Monday Morning — March 17th, 2003
Beannachtai na Feile Padraig and Hag Samaech! Holiday greetings today for all who are celebrating St. Patrick's Day and/or Purim.
The Mets are back on US soil, and are a mere fortnight away from Opening Day. As more of the youngsters are assigned to minor league camp, the team is gearing up for the games that count in the standings.
Mike's Meltdown - Mike Piazza has always been the epitome of control, even under the most trying of circumstances. Whether dodging bat shards thrown by Roger Clemens or denying rumors concerning his sexuality tossed out by the tabloids, Piazza has handled difficult situations in a calm and mature manner. Which is why last Wednesday night's fireworks on the field are all the more startling.
Piazza's history with Dodgers reliever Guillermo Mota goes back almost a year, when Mota hit Piazza with a pitch during a spring training game on March 28, 2001. Although that pitch didn't appear to be intentional, it marked the fourth time that spring that Piazza had been hit by a pitch. Piazza, who was taken out of that game for a pinch runner, waited for Mota to walk back to the clubhouse -- walking by him, the conversation became heated, and Piazza grabbed the pitcher by the collar in an agitated manner. The Commissioner's office fined Piazza $3,000 for that "aggressive conduct."
Apparently neither player got over last year's bad blood. When the two faced off in the sixth inning of last Wednesday's game, Mota brushed Piazza back with the first pitch, and then plunked him in the left shoulder blade with a 90+ mile per hour fastball. And with that, fans saw a side of Mike Piazza that may never have been shown before. Piazza dropped his bat and his helmet and ran to the mound, apparently ready to throw a punch. Mota threw his glove at Piazza and backpedaled towards the Dodger dugout while no fewer than three Dodgers held Piazza back. The normally laid-back catcher wasn't merely angry -- he was uncontrollably enraged!
Within a half hour of the incident, Dodger teammate Brian Jordan drove Mota away from the stadium. (Jordan, tangentially, has been known to overreact to being hit by pitches himself, including during Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS when, as a member of the Braves, he slid hard into Piazza in apparent retaliation for being hit by a pitch in that game.) And not a moment too soon, because shortly after their departure Piazza entered the Dodger clubhouse looking for Mota. After seeing for himself that Mota wasn't there, Piazza left the stadium as well.
The Dodgers have filed a formal complaint with Major League Baseball about last Wednesday's events, particularly that Piazza entered the visitor's clubhouse to search for Mota. Bob Watson, the chief disciplinarian for Major League Baseball, has indicated that the results of his investigation of the incident could be forthcoming as soon as today.
Presumably as a result of this bruhaha and in order to avoid an ugly international incident, the Dodgers decided not to include Mota in the travel list for the Mexico City games.
Meanwhile, Piazza has declined to comment about the situation, explaining that it is a "closed issue" in his mind.
Get Well Wishes - To Met Hall of Famer Tug McGraw, who was reportedly diagnosed with malignant brain tumors last week.
As my regular readers know, I had the pleasure of interviewing McGraw recently for an article for New York Mets Inside Pitch magazine. At that time he was entertaining, animated, and excited about launching his Ya Gotta Believe in Baseball campaign. Monday Morning Mets wishes this Mets legend a full and speedy recovery so that he can have many more years to set the National Pastime back on the right track!
Those wanting to convey their own get well wishes to one of the most beloved players in Mets history may send them to info@tugmcgraw.com.
Special Feature: Baseball as America
Special Feature: Talkin' Baseball with Terry Cashman
Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , and www.mets.com reports.
