runs and 68 rbi in 126 games, Piazza signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Oakland A’s. Early results appear to be promising – as of March 25, Piazza has a spring batting average of .395 with 3 home runs and 15 rbi in 16 games.

One of the more interesting observations prior to the interview was watching the younger players on the team interact with Piazza as he was at his locker. It was obvious that they idolize him. One player made a joke that could be heard throughout the locker room, but his eyes were fixed on Piazza waiting to see if the baseball legend would laugh – when Piazza laughed louder than anyone it was apparent it made his teammate’s day. Another young player passed behind Piazza quietly singing a heavy metal song. Piazza spun around and started screaming out the song and the two of them finished out the verse in high volume, smiling face to face. On that afternoon, the future Hall of Famer certainly lived up to his reputation as a very friendly, approachable character who is also a great person and teammate.

Piazza connects with new teammates, duties

Mar/26/07 09:11 AM

PHOENIX — Mike Piazza and Nick Swisher have found their handshake, and it's quite a change from the jive Swisher and Frank Thomas would use to celebrate.

"The slide and the Roman," Piazza said, demonstrating how they slide their hands and grab each other's forearms. "For my Italian-American heritage."

Piazza sure appears to have his stroke down as the Athletics' new designated hitter — not to mention a comfort level with his teammates who really like him.

Piazza shines; Wang tweaks hamstring

Mar/26/07 09:10 AM

Mike Piazza knows he can't escape comparisons with the Big Hurt.

Piazza, who's replacing Frank Thomas as designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics this year, balks at the expectations that he can equal Thomas' outstanding 39-homer comeback campaign of 2006. But so far this spring, his bat is making it hard for fans not to see the similarities.

Piazza, slated to be the designated hitter in Oakland, homered for the second straight game Friday, connecting for a three-run shot in the first inning against his former team in the Athletics' 8-7 victory over the San Diego Padres. He also hit a sharp single to left in the fifth.

“Mike has been on everything at the plate,” manager Bob Geren said in Phoenix.

Piazza, as DH, helps A's edge Padres

Mar/24/07 12:38 PM

PHOENIX – Mike Piazza and Nick Swisher have found their handshake, and it's quite a change from the jive Swisher and Frank Thomas would use to celebrate.

“The slide and the Roman,” Piazza said, demonstrating how they slide their hands and grab each other's forearms. “For my Italian-American heritage.”

Piazza sure appears to have his stroke down as the Athletics' new designated hitter – not to mention a comfort level with his teammates who really like him.

Piazza is Big Daddy in Oakland's lineup

Mar/20/07 08:20 AM

PHOENIX -- Mike Piazza stashed the leather and picked up the lace. Becoming the Oakland Athletics' designated hitter prompted the former, Nicoletta Veronica Piazza's Feb. 3 arrival the latter.

"I never thought I would play in the big leagues long enough to have a kid,'' Piazza said. "My family and friends say she looks a lot like me. I'm not sure that's a good thing.''

Those flickering hearts at Petco Park last year would disagree. Most Piazza at-bats featured three swings and hundreds of swoons.

Drilling continues: Piazza hit in elbow

Mar/08/07 02:01 AM

(03-07) 04:00 PST Phoenix -- The A's hope Mike Piazza will be as valuable to them as Frank Thomas was in 2006. Naturally, the A's need the 38-year-old designated hitter to stay healthy.

So it was an uneasy feeling in training camp when Piazza was drilled in the left elbow in the third inning Tuesday of a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. He began walking to first base but didn't make it; he was taken straight to the trainer's room and initially diagnosed with a bruise.

"This is frustrating. This is a setback," said Piazza, who hit safely in four of his first nine at-bats, including a second-inning double Tuesday. "You're on a certain pace, and you'd like to stay on pace. Injuries are a big inconvenience."

Piazza has mask, pads handy as Oakland DH

Mar/05/07 12:38 PM

PHOENIX – A decade and a half in the major leagues already has well-established Mike Piazza as the mightiest power-hitting catcher of all time. But Piazza is 38 years old, and he isn't getting any lighter.

Yet, he does feel like a weight has been lifted off him. Seven and a half pounds, to be exact. This time, too, he may have lost it for good.

