12/22/24
October 22, 2005
Piazza likely done playing for mets: pizza man done in pizza town? could Piazza be an DH next year? my opinion is thats probably his best bet.
posted by to baseball at 06:14 PM - 14 comments
Yeah, Piazza should have been playing his entire career in the AL as a DH. He is a major defensive liability and an injury waiting to happen. DHing would likely take care of both of those problems.
posted by bigrobbieb at 07:03 PM on October 22, 2005
I think he would be a better fit in San Francisco.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 09:24 PM on October 22, 2005
Yeah, Piazza should have been playing his entire career in the AL as a DH. He's a bad fielding catcher, I agree, but he loses a LOT of value if he was just a DH. Piazza + regular DH (or 1B, in the NL) >>>> Piazza (at DH or 1B) + regular catcher In terms of value to the team, putting Piazza at catcher (in his prime) gave the team a HUGE advantage in hitting that far outweighed any defensive differences between Piazza and a "good fielding" catcher (like Flaherty). Given his injury history at this time, his catching days are probably done except as an emergency 3rd catcher on an AL team. Of course, he could retire right now and waltz in with 85-95% HOF vote in 5 years. Even though he's been barely a league-average hitter (regardless of position) the past two years, he's developed such a magnificient hitting resume that he couldn't possibly tarnish it with a year or two of sub-standard play. In the end, he's the greatest hitting catcher of all time and definitely a top 5 catcher overall (with Berra, Fisk, Bench, Campanella, Cochrane and Rodriguez in the mix).
posted by grum@work at 09:45 PM on October 22, 2005
Yeah hes way past his prime, but is still very valuable to many teams- particulary in the AL. A team like the A's could really use his experience, and a team like the Yankees could use his bat. There are infinate possibilities for a guy with a good bat, and experience.
posted by redsoxrgay at 09:59 PM on October 22, 2005
if he can catch 2 games a week (but no 1B please) and DH the rest of the time, i'd love to have him in pinstripes.
posted by goddam at 10:00 PM on October 22, 2005
I will weep when he leaves NY because he is the subject of one of my favorite songs.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:15 AM on October 23, 2005
In the end, he's the greatest hitting catcher of all time and definitely a top 5 catcher overall (with Berra, Fisk, Bench, Campanella, Cochrane and Rodriguez in the mix). Let's not forget Gabby Hartnett and NY's other #8, the 11 time all-star Bill Dickey.
posted by drevl at 08:22 AM on October 23, 2005
I'd put Piazza in the top three or four of all time catchers. All catchers wind up chronically injured. It's a calling. To stay committed to the position is a sacrifice all on its own. Piazza has made that sacrifice, and done spectacularly with it. I'd put hm ahead of Campanella, Cochrane and Rodriguez, and where you put him amidst Berra, Bench and Dickey is an arbitrary decision based on how old you are, who you watched and which folklore you heard growing up. (I have Fisk at fifth, but I agree with grum's list more or less.) This probably is the end of the line for him as a catcher (the curtain calls at the end of the season tell me he knew it, as did the Mets fans), but -- and I never say this about any actual still-talented player -- if he wound up in a Yankee uniform, that would be a nice touch for everyone involved.
posted by chicobangs at 09:08 AM on October 23, 2005
Piazza in front of FISK??? what have you been smoking?oh I see a yankees fan...cant even give credit where i'ts due, Fisk is def in top 3..
Piazza in front of FISK??? Actually, I have no problem with making that statement at all. In ten less seasons, Piazza has more HR than Fisk. He has a better AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+ (by a HUGE margin), better post-season results, more All-Star game appearances, better Gray Ink, HOF Monitor and HOF Standards numbers than Fisk. His 162 game average is better than Fisk in every single offensive category there is, except SB (2 to 8) and SB% (50% to 66%). And the difference in defence isn't that big, as the Gold Glove count is a whopping 1 to 0 for Fisk. Piazza has 7 top-10 finishes in MVP voting, and Fisk had 4. And while longevity does count for something, the last 3 years of Fisk's career we below league average. Even if you factor in the other 7 years that Fisk (currently) has on Piazza, it's still not close in my mind. I listed Fisk in my comment (with the others) because the debate would be among them (and Dickey, who I inadvertantly left out) as to who would be in the top 5. I have no qualms saying Piazza would finish ahead of Fisk in all variations of my top 5 catching list.
posted by grum@work at 10:20 PM on October 23, 2005
there is something called intangables,fisk is a legend that piazza will never be..
I think it's a question of perspective: Fisk is certainly a much better catcher (as an all-around player, defense, calling a game, etc.). Piazza was such an amazing hitter it makes up for a world of shortcomings.
posted by yerfatma at 06:12 AM on October 25, 2005
there is something called intangables,fisk is a legend that piazza will never be.. So Piazza doesn't have "intangibles"? Well, using the normal criteria for "intangibles": Piazza's teams made the playoffs more often than Fisk. Piazza had better numbers than Fisk in those playoffs. If you've got some other measurable criteria for "intangibles", let me know what they are.
posted by grum@work at 09:32 AM on October 25, 2005
This would be a perfect fit for a team like the Yankees- get rid of Flarety and have Piazza as a backup, and DH. Not to mention he would still be in New York. Makes sense huh?