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As noted earlier, Ramon Castro left yesterday’s game after tweaking the same right hamstring that had kept him out of action the previous week.
Castro told reporters that he didn’t pull ‘nothing,’ and that the hamstring stopped hurting as soon as he stopped running.
He is scheduled to have an MRI today.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, Willie Randolph told reporters that Brian Schneider might not play until Wednesday.
Schneider has also been bothered by a tight hamstring.
Yesterday, when asked who the team’s third-string catcher is, Willie Randolph said the following to reporters:
“Raul Casanova is probably the third guy, though I like some of the other guys I’ve seen…But, I think Robinson Cancel and Casanova are probably in the next line of guys.”
In an e-mail sent to MetsBlog, reader Josuel P wrote:
“With Castro maybe on his way to the disabled list, and Schneider’s return in the waiting, the Mets need a backup plan – unless a trade. The only option is Mike Piazza. What do you think?”
…listen, i am as big of a piazza fan as any one, but that ship has sailed…seriously…you need to just accept that and move on, josuel…it pains me to say it, but it’s true…
…if for no reason than, the main reason you still like mike is because of the memories you have of him…the last thing i want to see is mike come back to the Mets, struggle, be a total flop and have that become his lasting memory…at best he’ll hit .280 or so, play a shaky defense, and then need to be cut when castro returns from the disabled list…
…why put mike and his legacy in that situation…
…just let it go…let it go…
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what about molina? he has more upside than castro, cancel, and casanove combined!
Molina’s minor-league offensive numbers compare unfavorably to Brian Schneider’s, and his few games in the majors last year produced some very ugly offensive numbers indeed – on a small sample size.
Main advantage he has is age, but that doesn’t mean much for this season as Casanova and Cancel aren’t old enough to be falling apart yet.
Gustavo Molina? His defense is pretty much on par with Casanova, who has a much better bat, which doesn’t say much about M olina
I’d like to see the Mets make a deal for Brandon Inge, who could help out behind the plate while Schneider and Castro are hurt and also play all three outfield positions as well as third base (and first too, I believe). He wants out of the Tigers, and while the Mets don’t have an everyday position for him to play, he probably would play just about every day at multiple positions.
Inge has stated that he does not want to catch…I don’t see how he’d play about everyday, considering he is a 3B, and wright will play at LEAST 155 games, barring injury -knock on wood- I doubt he’d see a lot of time at 1st either.
Well, in Detroit he wouldn’t be catching every day. If Schneider and Castro are hurt, he’d probably play quite a bit early on. He would also see a lot of time in left field with Alou on the shelf. Just a thought….
He told Leyland two weeks ago, after being used as a catcher in a ST game, that he does not want to be a catcher.
Leyland was apparently thinking of using him as the backup catcher, which is more than he’d be here, where Castro has that role locked up when healthy.
He wants to be an everyday 3B. That definitely isn’t happening at the Mets.
He want out of the Tigers because they don’t have an everyday position for him to play. He has also stated firmly that he doesn’t want to catch any more. The Mets would not be a good fit for him.
Besides, he’s not all that good. Career .304 OBP, his only above-league-average year was ‘04 (and that wasn’t all that great anyway), and he had a down year last year.
I don’t see that he offers us more than we already have. Who would you push off the bench to make room for him?
And before the haters chime in, LoDuca has been hurt too 9is he even going to make opening day), as is Estrada.
Man, the mets are tough on any catchers that come near the team!
I would guess the Schnedier will play, and some combo of the other guys can fill in.
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Who knows, Casanova and Cancel might end up being the full tandem at some point!
i kind of like Cancel though, at least he showed something during the spring.
You said it best Matt, Let. It. Go.
The sooner Piazza accepts reality and retires, the sooner we will all see his number retired and up in CitiField.
Look What is wrong with Mike as the third string catcher? He can DH in Al parks and pinch hit when needed? He can’t be worse than some kid from AA or AAA can he? And what the memories of him playing his final game at Shea and wining a ring at Shea as a Met? That memory would be priceless. It all depends on how much he wants and if he’s willing to play as a back-up or not. The Yankees took a chance on Straw and look what they got out of him. Let’s not be to quick to dismiss an option here. Perhaps it will work perhaps it wont. I dont think he’s going to be the Piazza of old, I’m not that dumb, but, he’s still Mike Piazza. We gave Tom Seaver another chance, so, what’s the difference here? We are not talking a front line guy here that plays every game and every day. We are talking a bench player and occasional fill is all. He sure can’t hurt the team and is knowledge, expierance and being in the dug out can be a good thing.
