Mike Piazza will give it a shot at first base

The floundering team needs help because of Mo Vaughn's knee injury.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The easy part is over. Now that the New York Mets have finally talked to Mike Piazza about learning to play first base, the All-Star catcher has to learn how.
"I think the general misconception is that I'll take a few groundballs and be a first baseman," Piazza said Thursday. "This is not an easy position to play. It's been years since I played first base. The last thing I want is to be a liability to this team."
After years of speculation, the Mets broached the topic of a position switch with Piazza.
He met with general manager Steve Phillips and manager Art Howe before Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers about the potential move.
"I thought it went very well," Piazza said. "Art and Steve were very candid and we all got on the same page. I told them I would do whatever needs to be done to help this organization."
Public debate
Before the meeting, Piazza appeared to be annoyed that Phillips and Howe discussed the move publicly prior to broaching it with him. Howe took the blame for not telling Piazza what the talk would be about before going on television to discuss it.
"It's probably my fault," Howe said. "I didn't communicate clearly when I talked to him. I'll take the hit there."
Howe and Phillips said earlier this week that they didn't expect to talk to Piazza about a possible move in the near future.
But Howe said he changed his mind Wednesday night because of the uncertainty surrounding first baseman Mo Vaughn's injured knee.
"This is the very first step in what will be a process with an undefined timeline," Phillips said. "It's something that's got to be talked through and mapped out. There's not one specific date that everybody's shooting for. We'll just see how it goes."