The Mets had hoped Mike Piazza would recover from his mild concussion in time to start in last night’s 5-3 win over the Devil Rays, but the catcher woke up woozy yesterday morning and headed to Manhattan’s Hospital for Special Surgery for a CAT scan that came up negative.
Piazza suffered the injury when he was struck in the head by the backswing of Gary Sheffield in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s 4-3 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles. And after feeling dizzy yesterday he was examined by Dr. John Caronna, whose tests came up negative and who cleared him with no medical restrictions.
Piazza returned to Shea last night, but didn’t play. He’s been cleared to play tonight.
“[I feel] a little better. I would think [I can play]. We’ll just wait and see, I think,” Piazza said in a voice just a little quieter than usual. “I just talked to Fred (Hina, trainer) about it this morning, and he decided just to be safe to get a checkup. The doctor said I looked pretty good, so I came back and I definitely feel better.
“I think it’s also the carry over from the West Coast, and the redeye flight. I don’t think its any worse [than his last concussion]. It’s probably just from travel, fatigue and the trip.”
Piazza is hitting .372 with a team-high 14 home runs and 36 RBI in just 156 at-bats. He’s been red-hot of late, hitting .435 (10-for-23) on the road trip, with two homers, five RBI and five runs scored.
The Mets were clearly being cautious with their star catcher, especially since he took a hit to the head in 1998 on a backswing by Atlanta’s Gerald Williams and suffered a concussion last June 23 from the backswing of Florida’s Bruce Aven.
“No one on the medical staff has given us any reason to be worried. The thing he had last year was called a concussion and it really wasn’t,” GM Steve Phillips said. “I don’t think [it’s chronic]. He’s not like a quarterback or Pat LaFontaine, having taken too many shots to the head. From everything I’ve been led to believe, he’ll [be fine].”
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Armando Benitez picked up his 14th save of the year last night, fanning Greg Vaughn to end the game. He’s allowed just one single, five walks and 14 strikeouts in his last 12 appearances, spanning a dozen scoreless innings. He’s earned six saves in that span.
Rick Reed will test his strained oblique muscle by throwing off the mound today, and the Mets will get a better grasp on when he can return to the rotation.