MET NOTES
During a week in which the Mets made national headlines with their off-the-field follies, the question arises as to whether the players are staying in the right frame of mind mentally come game time.
Mike Piazza and Tom Glavine were two key players who have recently said the team that was 14-20 and in last place heading into last night seems to be focused – but the coach purportedly handling that area was not available for comment.
Fran Pirozzolo, deemed the Mets’ mental-skills coach, would not be made available for interviews, said Met media-relations man Jay Horwitz.
“He wants to keep it low-key, and so do we,” Horwitz said. “It puts him in a bad position with player confidentiality issues.”
A few minutes earlier, Pirozzolo was in uniform on the field during batting practice handling the double-play pivot with Rey Sanchez. An observer also reported he handled grounders at first base, beating Piazza to the punch.
Pirozzolo, who dresses with the team in the clubhouse and was given No. 57, was in the Mets’ dugout during games last month before Major League Baseball notified the team it was a violation of policy.
Last homestand, Pirozzolo worked with a young child believed to be his son before the Mets took BP.
A reporter told Horwitz that if the Mets made a spate of errors, infield/third base coach Matt Galante would naturally be interviewed. The same process would occur with hitting or pitching questions. So why not Pirozzolo?
Horwitz repeated the club’s position.
Pirozzolo, who occasionally travels with the team, did give at least one extended interview last month and touted his credentials, a move that caused scrutiny on him and his position and led to the dugout ban.
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Jeromy Burnitz (broken left hand) already is swinging a bat in the cage with one hand. He hopes to begin swinging with two hands on Wednesday and be back within about 10 days.
“It’s no sweat,” Burnitz said of the one-hand approach. “It actually feels good.
“Everything’s the same, the timing and footwork’s the same. You just don’t have the same leverage behind it.”
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David Cone leaves today for his rehab assignment for Class A St. Lucie, and his first game will be tomorrow at Legends Field in Tampa. Asked if he would seek out his old Yankee boss, George Steinbrenner, Cone responded, “I’m just going down there to pitch.”
Reportedly, there were some hard feelings by the Boss when Cone originally left his TV job with the YES network and embarked on his comeback.
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Mo Vaughn was on his national tour of second, third and fourth opinions on his arthritic left knee. After visiting a Georgia doctor, Vaughn made an appearance in the clubhouse. He was planning a trip to another doctor’s office last night, general manager Steve Phillips said.
