yagsy
08-11-2006, 07:30 PM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20060811-9999-1s11padnotes.html
Piazza gets rest and fans get restless
By Chris Jenkins
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 11, 2006
NEW YORK – The Mets' ticket-sellers can't appreciate Padres manager Bruce Bochy's season-long strategy of playing catcher Mike Piazza in roughly two of every three games, thus saving his 37-year-old body from the rigors of catching. Yesterday's crowd of 39,649 sure didn't.
Piazza and Mike Cameron, who also played for the Mets until this year, were given yesterday off after two nights of emotional scenes at Shea Stadium. The first two games basically were full-fledged tributes to Piazza by the crowds, but those who came yesterday were denied even a pinch-hitting appearance by Piazza, who had homered twice Wednesday night.
At least the fans waited until the ninth inning to begin chanting Piazza's name and “We want Mike,” the Padres trailing 7-3 at the time. Just as he was booed when sent in to replace Piazza late in Tuesday's game, fellow Padres catcher Josh Bard was jeered lustily upon approaching the plate with two out in the ninth, whereupon his single really got folks calling for Piazza.
“Yeah, if the tying run came up,” Bochy said when asked if he had considered sending out Piazza to hit. “He was available to pinch-hit. But I'm not going to put him in yet. I want him available for a crisis situation.”
The Mets have had few players who so captivated fans. Tuesday night's game drew a season-best 5.7 regional television rating. Not only did it outdraw the Yankees-White Sox game that night, but it reportedly was the highest-rated Mets broadcast since the first game played in New York in the aftermath of 9/11.
Off the hook
There's a bit of a dubious aspect attached, but Chris Young extended his unbeaten streak on the road yesterday. For the 20th straight road start – 11 with the Padres, the rest with the Texas Rangers last year – the tall right-hander was not tagged with a loss. That makes him 8-0 with a dozen no-decisions in those contests.
The Mets had him down, leading 3-2 when Young left the game after five shaky innings, but Bard drove in Brian Giles with the tying run in the seventh. Thus, Young remained the first pitcher since Greg Maddux in 1997-98 to go undefeated over that long a period in away starts.
“Sometimes you win when you're not supposed to and sometimes you lose when you pitch well,” said Young, who allowed three runs, four hits and six walks in the 7-3 loss. “This game was somewhere in between. All I know is, this team counts on me to get the job done and I didn't get it done.”
Gonzalez golden
The Padres are in makeshift mode, with Geoff Blum playing short in place of the injured Khalil Greene and import Todd Walker playing third for the first time since 1997. That has made them even more appreciative of Adrian Gonzalez's skills at first base. He no doubt scored some big-time Gold Glove points with some of the snags he made of bouncing throws on the big stage of New York.
“Our infielders should be taking him to dinner every night, turning over their credit cards to him,” Bochy said. “He's helped them a lot.”
New dirt
Whatever other problems the Padres had in New York, it wasn't on defense, perhaps partly because it was almost as if they were playing on home turf.
New Mets groundskeeper Bill Deacon said he changed the makeup of the infield dirt to approximate that used when he was on the grounds crew the first two years at Petco Park, generally rated among the top playing surfaces in the majors.
For years Shea Stadium was known as a veritable adventureland when it came to bad-hop grounders.
“God, yeah, it's better now,” Blum said. “The dirt's softer and there's a lot less gravel. The lip (between the grass and dirt) is actually level. It makes a huge difference in how you approach grounders. Before, this wasn't one of my favorite places to play defense.
“Petco's still the best in the league, though, by far, and it's not just our players who say that. It's just a great surface.”
Notes
With his two-run homer, Gonzalez has reached base in 30 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Padre since Ryan Klesko reached in 56 straight in 2002. .. . Michael Tucker, who joined the Mets only the night before as a call-up, threw out Dave Roberts when Roberts tried to extend a single to a double, increasing New York's number of outfield assists to 30, tops in the majors.
Piazza gets rest and fans get restless
By Chris Jenkins
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 11, 2006
NEW YORK – The Mets' ticket-sellers can't appreciate Padres manager Bruce Bochy's season-long strategy of playing catcher Mike Piazza in roughly two of every three games, thus saving his 37-year-old body from the rigors of catching. Yesterday's crowd of 39,649 sure didn't.
Piazza and Mike Cameron, who also played for the Mets until this year, were given yesterday off after two nights of emotional scenes at Shea Stadium. The first two games basically were full-fledged tributes to Piazza by the crowds, but those who came yesterday were denied even a pinch-hitting appearance by Piazza, who had homered twice Wednesday night.
At least the fans waited until the ninth inning to begin chanting Piazza's name and “We want Mike,” the Padres trailing 7-3 at the time. Just as he was booed when sent in to replace Piazza late in Tuesday's game, fellow Padres catcher Josh Bard was jeered lustily upon approaching the plate with two out in the ninth, whereupon his single really got folks calling for Piazza.
“Yeah, if the tying run came up,” Bochy said when asked if he had considered sending out Piazza to hit. “He was available to pinch-hit. But I'm not going to put him in yet. I want him available for a crisis situation.”
The Mets have had few players who so captivated fans. Tuesday night's game drew a season-best 5.7 regional television rating. Not only did it outdraw the Yankees-White Sox game that night, but it reportedly was the highest-rated Mets broadcast since the first game played in New York in the aftermath of 9/11.
Off the hook
There's a bit of a dubious aspect attached, but Chris Young extended his unbeaten streak on the road yesterday. For the 20th straight road start – 11 with the Padres, the rest with the Texas Rangers last year – the tall right-hander was not tagged with a loss. That makes him 8-0 with a dozen no-decisions in those contests.
The Mets had him down, leading 3-2 when Young left the game after five shaky innings, but Bard drove in Brian Giles with the tying run in the seventh. Thus, Young remained the first pitcher since Greg Maddux in 1997-98 to go undefeated over that long a period in away starts.
“Sometimes you win when you're not supposed to and sometimes you lose when you pitch well,” said Young, who allowed three runs, four hits and six walks in the 7-3 loss. “This game was somewhere in between. All I know is, this team counts on me to get the job done and I didn't get it done.”
Gonzalez golden
The Padres are in makeshift mode, with Geoff Blum playing short in place of the injured Khalil Greene and import Todd Walker playing third for the first time since 1997. That has made them even more appreciative of Adrian Gonzalez's skills at first base. He no doubt scored some big-time Gold Glove points with some of the snags he made of bouncing throws on the big stage of New York.
“Our infielders should be taking him to dinner every night, turning over their credit cards to him,” Bochy said. “He's helped them a lot.”
New dirt
Whatever other problems the Padres had in New York, it wasn't on defense, perhaps partly because it was almost as if they were playing on home turf.
New Mets groundskeeper Bill Deacon said he changed the makeup of the infield dirt to approximate that used when he was on the grounds crew the first two years at Petco Park, generally rated among the top playing surfaces in the majors.
For years Shea Stadium was known as a veritable adventureland when it came to bad-hop grounders.
“God, yeah, it's better now,” Blum said. “The dirt's softer and there's a lot less gravel. The lip (between the grass and dirt) is actually level. It makes a huge difference in how you approach grounders. Before, this wasn't one of my favorite places to play defense.
“Petco's still the best in the league, though, by far, and it's not just our players who say that. It's just a great surface.”
Notes
With his two-run homer, Gonzalez has reached base in 30 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Padre since Ryan Klesko reached in 56 straight in 2002. .. . Michael Tucker, who joined the Mets only the night before as a call-up, threw out Dave Roberts when Roberts tried to extend a single to a double, increasing New York's number of outfield assists to 30, tops in the majors.