Relax, Mike, Dodgers Can’t Afford Not to Sign You

You might think an $8-million salary this season would buy Mike Piazza peace of mind. But it’s apparent from his comments after Tuesday’s season opener in St. Louis and again Wednesday that he’s nervous about his future with the Dodgers.

My advice to him would be to relax.

The Dodgers have to sign him sooner or later, probably sooner.

What are their other options?

Trade him?

Of course not.

Allow him to leave after the season as a free agent and receive a couple of draft choices as compensation?

Of course not.

The Dodgers don’t need Piazza’s agent, Dan Lozano, to tell them how important Piazza is to the team, even though Lozano no doubt has been doing that in case the new president, Bob Graziano, is far less savvy about baseball than he is accounting.

“If they’re committed to winning, they’ve got to believe Mike Piazza belongs in the lineup somewhere,” Lozano said Wednesday. “It’s that simple. If he continues on this pace, he’ll be the best Dodger ever to play the game.”

What do you expect Piazza’s agent to say?

I wouldn’t go any further than to say Piazza is the best Dodger since Sandy Koufax.

But Piazza is not only important to the Dodgers on the field. As the new owner, Rupert Murdoch needs to establish credibility with the fans. He can build luxury boxes, increase signage and replace the organ with heavy metal. But he cannot fail to sign Piazza.

The Dodgers under Peter O’Malley could have signed Piazza before last season for six years at $60 million. They offered four years, eventually settling on two years at $15 million.

That was dumb.

It will cost Murdoch considerably more, even more than the $105 million for seven years that has been widely reported.

Lozano wouldn’t discuss the amount, except to say the Dodgers have not even been in the same ballpark during negotiations.

“They keep saying they want to sign Mike Piazza, like a broken record,” Lozano said. “OK. When? Is it going to be November? I don’t know how Mike is going to feel about the Dodgers at that point.”

It won’t come to that. If Murdoch is dumb, it’s like a fox.

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Now that it’s no longer The Big A, what are we going to call the Angels’ ballpark for short? . . .

On the lineup card for Wednesday night’s home opener, Angel bench coach Joe Maddon called it The Big Ed. . . .

He couldn’t call it The Big E because Disney already has one of those, Michael Eisner. . . .

That also could be the nickname of the Angels’ error-prone third baseman, Dave Hollins. . . .

At least he has a sense of humor about it, claiming fans behind first base should have paid more last season because of the souvenir baseballs coming their way. . . .

He promises he’ll be more efficient this season. . . .

The Angels don’t expect him to win a Gold Glove. They’ll be happy if no one confuses him with Pokey Reese. . . .

Angel Manager Terry Collins recently touted the Classic Sports Network to Eisner. . . .

“It’s great,” Collins said. . . .

“I know,” Eisner said. “We own it.” . . .

The Angels’ Phil Nevin, acquired during the off-season in a trade with Detroit, hardly recognizes the ballpark from the first time he worked there. . . .

As a 16-year-old growing up in Placentia, he sold souvenirs in the stands during games. . . .

He wasn’t very successful, he said, because he took so many breaks to watch the action on the field. . . .

How fancy are the new restaurants at Edison Field for some of the Angels’ well-heeled ticket buyers? . . .

They’ve got to be the only major league team that prepared a press release for their ballpark’s executive chef. . . .

Michael Thoms came over from Comiskey Park for a wine captain to be named later. . . .

For the first time, the Angels are charging the formerly freeloading media $5 for pregame meals. . . .

Proceeds benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County...

The Dodgers also are charging media $5 for pregame meals. . . .

They say they haven’t decided what to do with the money but probably will donate it to a charity. . . .

Perhaps the Mike Piazza Fund. . . .

You could look it up. The last five times Kentucky won the NCAA basketball championship, the Yankees won the World Series.

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While wondering if the Angels couldn’t have been scheduled to open in a warm-weather city, I was thinking: The Bulls are not only good but lucky if Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing are out of the playoffs, bring on a Seattle-Utah series if every game is like Tuesday night’s, the only NBA celebration in Los Angeles will be the Clippers’ lottery party.