The Daily News reports that The Yankees have turned down Mike Piazza's overtures to cross over the bridge into the Bronx.
It is the Yankees' feeling that Piazza could not offer as much in a DH capacity as what they expect to get out of Bernie Williams and they are satisfied with Kelly Stinnett as their backup catcher.
Kelly Stinnett? Ouch. One of the most feared batters of the last 10 years has had his stock fall so far, he's having trouble finding work as a backup. And Honestly the Yankees are the last team he should join. With the deepest parts of Yankee Stadium also being his power zones, he would be hitting quite a few 380 foot fly outs. The outrageous seven million dollar price tag, and terrible defensive play are also sticking points.
Piazza jumped the shark when he almost got nailed by Clemens with the broken bat during the Subway Series. He just puffed his chest, jawed a few choice words and continued down to first. What would Paul O'Neil have done in that situation? Piazza couldn't even get his teammate to plunk The Rocket when he was at bat, on a silver platter, at Shea, the next season. That melodrama showed that his weakness was, he was weak. And it's good news to see the confidence they're showing in Bernie Williams.