Pedro Feliciano: Ex-coach's words hurt

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Pedro Feliciano said Monday his former pitching coach's words hurt more than any "abuse" he suffered with the New York Mets.

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Feliciano, who signed a two-year deal with the New York Yankees in the offseason but is currently on the disabled list with a strain of the left rotator cuff, disagreed with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman's opinion, expressed on Saturday, that the Mets' use of him was "abusive." Feliciano, a left-handed specialist, appeared in 266 games over the past three seasons for the Mets, including a franchise-record 92 last season.

"I think at some points they just left me there with no reason," Feliciano said in the Yankees clubhouse before Monday night's game with the Twins. "But I want to pitch. I want to be in there. That's what I like to do. And I think I was fine always. I never felt sore or anything. I always felt good.'"

But Feliciano, who said he had never been on the DL in any of his previous eight major league seasons, said Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen hurt his feelings by saying concern over his number of appearances was the reason the Mets did not re-sign him after the 2010 season.

“

I will show him [Dan Warthen] in the Subway Series when I strike out Ike Davis, and when I jump up and down on the mound I'll be like, 'That's for you.'

” -- Pedro Feliciano on ex-pitching coach

"I feel hurt a little by that," Feliciano said. "I didn't sign with them because they offered me one year. But me and my agent, we wanted a multiyear. Two or more years and they just gave me one. That's why I'm not a Met right now."

The Yankees signed Feliciano to a two-year, $8 million deal with a club option for 2013, wanting a second lefty in their bullpen along with Boone Logan. Feliciano pitched four innings in spring training before being shut down on March 22.

There is no timetable for Feliciano's return but he is expected to play catch either Wednesday or Thursday.

"They said they didn't sign me because [they knew] I'm going to blow up this year," Feliciano said. "That hurts because I like Dan. But I will come out from this injury and I will be telling him there is still a lot of Feliciano to go."

Asked if he had called his former pitching coach to discuss his statements, Feliciano said, "No, no, no. No, no, no. I don't got his number or nothing. I will show him in the Subway Series when I strike out Ike Davis, and when I jump up and down on the mound I'll be like, 'That's for you.'"

The first interleague series between the Mets and Yankees takes place May 20-22 at Yankee Stadium.

Wallace Matthews cover the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com.

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Wallace Matthews

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Wallace Matthews has covered New York sports since 1983 as a reporter, columnist, radio host and TV commentator. He covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com after working for Newsday, the New York Post, the New York Sun and ESPN New York 98.7 FM.
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