He’d hurt the team in the role you’re describing by pushing someone who can take the field in a pinch off of the bench.
At this stage, it’s possible, although not guaranteed, that he’d be able to catch a game or two over the season, but not back-to-back, and he can’t play any other position. Don’t forget, Oakland tried but failed to rehab him as a catcher last year.
Piazza is done. It’s over for him. Unfortuantely, age has caught up to him and has limited what he can do at the big league level of play. It’s come to the point to where the 25th man on the bench demands more value and flexibility than Piazza can provide at this point in his career.
If he had anything left in the tank, wouldn’t an AL team have already signed him for a backup catcher and DH? There is a reason why not a single team has signed him. That in itself should say something.
What’s wrong with Mike Piazza as a 3rd string catcher is like saying what’s wrong with having Joe DiMaggio come back as a 5th OFer for the 1952 Yankees. It’s degrading to his reputation and insulting to the man.
Matt said it best, “at best he’ll hit .280 or so, play a shaky defense, and then need to be cut when [C]astro returns from the disabled list” Is that how you want to treat a legend and fan favorite?
Mike can’t even find a position on a team like the Marlins. That should be a good indication of how far his skills have declined over the past few years – and let’s face it, he wasn’t exactly stellar on the Mets his last 2-3 seasons. He couldn’t even cut it as a DH on the A’s fer cryin’ out loud.
It’s time for Mike – and some fans – to face reality and realize that he should just retire. I’d love to have him be involved in the Met organization in some capacity once he’s retired. But having a first ballot HOFer essentially try out for a 3rd string position is just embarrassing.
No the embarassment will be our 1st string catcher. Get Mike! Or trade for someone else. Castro can’t stay healthy. Brian sucks.
I still like Piazza.
Then I ask myself is that the Mets fan in me. yes and no.
Piazza can still hit, albeit not like he use to, he’ll still out bat three quarters of the current Major League catchers.
He lacks position options. If he could hold his own at first, he’d be a great right handed bat off the bench.
I don;t know, I hear what Matt is saying. Its just that Mike was never really given a star caliber team while in his prime. The 2000 team got hot and then faced a dynasty Yankee team.
If he could just be part of a dominant Mets team, thats what would make me happy. He carried so much of the weight while here, so many would of buckled in this spotlight with that lack of support.
Rumer is that Hobie Landrith is available.
i love mike piazza, but i feel like his stubborness about learning the position of 1st base is coming back to haunt him. im sure if he had some quality innings log at 1st he wouldve been sign by someone by now as a backup C/1B RH off the bench. if you can play 2 positions and hit someone will sign you. unfortunately he can BARELY catch at this point and cant play anywhere else.
Casanova has power, if not much else. Given how little the Mets are expecting to get out of the catcher slot, it really wouldn’t be a disaster if he has to start a few games early on. Sadly, he can probably give us a higher level of play than Piazza at this point.
none of those guys are making the 25 man roster once everyone is healthy.. w/ 12 pitchers, castro, endy, anderson, easley and gotay off bench, who is emergency 3d catcher? gotay? marlon anderson? without 3d catcher, castro (who is only longball threat off bench) can never pinchhit.
maybe we can get Mike DeFelice out of retirement, lol
DiFelice didn’t retire. He went to Tampa Bay.
The reason Piazza will not be contacted by the Mets is simply that they do not have the guts to make the call, i.e., admit the trade for Schenider hasn’t worked out as well as they would have liked. You want me to believe Piazza is not an upgrade over the options the Mets presently have available? It’s not as if Justin Huber or Jesus Flores are waiting in the wings. If not Piazza, then they better get smart, and quick. The Mets have talked it up regarding the last year at Shea and CitiField, increasing ticket prices by 20% and getting in bed with StubHub. Enough with the nonsense they feed the media and get an experienced and healthy catcher behind the plate.
