Monday Morning, July 8, 2002
It's the All Star Break. Most of the Mets will relax while Mike Piazza is in Milwaukee for the Midsummer Classic. Then on Thursday the Mets will commence a four game series at Shea against the Philadelphia Phillies.
All Star News - For the fourth time in five years, Mike Piazza will be an ESPN analyst for the Home Run Derby.
Norfolk's Marco Scutaro and Jason Phillips were chosen for the AAA All Star squad.
Mike Milestone - Piazza's home run last Thursday was his 155th as a Met, putting him at third place on the team's all time list. Darryl Strawberry is number one with 252 and Howard Johnson follows with 192.
Health Notes - Steve Trachsel came out of last Sunday's game against the Yankees after four innings with an aching right trapezius muscle and received a cortisone injection between his shoulder blades. The shoulder did not respond favorably to the treatment, thus earning Trachsel a stay on the disabled list. The good news is that an MRI showed that there is no structural or nerve damage to Trachsel's back. Trachsel will be in the Bahamas for the All Star break, but plans to keep the back flexible and his arm strength up during that time by playing catch at the resort with teammate Shawn Estes.
Mark Corey underwent a series of tests by neurologist Orrin Devinsky, a seizure specialist. No conclusive reason for his seizure was found, and Corey was given medical clearance to pitch again. Corey, on the disabled list, began a rehab pitching assignment with AAA Norfolk last week.
Jorge Toca's season in Norfolk ended Tuesday night with a gruesome collision when Toca was covering home plate after a sacrifice bunt. Toca had a compound fracture of his leg, and required surgery to reset it. He should be ready to play again by spring training.
Roster Moves - Last Tuesday, Steve Trachsel was placed on the 15 day disabled list with a strained shoulder. Trachsel's place on the roster was initially taken by Tyler Walker, who was called up from Norfolk. But after Thursday's game Walker was sent back to Norfolk so that Mike Bacsik could start in Trachsel's place, thus marking the first time this season that a Mets pitcher has missed a start.
Bacsik, the son of the former Major Leaguer with the same name, was a popular figure in the Mets' clubhouse during spring training because he ran the NCAA bracket pool in March. He also apparently likes double digit numbers - Bacsik's birthday is 11/11/77, and he's wearing number 33 for the Mets. The 24-year-old left-hander was on the Tides' bus, en route to Richmond when he was called up. The bus was stopped, and Bacsik's parents, who were trailing the bus in order to see his minor league start, drove him back to Norfolk instead. Mr. and Mrs. Bacsik made the trip to Florida to catch their son's first major league start. Bacsik earned the win on Friday, becoming the first Met to win his first start since Masato Yoshii did on April 5th, 1998, and afterwards received a shaving pie in the face from team captain John Franco during the postgame television interview. Manager Bobby Valentine later gave the rookie the winning baseball and lineup card, and his new teammates showered him with beer in the clubhouse. Welcome to the majors, Mike!
Ending a Bad Streak - Joe McEwing was happy to single against the Marlins on Saturday. It was his first hit since May 25th, also against Florida. In the interim, he had gone 0-for-33!
Take That! - After being plunked in the ribs by a pitch from Michael Tejara in the fourth inning on Saturday, Mike Piazza picked up the ball and flipped it back to the pitcher, underhand. "I kind of always wanted to do that," said Piazza. "Did it look cool?"
Rallying the Troops - Bobby Valentine and batting coach Chris Chambliss had a meeting with the Mets position players prior to last Tuesday's game. Whatever they said must have been good, because the Mets scored 12 runs that night!
Valentine also met with the pitching staff Thursday on the subject of shaking off pitches, after Jeff D'Amico shook off several of Mike Piazza's calls during Wednesday's disastrous 6th inning in Philadelphia. Valentine expressed that pitchers can shake off any pitch, but that it has to be in favor of a pitch they believe in as opposed to just looking for a different pitch.
And Evaluating the Troops - General manager Steve Phillips was with the team in Florida last weekend, and made no secret of the fact that he was evaluating the team in light of the upcoming July 31st trade deadline. He spent two and a half hours with manager Bobby Valentine and the coaching staff, looking at the entire roster in detail.
Rest in Peace to the "Splendid Splinter" - On Friday, baseball and the world lost a true legend, Ted Williams. Williams succumbed to heart failure at the age of 83. Williams was the last man to hit .400 in the majors, and hit 521 home runs in a career that was shortened by close to five years due to military service as a pilot during World War II and, later, Korea. The superstar was also instrumental in Mike Piazza's development, as Williams' visit to 15-year-old Piazza's home proved inspirational to the young player. Goodbye to an American hero.
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Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , and www.mets.com reports.
