Piazza could play first base for Tides

[pkarr5000]

Mike Piazza might play first base for Triple-A Norfolk in Saturday night's game against Richmond.

Piazza, who went 1-for-2 and caught four innings Friday in the second game of his rehabilitation assignment, said the weather could determine whether he plays first base for just the second time in 15 professional seasons.

The New York Mets All-Star catcher said he discussed the possibility of playing first with Mets assistant general manager Gary LaRoque on Friday.

``If they get the tarp off the field before the game, I'll take some ground balls and might play some there,'' Piazza said.

Rain all week has forced groundskeepers to keep the infield covered until gametime, eliminating the usual pregame batting and fielding practice.

The Mets put Piazza on the 15-day disabled list May 17 because of a severely strained right groin.

``There's no plan etched in stone,'' Piazza said. ``We'll treat it like a spring training game because there's no sense of urgency to accelerate the process.''

In Norfolk's 1-0 loss to Richmond on Friday, Piazza struck out in the first inning and singled to left in the fourth. A Richmond runner stole second on Piazza, whose throw was low and to the shortstop side.

Piazza was expected to catch six or seven innings Saturday, and if all went well, he could catch the whole game Sunday.

Barring setbacks, the Mets plan to have him back in the lineup next week against the San Francisco Giants.

[Mugrila]

hmm, thanks for the info, i might just have to go check out the game tom. night.

[Madison]

Piazza at 1st should prove interesting.

[DieHardCubbie]

hmm, thanks for the info, i might just have to go check out the game tom. night.

give us a report....

[wrveres]

Shit................................. i have Jason Phillips at C in 1 , 2 , 3 nope two fricking leagues ...

I hate you all over again Mike PIAZZA.

ever since Mike appeared on "Baywatch", (standing on the beach, hitting baseball's into the ocean .... In his FRICKING UNIFORM ????)... pizza boy has lost all credabilty with me, I have never had him on a team since that episode ... NEVER.

Poor Jason Phillips ... all the kid did was batt fricking what .320?

[jdh]

I doubt that Piazza will effect Jason Phillips playing time. Even if he does come back at 1B, they mentioned that they wanted to split his time between catcher and 1B to allow him to break the HR by a catcher record. With the way Phillips is swinging the bat, and the way Vance Wilson has been terrible at the plate, I'd imagine Phillips starts at 1B or C every day depending on where Piazza is playing, and Wilson just becomes a backup catcher.

[wrveres]

I doubt that Piazza will effect Jason Phillips playing time. Even if he does come back at 1B, they mentioned that they wanted to split his time between catcher and 1B to allow him to break the HR by a catcher record. With the way Phillips is swinging the bat, and the way Vance Wilson has been terrible at the plate, I'd imagine Phillips starts at 1B or C every day depending on where Piazza is playing, and Wilson just becomes a backup catcher.

Lord I hope so ... I really do, because that C elig. is huge .. especially since he plays every day. Well I guess the worst is he loses a few starts a week, that would make him just like a normal C, as far as AB's