Weird science: Mets' new infield formula coming together - MLB - CBSSports.com Live Scores, Stats, Schedules

Miller's camping trip

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- There's leather, but no beakers. Baseballs, but no formaldehyde. Bases, but no cadavers.

(Unless, of course, you count the New York Mets themselves, coming off a 95-loss season in 2003.)


Jose Reyes and Kazuo Matsui might become one of the majors' best double-play tandems.(AP)

Not including BALCO, baseball's biggest science experiment this spring is occurring at Field 3 here as the Mets re-make their infield. For Mike Piazza, Jose Reyes and Kazuo Matsui, it has been like taking a graduate course without ... well, without fast-food burritos for lunch and dissertations after dinner.

In an effort to extend the career of their 35-year-old catcher, the Mets have begun the process of digging up Piazza from behind the plate and transplanting him at first base.

In an effort to make room for Matsui, the hotshot Japanese free-agent shortstop, the Mets are shifting Whiz Kid Reyes, who broke into the majors at short last season at 19, over to second.

In an effort to ensure that everything goes as smoothly, crisply and expeditiously as possible, the Mets have all but exiled infield coach Matt Galante to Field 3 for the duration of the spring.

"I never saw a guy swing a bat or throw a pitch this spring until the games started," Galante said the other day, chuckling. "As soon as pitchers and catchers reported, Reyes and Matsui were here."

As soon as either one of them, or Piazza, arrives in the morning, they usually trudge out to Field 3.

And as soon as any member of that trio leaves a Grapefruit League game, they usually return to Field 3.

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"It's been a great spring," Galante said. "It's been real fun with Kaz and Reyes. Mikey has been progressing. And Wiggy (third baseman Ty Wigginton) continues to improve."

Not that there wasn't room to improve. A lot of room. Among the Mets' myriad problems last season was this: They ranked tied for 14th in the NL with a lowly .980 fielding percentage. Only Cincinnati, at .977, was worse.

Partly as a result of that, partly as a need to keep Piazza's bat in the lineup while saving his knees and partly because they were able to lasso Matsui in this winter's free-agent market, the Mets decided to re-cast their cast.

"I've had springs like this before," said Galante, who oversaw the transitions of Jeff Bagwell from third to first and Craig Biggio from catcher to second while he was in the Houston organization. "Those were similar to now as far as the workload."

The plan is that Reyes and Matsui will be ready to open the season as New York's double-play combination -- though Matsui has been unable to play short for the past week after a cut on his right middle finger required two stitches.

The plan also is to have Piazza limber enough to maybe play once a week at first toward the beginning of the season, which would spell Jason Phillips -- a converted catcher himself -- and give Piazza's legs a break while breaking him in slowly. Among others, Todd Zeile has been helping Galante with this.

How, exactly, is the plan going so far?

Galante on Piazza: "It's coming along good. The real difficulty is that Mike has to do catching drills, also. We don't have as much time as we do with the other guys. We've just got to get him game-ready."

Galante on Reyes: "That's going fantastic. It's gone so much quicker than I thought it would. He's a naturally gifted athlete. He picks things up real quick. Most of it is footwork and the intricacies of the game. You can practice, but until certain things happen in games, you can't correct them. That's why he needs games. And Mikey needs games."

Galante on Matsui: "He's got lightning feet. He's got the quickest feet and hands of anybody in the league. And he was throwing real well until he hurt his finger. They've really become a team. They're two kids who want to play well and want it to happen. That's why it's going to happen, because they want it to happen."

Certainly, based on appearances, both Reyes and Matsui seem to be a special breed.

"Good, man, good," Reyes said enthusiastically in describing his progress at second. "The first couple of weeks I got a little trouble, but now I feel more comfortable."

Perhaps most important, Reyes is making the change without any reservations.


Kazuo Matsui, known for his fielding and speed, played over 1,000 games at short in Japan.(Getty Images)

"They told me it's best for the team," he said. "I'm a team player. So I said I'd do it, no problem."

And Matsui, speaking through a translator, was far more expansive and descriptive than some of his Japanese predecessors -- such as Ichiro Suzuki -- were upon their arrival to the majors.

"Trust and communication is definitely needed, especially when playing up the middle," Matsui said when asked how he and Reyes are adjusting to each other. "Before anything, though, I have to get used to the grass. That's first on my priority list right now."

With the Seibu Lions, where Matsui played in Japan, artificial turf was the norm.

"Playing on turf, the ball came to me fast, and with a regular spin," Matsui said. "I didn't have to charge the ball.

"Here, it's going to swerve to my right and swerve to my left, and it's not as fast so I have to charge the ball. I have to get a feel for those things."

Once he does, Matsui and Reyes should form one of the game's best double-play combinations. At the very least, they, along with new center fielder Mike Cameron, will help seal what was a lousy Mets defense -- one reason Tom Glavine won only nine games last summer.

With Matsui having played more than 1,000 games at shortstop in Japan, as long as he makes the needed cultural changes, he should be fine. On the surface, Reyes could be more fragile. At least a few scouts said this winter that the Mets were nuts to ask a young kid with Reyes' talent to change positions.

Galante, a 60-year-old baseball lifer, doesn't think it will be a problem.

"There are always risks," he said. "There are risks when you move anybody. But I think a kid can adjust better than an older player if he accepts it. The key is, if you accept it.

"When you make a commitment to do this ... Mikey has made a commitment, and Reyes has made a commitment, and that's why it will get done."

Because they still plan on him catching most of the time, there is less urgency for Piazza to learn his new position. That change is long-term, not short-term. Piazza made his Grapefruit League debut at first against Los Angeles on Saturday and, though there were a couple of moments when he looked like a kid on ice skates for the first time, he lived to tell about it.

"I'm enjoying it," said Piazza, who remains four homers away from -- and very interested in -- breaking Carlton Fisk's all-time catchers record of 351. "It's definitely a challenge. It's definitely a lot of work, but it's cool.

"It's just a matter of working out a rhythm for both positions. It's been pretty smooth so far. I'm excited to at least have the opportunity to be prepared."

The funny thing is, the Mets one day earlier this spring draped black netting around the infield portion of Field 3, as if they had decided they didn't want people watching in case things weren't going so well.

Considering consecutive fifth-place finishes in the NL East and 95 losses last summer, it seemed like somebody should have thought of that along about last August and September, rather than during the spring, when everyone -- including even the Mets -- is optimistic that good things are about to happen.