Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Collision Of The Ex-Mets - Bannister Drills Piazza

In a Cactus League matchup between the Royals and the A's, transplanted ex-Mets Brian Bannister hit Mike Piazza, who is the Athletics' new designated hitter. From the AP:

Piazza was hit just above his left elbow by a pitch from Kansas City's Brian Bannister, and the designated hitter came out of Oakland's 3-2 loss in 10 innings.

Piazza has a bruised left triceps. Impressions from the seams of the baseball were visible on his elbow in the clubhouse after the game. Piazza doubled earlier to raise his spring training average to .444, third-best among A's regulars.

"He got it pretty good," said Piazza, who initially put a thick bag of ice on his elbow. "I'm just going to ice it again, see how it feels and go from there. If everything's all right, I'm sure it will calm down in a day or two."


It's just nice to know these games are going on, isn't it? We're now just about 25 days from Opening Day in St. Louis! Yesterday the guy at the local pizza place noticed my Mets keychain. He said he was glad to see a Mets fan in Greensboro. We chatted a bit, and laughed about the latest A-Rod - Jeter - and now David Wright rumor mill. Seriously, how hilarious would it be if A-Rod came to the Mets after all this and succeeded in the postseason? Junkees fans could never live it down. Anyway, it will never happen. Why would the Mets bring in a guy and pay him $25 million to do a job the current guy is doing, superbly, for much less? Can A-Rod pitch?


Some other notes:
Tom Glavine pitched well yesterday, and looks poised to be the team's ace for 2007. As for the other guys in the rotation, Oliver Perez pitched a decent game on Monday, and forgotten soldier Alay Soler had his second good outing as well. John Maine pitched well on Sunday against the O's and will go again tomorrow, as will Orlando Hernandez, making his first start since being out with arthritis. Those in Fort Meyers today will get the opportunity to see Chan Ho Park's first outing in a Mets uniform. Park had been barred from pitching in games because of problems with a work visa. Hot Foot suggests we try and tune into the Mets game at 890ESPN.com.

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