Piazza goes to Padres | SportsFilter

Now the question becomes, where do you play him? At first? What about Klesko? At catcher? Mirabelli stinks, but Piazza can't hold up behind the dish. He would have made the most sense, obviously, in the AL as a DH, but switching leagues this late in his career may not be the answer. Sounds to me like a move to generate early Spring buzz with Padre fans.

posted by dyams at 06:34 PM - reply - flag:

He says he wants to catch 90-100 games? He'll be on the DL for longer than that, probably before spring training ends.

posted by dyams at 06:37 PM - reply - flag:

Mirabelli isn't awful. Don't forget he caught Wakefield, so he does have some skills. He's a backup catcher.

posted by jerseygirl at 06:44 PM - reply - flag:

I agree that he's fine for a backup. He's 35 and never had more than 53 hits in a season. But if the Padres are counting on Piazza being their starter, they'd better make some alternative plans.

posted by dyams at 07:02 PM - reply - flag:

This is a publicity move by the dads to get people in San Diego or otherwise to give them a look. In seriousnesss though Piazza is still a decent bat to have in the lineup, if he is ever in the lineup that is, but he can hit sometimes.

posted by millertime at 07:03 PM - reply - flag:

Man, get a 3rd catcher and move Mike to 1B or something.

posted by chemwizBsquared at 08:41 PM - reply - flag:

Yeah Mike Piazza is such a great 1B they should make him play first. I mean the guy played a whole 0 games at first last year....don't you think if he was any good at 1B or even maybe partly decent the Mets would've used him there, but he's not so good pick up Kevin Towers, your team's really getting better now.

posted by kurt71 at 09:01 PM - reply - flag:

I think it was a move in the right direction. It's not a long term move, but. The Padres have had problems putting runs on the board. They have had a pretty good bullpen and a star closer. However, they get scored on and dont score enough runs to compensate. enter- Piazza. Humh..... It will sell tickets too! Go BOLTS oops... Go PADRES

posted by mrrocnron at 11:26 PM - reply - flag:

I think poor Mike has to be dragged off the field soon. I guess he can still play, but only marginally by his standards. It's as if he never really got out of the whole "I was never even supposed to be good enough" thing and keeps having to prove it over and over again. The sad thing is that the longer he keeps this up the more his actual reputation will, if not tarnished, then just fade away.

posted by mikelbyl at 11:26 PM - reply - flag:

Well, I think piazzas time has passed. He's constantly on the DL, stinks at defense, and isn't an unbelievable hitter anymore. It would be better for him to be in the AL because he wouldn't have many injuries and dosn't have to play defense. To bad he's not going to the angels.

posted by johnisimus at 11:27 PM - reply - flag:

i like this trade as a dodgers fan.

posted by ninjavshippo at 12:56 AM - reply - flag:

PIAZZA SUCKS!

posted by LiveWithIt at 06:22 AM - reply - flag:

I'm just glad he didnt go to the Phillies. Terminator X!!!

posted by GoBirds at 06:40 AM - reply - flag:

Piazza had 19 home runs last year , when he sucked, that would have led the Padres last year, I think he is a great Bat in the line up, nothing else.

posted by wiseguy at 07:14 AM - reply - flag:

Piazza does, and always has, had a great bat. Just don't count on him being around more than half a season or so, and sporadically at that.

posted by dyams at 07:19 AM - reply - flag:

Glad he's not a Yankee

posted by tool2310 at 07:25 AM - reply - flag:

This signing really isnt that much of a shock. Ididnt think he would wind up in the AL as a DH.

posted by daddisamm at 08:31 AM - reply - flag:

This strikes me as an example of good sense getting trampled, both by Piazza's ego and Towers' desperation. Those two are potent together. Towers probably had Bruce Bochy sitting in his office, glaring at him, asking if he was REALLY going to have to write Mirabelli on his lineup card every day. Piazza saw the chance to catch everyday again and at least give the appearance of not being a used-up showpiece, which is probably what DH felt like to him. I really want to see Piazza do well, but if I had to guess: career pattern of decline + cavernous PETCO = see if Mackey Sasser is available before drafting Piazza on your fantasy team.

posted by BullpenPro at 08:55 AM - reply - flag:

i think its a good thing that piazza is staying in baseball because he can now sit and see what kind of team he was on. im not a mets fan but i have to say that have really improved this year .yankees need to get minaya for cashman I AM A YANKEES FAN (red sox suck)

posted by jeet at 09:38 AM - reply - flag:

This seems like a strange signing to me. At the catcher position they now have a career back up and a washed up hall of famer with no knees. Mikey P can swing the bat, no doubt about that but with his declining health and poor fielding, how can this signing not be questioned? No shame in playing the DH position, just ask Edgar Martinez.

posted by HATER 187 at 09:46 AM - reply - flag:

yankees need to get minaya for cashman As a Blue Jays fan, I would be doing cartwheels of joy if the Yankees acquired Minaya as their GM. He's probably the most overrated GM in the league right now. He's currently still riding the minimal praise for handling the Expos during their deaththrows, and keeping them from completely imploding. But even during that time he was making deals that were very questionable. Was he influenced by MLB to make those deals? It doesn't matter: if he was, then how much fortitude does he have...if he wasn't, then they weren't very good deals at all.

posted by grum@work at 11:27 AM - reply - flag:

Word. I heard Minaya on Imus last week. He seems like a nice guy, but a nice guy who's more interested in being friends with the stars (and maybe a little famous himself).

posted by yerfatma at 11:44 AM - reply - flag:

I am not a Mets fan, but I don't understand the bashing of Omar Minaya. Lots of people keep commenting on his "questionable deals" without citing the deals in question. I am willing to be shown the light and proven wrong, but from where I sit Minaya has done a very, very respectable (at worst) job. He inherited a team with some bad contracts, including a big one for an aging catcher, a very bad one for an unproven second baseman, and he showed up in the wake of the Zambrano/Kazmir debacle. Last year he hired (in my opinion) the right manager and put a much-improved team on the field. This year he observed his holes (bullpen, defense at catcher, first base) and he has gone a long way to plugging them with top notch players (Wagner - top closer on the market, LoDuca - one of the top 3 catchers in the NL, Delgado -- arguably the best hitter to change teams this off-season). The Beltran signing didn't pay off for him last year, but the real value of that signing will be determined this year after Carlos has spent a year adjusting to the limelight of NY. And, perhaps most importantly, Minaya has kept the Mets on the tabloid radar in a positive way, which is much, much more than can be said for the pre-Minaya days. Where has Minaya done this team wrong?

posted by BullpenPro at 12:05 PM - reply - flag:

LoDuca - one of the top 3 catchers in the NL In 2002, maybe. On more than one deal Minaya has paid a lot of money for a player when there was (supposedly) no second bidder even close. He's taking a heck of a gamble on Pedro and a somewhat smaller one on Beltran.

posted by yerfatma at 12:29 PM - reply - flag:

Why Mike, why? As a player who is far better off being a DH now in the AL - you decide to sign with San Diego and play in the worst hitter's park in the majors. For $2 million. Worst. Decision. Evar.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:15 PM - reply - flag:

As a player who is far better off being a DH now in the AL - you decide to sign with San Diego and play in the worst hitter's park in the majors. For $2 million. Worst. Decision. Evar. Jody Reed would disagree. He turned down a 3-year, $7.8million contract with Los Angeles to test the free agent market. He made a grand total of $2.875million over the next 4 years before being finished in the MLB at age 34. Nomar Garciappara may be the modern day Jody Reed, but it's still early.

posted by grum@work at 01:57 PM - reply - flag:

Sunday, January 29, 2006

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