The Saga of Will Mike Piazza Catch in '07 or Not?: chapter XIV

Make up my mind already, would you, A's?

So first, the A's sign Piazza, except he's totally only DHing and he's not gonna do any catching like NO WAY RILLY WE SWEAR. Their manager, Bob Geren, went to far as to tell Piazza not to worry too much about working on his catching during Spring Training. Because he completely wasn't gonna be catching. At all.

This lasts for a couple months. Then, Dan Johnson returns from an injury, so the A's send their backup catcher, Adam Melhuse, down to AAA, leaving guess who to be the new backup? Why, one Michael Piazza! Melhuse and Piazza, the only two people on the planet who did not see this coming, are stunned. And we can all imagine the intensive tear Piazza went on to get himself back up to snuff, and how secretly grateful he was that Jason Kendall takes a day off, like, never.

Said tear lasts for approximately twelve seconds, as Piazza is injured in the beginning of May, resulting in Jack Cust being called up. Cust goes on a tear of his own, hitting about 742 homers in a week. He settles down shortly thereafter, but continues to contribute steadily, showing no sign of Chris Shelton Syndrome.

Then the A's make a Shocking Trade!, sending Melhuse to Texas in exchange for "cash considerations." Melhuse, who has played twelve times to date and started only six games, is so ecstatic he doesn't even try to hide it in interviews.

But Piazza, though getting pretty close to returning, is still injured! What now? Kurt Suzuki, that's what. The A's call up Suzuki, a rookie who's been making waves in the minors, to play backup catcher, and seem pretty set on keeping him around.

So that, I figure, is that. Contrary to my expectations, the A's will apparently not be finding a way to ignore their extensive initial protestations and have Piazza do some catching. Impressive.

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE!

OAKLAND -- A's designated hitter Mike Piazza was all set to make a trip to Sacramento to begin a rehab assignment for his ailing right shoulder.

That plan has now been changed.

Piazza did not go up to Sacramento, but instead will wait for his shoulder to feel good enough to throw.

So you might be wondering, why would a DH wait for his shoulder to feel good enough to throw?

Well, the A's are now planning to bring Piazza back as the full-time DH and as the backup catcher to Jason Kendall [...].

*facepalm*

Apparently, the A's are very keen on keeping Cust around, and figure this to be the best way to do so and get maximum bang for their buck contribution from Piazza, as well. I have no idea how they're going to work that, especially with several other injured hitters working their way back. How many DHs are they going to have? Will Cust be playing other positions? Are they going to make Kendall take more time off to get Piazza behind the plate more? (And would Piazza's joints tolerate such a thing for long before just snapping right in half? The entire reason he switched leagues to DH was because his body couldn't take the strain anymore.) And what the fuck are they gonna do with Suzuki?

God, this is going to be interesting. I may have to pop some popcorn for this one.