Nymet31
02-28-2004, 04:27 PM
BY DAVID LENNON
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
February 27, 2004
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- If anyone knows what Mike Piazza is going through in his education at first base, it is Jason Phillips, and vice versa. Both are full-time catchers learning how to moonlight at an unfamiliar position, so it was only appropriate that the two paired up from the very start of spring training, lab partners fiddling with an inexact science.
Piazza, a 10-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, is technically the understudy to Phillips, a second-year player who has seniority at first base because of his 82 starts there last season. But the two embark on this project as equals, and Piazza seems to enjoy having Phillips ride shotgun on this training run for the next month or so.
After Piazza wrapped up a round of batting practice last week, the first thing he did was reach for his first baseman's glove. The second was look for Phillips.
"Where's my twin?" Piazza said.
For the first week, the two were inseparable, trotting from field to field as they split time between first-base drills and their catching responsibilities. The arrival of Todd Zeile has changed the dynamic somewhat, as Zeile will also put in time at the position, but only Piazza and Phillips have the exhausting job of being behind the plate as well. The first day of workouts was an indication of just how rough the next six weeks would be, and it was a mistake to have Piazza and Phillips take grounders as one of their last drills rather than earlier in the morning.
By the time the two dragged themselves over to the conditioning field, the tank was on empty, with Piazza and Phillips stumbling through agility exercises, getting their feet caught in the rope ladders stretched out on the grass.
"It's 100 percent lactic acid buildup," Piazza joked.
Since then, the Mets have switched their schedule to give Piazza and Phillips more of a breather, but fatigue is still part of the learning curve. Piazza and Phillips spent yesterday afternoon catching live batting practice before trudging over to Field No. 3 for more grounders and tutoring from infield coach Matt Galante.
"We're out there doing it together," Phillips said. "It's not like I'm out there trying to outdo him or he's trying to outdo me. I think the biggest thing is that he's got somebody else that's out there as tired as he is. It's very exhausting. If your conditioning isn't there, you're going to be dying. It takes away from what you're doing. You're going to miss a ball sometimes because you're just too tired to get it."
Said Piazza: "You get a little camaraderie going on. It's good. We have a lot in common, and it helps to see what the adjustment entails, since he went through it."
Phillips, though hardly an expert, knows a little of what he's talking about. Mo Vaughn's career-ending knee condition forced the Mets to put Phillips through a midseason crash course at first base - without getting any work there during spring training. Phillips made sure not to come in cold this year. In addition to moving his family to Las Vegas, and adjusting to life with a newborn son, Phillips had his relatives hit him ground balls whenever they had a chance.
His father did it when they visited his parents in San Diego and his brother took a turn with the bat when he came out to Las Vegas. But mostly, Phillips relied on his wife, Kelly, a former professional basketball player in Australia, to smack ground balls at him during their spare time. Phillips got Kelly a bat she could swing one-handed and they went out on the street of their cul-de-sac, with Phillips positioned about three houses down. Phillips did get good hops off the asphalt, but the important part was to keep his hands quick.
"I had a lot of room for improvement, so hopefully I'm a lot better," Phillips said. "The goal this year is to try and catch it in the glove. I feel more comfortable over there to be smoother so I can catch the ball and not worry about knocking it down so much."
Galante has been pleased with Phillips' progress, and is optimistic that Piazza will pick things up more rapidly with a full spring training at the position. There is no substitute for game experience, however, and Piazza only has one inning to his credit in the past decade.
"Phillips is a lot smoother than he was last season and that's from game play," Galante said. "He's made tremendous strides and that's what I expect from Mike also."
From Newsday
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
February 27, 2004
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- If anyone knows what Mike Piazza is going through in his education at first base, it is Jason Phillips, and vice versa. Both are full-time catchers learning how to moonlight at an unfamiliar position, so it was only appropriate that the two paired up from the very start of spring training, lab partners fiddling with an inexact science.
Piazza, a 10-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, is technically the understudy to Phillips, a second-year player who has seniority at first base because of his 82 starts there last season. But the two embark on this project as equals, and Piazza seems to enjoy having Phillips ride shotgun on this training run for the next month or so.
After Piazza wrapped up a round of batting practice last week, the first thing he did was reach for his first baseman's glove. The second was look for Phillips.
"Where's my twin?" Piazza said.
For the first week, the two were inseparable, trotting from field to field as they split time between first-base drills and their catching responsibilities. The arrival of Todd Zeile has changed the dynamic somewhat, as Zeile will also put in time at the position, but only Piazza and Phillips have the exhausting job of being behind the plate as well. The first day of workouts was an indication of just how rough the next six weeks would be, and it was a mistake to have Piazza and Phillips take grounders as one of their last drills rather than earlier in the morning.
By the time the two dragged themselves over to the conditioning field, the tank was on empty, with Piazza and Phillips stumbling through agility exercises, getting their feet caught in the rope ladders stretched out on the grass.
"It's 100 percent lactic acid buildup," Piazza joked.
Since then, the Mets have switched their schedule to give Piazza and Phillips more of a breather, but fatigue is still part of the learning curve. Piazza and Phillips spent yesterday afternoon catching live batting practice before trudging over to Field No. 3 for more grounders and tutoring from infield coach Matt Galante.
"We're out there doing it together," Phillips said. "It's not like I'm out there trying to outdo him or he's trying to outdo me. I think the biggest thing is that he's got somebody else that's out there as tired as he is. It's very exhausting. If your conditioning isn't there, you're going to be dying. It takes away from what you're doing. You're going to miss a ball sometimes because you're just too tired to get it."
Said Piazza: "You get a little camaraderie going on. It's good. We have a lot in common, and it helps to see what the adjustment entails, since he went through it."
Phillips, though hardly an expert, knows a little of what he's talking about. Mo Vaughn's career-ending knee condition forced the Mets to put Phillips through a midseason crash course at first base - without getting any work there during spring training. Phillips made sure not to come in cold this year. In addition to moving his family to Las Vegas, and adjusting to life with a newborn son, Phillips had his relatives hit him ground balls whenever they had a chance.
His father did it when they visited his parents in San Diego and his brother took a turn with the bat when he came out to Las Vegas. But mostly, Phillips relied on his wife, Kelly, a former professional basketball player in Australia, to smack ground balls at him during their spare time. Phillips got Kelly a bat she could swing one-handed and they went out on the street of their cul-de-sac, with Phillips positioned about three houses down. Phillips did get good hops off the asphalt, but the important part was to keep his hands quick.
"I had a lot of room for improvement, so hopefully I'm a lot better," Phillips said. "The goal this year is to try and catch it in the glove. I feel more comfortable over there to be smoother so I can catch the ball and not worry about knocking it down so much."
Galante has been pleased with Phillips' progress, and is optimistic that Piazza will pick things up more rapidly with a full spring training at the position. There is no substitute for game experience, however, and Piazza only has one inning to his credit in the past decade.
"Phillips is a lot smoother than he was last season and that's from game play," Galante said. "He's made tremendous strides and that's what I expect from Mike also."
From Newsday