Well Piazza would defintely not fit your requirements of healthy or even a catcher anymore. If he could play 1B then maybe but he can’t even catch.
An aging pinch hitter that can’t throw or field? How much value does he really have?
Who should he replace on the bench? Marlon, Easley, Gotay, or Endy? NONE, because while they aren’t the best hitters in the world, they can actually play defense.
Isn’t it a bit early to say the trade has not worked out?
“get an experienced and healthy catcher behind the plate.”
That’s not Mike Piazza any more. He’s neither healthy nor a catcher.
He missed significant time last season to injury. Oakland tried to rehab him as a catcher, and he couldn’t do it any more.
Plus, he put up career-worst OBP and SLG last year, and for the first time had a sub-100 OPS+. At two years older than Delgado, you have to say he really is done. At least Delgado still completes the putouts at 1st, and produced for the second half last year. Piazza had a dreadful August, and, in 10 PA as a pinchhitter last year, managed 0 hits and 1 walk.
I’m totally with Matt on this one… let’s not tarnish his legacy by watching him scratch around as a shell of his former self.
I guess everyone caught up with Mike last week and has the up to date status report on his health, so we don’t need to make the call. So he was injured last year, so have been plenty of players who have come back the following year. So he may only be at 50% of his past glory. He’s a righty batting seventh or eighth. What spot? Those two may not even make the trip north or are one step from missing the entire season. Not to worry, because as I said, the Mets aren’t going to make the call. If he was healthy, and I’m not the one to make that call – the Mets would, a so-called ‘has been’ is a much better option then the collection of ‘never were’s’ the Mets have as present options. He could help them out while BS and RC rehab on the DL, and then retire as a Met. Like I said, if not him, then somebody else. BS and RC may be fine come Opening Day, maybe not – their injuries could linger all year long, as could the injuries for Alou, Church, Delgado and others.
“…admit the trade for Schenider hasn’t worked out as well as they would have liked”
Pure poppycock. Are you nuts?
No GM with a brain would evaluate a trade based on spring training. Where do you get this fantasy that the trade hasn’t worked out?
Further, Piazza can’t catch anymore. Plain and simple. To suggest the Mets give him a call for backup catcher is ludicrous. (And I’m a big Piazza fan.)
Jeff Wilpon actually put the kabosh on that idea last week when he said that the Mets wouldn’t be interested in Piazza this year and that he’s an AL player now (DH). But he also said Piazza would always have a job in the organization, , either on or off the field, after he retires. Which was a very nice thing to say.
That’s right, it’s always a plus when you make a trade for a career average .250 catcher and he’s limited to a handful of games in ST. As well, it always a plus when you have instilled a ‘must win’ mentality within a franchise and it’s two weeks to go in ST and half your roster is one big question mark. As well, I’m impressed with the quote from Jeff Wilpon, he of the baseball Wilpons and a supreme judge of baseball talent, and of his offer. I’m sure Mike is waiting by the phone from the call from Jeff, as if he needs the handout. As I said, if your argument is that Casanova or Cancel represent a huge upgrade over Piazza or any other FA healthy and experienced catcher, whatever floats your boat, my friend. Because we all know that with the great job Omar has done as GM, our recent drafts provide plenty of trading options.
It’s ST, for christsake. It doesn’t mean anything, especially for the veterans.
And what the heck do you mean by “half your roster is one big question mark? Huh? All teams have big question marks, so obviously the Mets are not immune. But they have fewer question marks than most teams in the NL.
And you needn’t be a judge of baseball talent to know Piazza is washed up as a catcher. Hell, he couldn’t even return to catching last year with the A’s after his injury. It’s fantasy to think he can still catch.
And because Piazza can’t catch anymore, yes, Casanova, Cancel, and Molina represent an upgrade because simply they can catch. Heck, even Difelice is an upgrade.
I’m one of the biggest Piazza fans, but it’s no use being delusional about what he’s still capable of just for nostalgia’s sake. He can’t help the Mets anymore. Now if they were an AL club that might be a different matter. But they’re not.
nitpicking now, but roster problem is the third catcher and backup first baseman positions. And Marlon Anderson and Ruben Gotay duplicate each other (good lefty bat with maybe doubles pop, adequate infield D.) I guess Gotay is backup SS too, and 7 years younger, so as nice a utility player as he is, Marlon has to go to make room for RH hitting backup 1B who can emergency catch. Piazza v.2006 or an Inge (i know he wants to start … me too. 1B may turn into semi-platoon before too long anyway, and if Inge shows anything, maybe opportunity there next year.)
