Pirates 3
Mets 1
It was the top of the ninth inning in what might have been the last time the Mets played defense at Shea Stadium this season. Tom Glavine had left after five innings with contusions to both knees. The 25,081 fans had spent another night watching the Mets’ offense scratch out four hits in a 3-1 loss to the Pirates, not exactly a stirring sendoff for Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Murphy.
And then Art Howe officially signaled the start of the 2004 season.
He moved Mike Piazza to first base.
A buzz swept through the stands. Then the Pirates’ first batter that inning, Carlos Rivera, lashed a wicked line drive just to the left of Piazza’s head. He dropped to his knees, stuck his glove where his head had been, and snagged the ball.
“It was self preservation more than anything,” said Piazza, who hadn’t played first since 1993, his rookie season with the Dodgers.
As far as Mets fans are concerned, it wasn’t a save but a start.
Instead of a bleak cold winter with nothing to dream about, there’s the tantalizing prospect of keeping Piazza’s bat in the lineup at first.
“There’s a lot of hypotheticals and a lot of variables involved,” said Piazza, who did not seem as excited about playing first as the fans. “I just know that we obviously don’t like being where we are right now. It’s frustrating. This organization tried to put a team on the field the last couple of years to get to the World Series. It just hasn’t worked out that way.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, there’s no question about it,” he added. “This is obviously unacceptable in this city, for these fans, and we know that.”
Mets manager Art Howe said he told Piazza Wednesday night that he planned to play him at first. But Howe already had bungled this switch once before.
Back in May he told a local cable television station that he was thinking about trying Piazza at first. One problem: Howe never discussed the move with his superstar. One week later, Piazza suffered a torn groin muscle that sidelined him for three months.
“There’s been so much hoopla about it,” said Howe. “I just thought it was the time to do it.”
“I never really thought of it as any sort of event,” said Piazza. “It’s just something I’ve been preparing for.
“I’m going to keep working at it,” continued Piazza. “We’ll see where it fits in. That’s my attitude. If they ask me to do it, I’ll do it.”
Tom Glavine, who took a Jack Wilson one-hopper off his right knee in the first and a Jason Kendall line drive off his left knee in the third, worked five innings of six-hit ball before soreness forced him to leave.
“Believe me, after the first one I thought, ‘You know what, I don’t need this,’ ” said Glavine, who got to start for the first time with his brother, Mike (who got the nod at first). “But at the same time you don’t want to end your season that way. It was important for me to go out there tonight and pitch a good game and have a good feeling going into the winter.”
Rest assured when Mets fans gather this winter, they’ll talk about Piazza’s one inning at first.
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If the Mets have to hostGiants on Monday in a makeup game to decide home-field advantage in the NL playoffs, either Steve Trachsel, or Al Leiter (currently set to start Sunday) will get the start.