NEW YORK -- Dan Haren only had to recall his last start to cite the value of catcher Jason Kendall to the A's pitching staff.

"I really didn't have great stuff at all," said Haren, the 9-2 right-hander who is scheduled to pitch next in Cleveland on Tuesday. "I was throwing behind in the count. I didn't have great stuff. He kept making me throw my breaking ball. I gave up three runs early in the game and was kind of down on myself. He kept me in the game, he kept me positive. The next thing I knew, it was 3-3, then 5-3, and then a win."

Ray Fosse, the onetime catcher and longtime A's radio broadcaster, said before the A's took on the Mets at Shea Stadium on Sunday that he believes Kendall is about the best defensive receiver in the game today.

"Catching, like all positions," Fosse said, "has become too much of an offensive position where they overlook what you are supposed to do -- that's to run the pitching staff, just basically taking control."

Haren, Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin, Oakland's three most productive starters, look in, get a sign and location and deliver. Fosse said that Kendall has his pitchers working quickly.

Fosse knows something about developing chemistry with starters. He caught three 20-game winners -- Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue and Ken Holtzman -- in 1973.

"They told me, 'It's your job to tell me what to throw,'" Fosse recalled.

But to Fosse, Kendall is someone special.

"I've never seen anybody who had the whole package like Jason," Fosse said. "He catches 140 games a year, and he's upset when he doesn't catch."

Kendall, in order to reduce wear on his legs, doesn't warm up starters in the bullpen before games. Yet Kendall can tell what to call just by what the starter has once he steps on the mound.

"Maybe by the first two batters of the game, he can tell what's working for you and what's not," said Haren, whose locker was next to Kendall's during the three days the A's spent at Shea Stadium playing the Mets over the weekend.

"We have such a young staff, especially the starting rotation. He has done an outstanding job keeping us in line and having a game plan. I think he's extremely well-prepared for the game. I really don't watch much video. I trust what he's going to put down and what he thinks. He's always the first one at the park and the last one to leave."

Kendall has hidden strengths. He stays low behind the plate and is good at blocking balls in the dirt. Fosse keeps a book and said that Kendall saves about as many runs over the course of a season as he does knock in runs while batting. And if pitchers can trust a catcher to block balls in the dirt, they may throw pitches they might not if there were a fear of a pitch getting away when there's a runner on third base.

"He's a gamer -- he's old-school when it comes to doing the job he's supposed to do behind the plate," Fosse said. "Watching a guy like him behind the plate every day is not common."

Throwing longer, drawing nearer: Right-handed reliever Justin Duchscherer, who last pitched on May 14 and has been on the disabled list with a right hip strain, has been increasing the distance he's throwing on flat ground.

"He feels good," A's manager Bob Geren said. "He threw [on Saturday], and he's taking [Sunday] off. He's throwing about 120-130 [feet]. When he gets to 150 and feels full strength, then he'll get on the mound."

Meet me in New York: Geren said on Saturday that injured closer Huston Street, who has been receiving treatment for an irritated right ulnar nerve from a specialist in Toronto, would join the A's in Cleveland on Thursday. The real plan: Street, who last pitched on May 12, is going to join the A's when they arrive back in New York from Cleveland on Thursday night and work out with the team when it begins a three-game series against the Yankees in the Bronx next Friday.

Noteworthy: The Mets this year are the first team in Major League history to play a series against every team that participated in the postseason during the prior season. Besides the National League teams that made the postseason in 2006, the Mets have also done combat with the A's, Yankees, Tigers and Twins.

Quotable: "You've seen me all year; I feel confident putting anybody in. If they are on this team, they can play. I truly believe in the players and what they can do." -- Geren

Piazza's plans: Mike Piazza, the injured A's catcher who spent some of the best years of his career with the Mets and is a native of Philadelphia, wouldn't rule out returning to the Mets in some capacity once his playing days are over.

"We'll see," Piazza said. "I just think those things have a way of occurring naturally. I don't want them to be forced."

The veteran stressed that he wants to spend some quality time with his young family, which was with him in New York over this weekend.

"I'd love to give back to this game in some way," Piazza said. "But the good thing is, I have time to think about it."

Up Next: The A's, who took two of three games from the Indians in early May, will open a four-game series against the Tribe at Jacobs Field on Monday at 4:05 p.m. PT. Right-hander Chad Gaudin (6-2, 3.05 ERA), will open the series against tough left-hander C.C. Sabathia (10-2, 3.34 ERA).