Ugh… any team that would consider Inge as a starting 1B is in desperate trouble.
maybe … but he was 25 and 85 a couple of years ago, and other than texiera possibility for next year, do you have someone better in mind? Plus he fills a need this year. i think Inge on roster in place of marlon/gotay is good move for right now.
Getting rid of Marlon Anderson would be the biggest mistake this team could make. You remember him pinch hitting last year?? “Pinch-hitting is my World series every night”
choices are hard … MA has been good met … but we need 12 pitchers (agree?) and we don’t have legit backup for delgado at 1st (remember easley will be in RF against a lot of LHP) and we have no emergency C , anchoring Castro to bench. should we not think about those holes in roster and instead keep four guys who can play 2B?
I honestly don’t think they really need 12 pitchers this year. If the #5 hole stabalizes (say Duque can get on the field), the rotation should take quite a load off of the pen. If so, you might end up with guys get rusty from lack of work!
It is a viable debate whether a 6th man on the bench (back up 1B/C, OF, someone) will be more valuable to the team then say Register as the 7th man in the pen, pitching once a week.
We really need to move on from Mike Piazza. I’m glad a majority of the fans posting here realize that. Mike was my hero from 98-2003 but let’s be real here. If the guy isn’t getting picked by an AL team to DH right now, why would an NL team take him as a catcher and a backup? And why would have even accept that assingment.
For me, all that matters is that Piazza is treated with proper class by this organization once he retired. It’s nice to hear WIlpon say there’s a job for him and I hope this team retires his number as soon as they’re allowed. We probably blew it with Carter, not treating him more like royalty post-retirement which is why the HOF put him in as an Expos. You know Tommy two-tons Lasorda is going to be pushing for Piazza to go in as a Dodger so let’s make sure we at least make it a debate.
Piazza’s .275 last season is going to be 30-50 points higher than what Schneider is going to give you this year.
I think this guy Schneider sucks, I hope he proves me wrong. But, I think folks will be booing him before the May.
I thought the Mets got rid of Mike 2 years too late. But, it’s a perfect time to bring him back now, sign him to a 1-year deal with an option, for as little as you can (he’s Mikey P for chrissakes). You know he batter almost .300 against lefties last year. Brian the Scrub batted .212 against lefties, though he was a sparkling .244 against righties.
It’s time to start the chant. We want Mike! We want Mike! We want Mike!
FTW! Reading the thread one gets the impression simply because Omar signs a player, they are elevated to mythical status. It’s as if Brian Schneider is the second coming of Johnny Bench, and these ST squatters such as Casanova and Molina defecate Gold Gloves on cue.
Schneider can do something very, very important that Piazza is simply physically incapable of. He can get down behind the plate and catch 100 games in a season.
You’re out of your freaking mind if you think Piazza can take the field any more. The A’s tried to rehab him as a catcher – they needed one bad – and he wasn’t able to do it.
Wake up and smell the coffee, and let’s get Piazza in the HOF one year earlier by hanging up his boots now.
The Mets don’t need Piazza to play everyday, 100 games or even start 30 games. They need a healthy player with ML experience behind the plate for the first six weeks of the season. Furthermore, the A’s jerked Piazza around, asking him to switch to catcher because they wanted to keep Cust’s bat in the lineup. He didn’t want to – not that he wasn’t able to. As I’ve said, the Mets aren’t calling him, so it’s moot.
We got 2 weeks to openin’ day!
Ya got a hurt catcher, a hurt left fielder, a recovering center fielder, a recovering 2nd baseman, a hurt first baseman….I could see why some of us are anxious.
Hey, we want our team to be strong and ready.
We wanna be “Arnold”, not “Elliot” !
You know what? If Piazza could play 1B, I’d do it.
The Mets should trade Ryan Church and Brian Schneider to the Nationals for Lastings Milledge and Paul LoDuca.
Classic.