BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Piazza Feeling the Pain of Waiting

The frustration is becoming unbearable, and there are days like Monday when Dodger all-star catcher Mike Piazza wishes he could simply will his left thumb to heal, enabling him to return to the lineup.

Instead, the pain Piazza was enduring Monday not only was in his throbbing left thumb, as he tried to hit for the first time in three weeks, but in his heart.

“I’m trying to remain positive, I really am,” Piazza said, “but I’m very frustrated right now. I want to get back in there so badly, but I can’t. And that’s killing me.”

Piazza, who tore his thumb ligament May 11, said it was difficult just taking the first few swings. He’ll try to participate in a full-scale batting practice in two or three days, but right now, it’s impossible to predict when he’ll return.

“I need to get back, because hopefully when I do, we’ll be able to put something together,” Piazza said. “But right now, there’s only so much I can do. It hurts because everybody is trying too hard right now. We need to relax, but it’s not happening.”

Just how much do the Dodgers miss Piazza?

Piazza was batting .537 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 10 games. His replacements--Tom Prince, Carlos Hernandez and Noe Munoz--are batting .120 in 21 games with one homer and three runs batted in.

Little wonder the Dodgers are 6-15 without Piazza in the lineup.

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Phillie pitcher Kyle Abbott, who was teammates last season with Dodger starter Hideo Nomo on the Kintetsu Buffaloes, said he was telephoned by a member of the Dodger organization this winter asking whether Nomo would succeed in the major leagues.

“I’m not sure who I talked to, and I’m not even sure if they listened to me,” Abbott said, “but I told them to sign him. I said, ‘This guy is good. You won’t believe his forkball.’ But if they didn’t listen to me, they sure listened to someone, because they signed him. I think they’re going to be very happy they did.”

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Phillie starter Michael Mimbs, one of the league’s biggest surprises with a 3-1 record, said he had no extra motivation facing the Montreal Expos last week, although they let him go in the Rule 5 draft.

Oh, so the same goes Wednesday night when he faces the Dodgers, with whom he spent three years in the minors, only to be told he had no future in the major leagues?

“No, that’s a different story,” Mimbs said, grinning. “I’m looking forward to that very much.”