Injured Piazza Isn’t Ready to Return

Mike Piazza’s left hamstring felt better Wednesday, but the New York Met catcher probably won’t return to the lineup for a couple of days.

Piazza was injured Tuesday night running to first base in 52-degree weather. He spent Wednesday having ice and electric stimulation treatment on the hamstring.

“It’s something you want to be careful with,” the nine-time All-Star said. “The more you treat it and the more the swelling goes down, the better it feels.”

Center fielder Timo Perez, who strained his left hamstring Tuesday, sat out Wednesday.

Shortstop Rey Ordonez originally was in the lineup but was scratched because of a strained left rib cage, an injury he told the team he suffered several days ago.

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The Oakland Athletics are close to signing a lease extension that would keep them in the Coliseum and end talk of a move across San Francisco Bay to Santa Clara.

“I think we’re close, hopefully we’ll have something soon on that,” team President Mike Crowley said.

The extension would be a five-year deal, keeping the team in the Coliseum through 2007.

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Hennepin County (Minn.) District Judge Harry Crump signed an order Tuesday spelling out how to handle the documents sought by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which manages the Metrodome, in its lawsuit against baseball and the Minnesota Twins.

The commission has sought documents from the owners about their internal plans to eliminate teams and information on loans between owners. The owners have said that some of the documents in question contain trade secrets.

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Jose Canseco was hitless in four at-bats and struck out three times in his debut for the triple-A Charlotte Knights during a 12-0 loss to Norfolk at Fort Mill, S.C.

Canseco, released by the Montreal Expos in the spring, signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox last Thursday

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A judge ruled that a flight attendant who claims to have been battered by former Dodgers Carlos Perez and Kevin Elster on a 2000 flight cannot seek punitive damages against Elster.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Emilie Elias ruled “there is insufficient grounds” to support any award of punitive damages against Elster.