MET NOTES
PORT ST. LUCIE – Orel Hershiser yesterday had perhaps the best outing of the spring for a Met pitcher, shutting out the Marlins over five innings of two-hit baseball in the Mets’ 2-0 win.
In his second Met start of the spring since signing as a free agent, Hershiser showed that while he isn’t good enough to make the Indians rotation, he is good enough to be the Mets’ third starter.
“I like what I saw today,” manager Bobby Valentine said.
Valentine officially announced that Al Leiter would be the Opening Day starter Monday against the Marlins, followed by Rick Reed and Bobby Jones.
Barring a trade, Hershiser and Masato Yoshii will end up being the fourth and fifth starters, though not necessarily in that order.
Hershiser said making the adjustment to a new team has been made much easier here because of the presence of Mike Piazza, who caught Hershiser in Single-A during his comeback from reconstructive shoulder surgery in 1991 and then caught him with the Dodgers in 1993-94.
“For a pitcher, it’s the catcher that’s important, and I’ve already thrown to Mike,” he said.
Hershiser said that since his early years with the Dodgers, Piazza has become a better catcher, noting that he is more in the game now.
“He’s a better receiver than when I first threw to him,” he explained. “Mentally, he seems to be locked in more from pitch to pitch.”
Hershiser was also responsible for one of the more humorous moments of the day when he let his bat go flying into the dugout on two consecutive pitches, scattering his new teammates. The second one hit Leiter in the ankle and when Leiter presented it back to Hershiser, he showed him the label, which said “Al Leiter.”
“That’s worth the whole outing,” Hershiser said with a smile.
*
Hideo Nomo cleared waivers as expected yesterday at 1 p.m. and is no longer a Met. … Armando Benitez pitched one inning and struck out all three batters. John Franco earned his first save, pitching one inning and striking out two. Leiter, Reed and Jones are scheduled to face Alex Fernandez, Livan Hernandez and Jesus Sanchez in the first series with the Marlins.
*
Bobby Bonilla (right knee) played in another minor-league game yesterday and went 3-for-7 with two home runs, a single, a walk and two strikeouts. He also played the outfield and showed no ill-effects of his injury. The Mets have a day off tomorrow, but Reed is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game, with Bonilla hitting against him. Matt Franco (right rib-cage pull) also is to play in that game. …
South Korean pitcher Jae Weong Seo, who was held up in his home country with visa problems, finally made it to camp 38 days late. He is due to pitch at Double-A this year.