Piazza has been shedding the combined weight of a face mask, chest protector and shin guards before almost all of his 7,416 career plate appearances, habitually returning to the dugout and putting the catcher's gear right back on. It's a habit he's trying to break with the Oakland Athletics, who signed him to be their new designated hitter and don't want Piazza even to think about getting behind the plate again.

Piazza Still Has All the Tools - A's New DH Reports With Little-Needed Catcher's Gear

Feb/26/07 11:03 PM

PHOENIX, Feb. 22 -- Mike Piazza showed up at the Oakland Athletics' camp early Thursday morning -- the day of the team's first full-squad workout, and six days after its pitchers and catchers reported -- with an enormous green Spalding duffel bag, the kind favored by catchers, slung over his shoulder. Inside it was some catching gear, including five mitts -- three brand-new ones still in their plastic wrap, the other two used, one of which was wrapped tightly with shoelaces to help get it conditioned -- and some bats.

But when Piazza followed his new teammates into the glaring desert sun for the workout, all but the bats stayed behind in his locker. The catching gear was still there, untouched, when the workout ended some four hours later. And it is safe to say Piazza's newest mitts will still be wrapped in plastic when this season ends, if the A's have their way.

Piazza getting prepped for new role - Longtime catcher adjusting to season as full-time DH

Feb/26/07 11:00 PM

PHOENIX -- Mike Piazza will be Oakland's third-string catcher this season, but don't expect to see Adam Melhuse walking around with his chest puffed out because he's ahead of a future Hall of Famer on the depth chart.

Like everyone else in the world, Melhuse knows exactly why the A's signed Piazza. It's the same reason he's a lock to someday land in Cooperstown, and why new manager Bob Geren respectfully declined Piazza's offer to catch in the bullpen on Thursday during the club's first full-squad workout at Papago Park.

"Just get yourself ready to hit," Geren told Piazza, who admitted that adjusting his new role as a full-time designated hitter won't be easy.

Mike Piazza adjusting to a world without glove

Feb/23/07 08:12 AM

PHOENIX - One of the arguments in favor of the designated-hitter rule is that it allows star hitters to extend their careers.

Growing up outside Philadelphia, following the Phillies, Mike Piazza probably didn't think that was a good enough reason to mess with baseball's traditions. Spending his entire career in the NL wouldn't have changed his mind, especially while he was in the process of amassing more homers as a catcher than any player in history.

But Piazza is 38 now. All those years of crouching behind home plate have taken their toll on his knees and his back.

Which is how the future Hall of Famer found himself sitting outside the Oakland Athletics' clubhouse at the Papago Park Baseball Complex on Thursday.

Piazza Catching Up With Life in the AL

Feb/22/07 10:28 PM

PHOENIX - Mike Piazza appears perfectly comfortable with his new gig, even if he's really not. He smiled Thursday as he made his way onto the field minus catching gear for the first time in his career, the last member of the Oakland Athletics to get outside for stretching as he embarked on becoming a full-time designated hitter.

At 38, Piazza is ready to begin a new baseball life. The A's don't want him to catch at all to ensure that he stays healthy _ and manager Bob Geren asked him to take it easy in drills Thursday.

Piazza stood in the back of the group once he was on the field, doing some warming up on his own before the A's got going because he couldn't stay still on Day 1.

After 15 seasons as a catcher, he will be playing in the American League and as a regular DH for the first time, hitting cleanup for the defending AL West champions. His arrival at Oakland's Papago Park complex drew a Barry Bonds-like media crowd along with a large group of fans.

OH, BABY! PIAZZA'S A DAD

Feb/06/07 01:50 PM

February 6, 2007 -- Mike Piazza will have to learn how to change some diapers. Three days ago, he and his wife, Alicia, had a daughter, Nicoletta Veronica. It's the couple's first baby and makes Piazza a first-time dad.

"Mike has wanted kids for a long time and finally found the right woman to do that with," Piazza's agent, Dan Lozano, said yesterday. "And this is definitely a point in his life where he couldn't be in a better place."

Nicoletta weighed in at five pounds, eight ounces and was 19 inches long. Lozano said Piazza called him approximately an hour after the baby was born Saturday morning in New York. According to Lozano, "you could tell he was ecstatic."

Piazza, the 38-year-old former Mets superstar and future Hall of Famer, is headed to A's camp for his first tour with the team. He spent last year with the Padres, hitting .283 with 22 homers and 68 RBIs.

(nypost.com)