CATCHER PLANE UPSET
By LENN ROBBINS
August 22, 2005 -- Mike DiFelice's first day as a Met was one to forget.
DiFelice was told at about 11:30 Saturday night he had been called up from Triple-A Norfolk after Mike Piazza was placed on the 15-day DL. He got about three hours of sleep before his 5:30 a.m. wakeup call yesterday to catch a USAir flight to LaGuardia through Philadelphia.
USAir charged DiFelice $180 to have his equipment transported. It's standard practice for excess baggage. But DiFelice's bags were left in Philadelphia.
"I guess in Philadelphia you can't contact anyone there," DiFelice said yesterday morning at Shea, about 12 hours after he got the call from the Mets. "They don't have any phones or radios or something.
"You hate walking in and not being prepared," said DiFelice. "Hopefully I'm good enough to catch with any catcher's mitt."
DiFelice then watched the Mets fall behind the Washington Nationals 6-0 en route to a 7-4 loss. Manager Willie Randolph said DiFelice would get a couple of starts, possible as soon as today in Arizona.
"He's a veteran guy," said Randolph. "He's a good catcher and he's got a lot of experience. He knows how to handle a pitching staff. I wouldn't hesitate putting him in."
DiFelice, 35, who was hitting .250 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs at Norfolk, said he's excited about joining the Mets in the wild card chase.
"That's why I signed here," said DiFelice. "You want to be a part of that."
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