Look back at: Divisional Playoffs | League Championship
Thursday, October 26
Piazza, Mets frustrated with another close loss
By Bob Klapisch
Special to ESPN.com

NEW YORK -- They dressed slowly, spoke softly and pretended not to stare at the jaws of the long, cold offseason that's waiting. It's one game from elimination for the Mets, just nine innings and one last chance to penetrate the seemingly unbreakable wall of Yankee excellence.

"What can you say, other than they're a great team with a lot of experience, and it's shining through right now," Mike Piazza said, moments after the Mets' 3-2 loss in Game 4. The catcher was more drained than angry, more resigned than determined -- a reaction shared by most of his teammates in every corner of the clubhouse.

Over and over, Piazza spoke of the "frustration" of trying to beat the Yankees in the World Series. The reason the Mets feel so squeezed is because, in Al Leiter's words, "we're not overwhelmed by their talent" -- yet the Yankees just seem to win, win, win.

"As great as they are during the season, they take it to another level this time of the year," said Benny Agbayani. "We have a long road ahead of us now."

No one in the room considered a three-game winning streak impossible, even against the Yankees, even with the final two games in the Bronx. Yet, the Mets still haven't solved the mystery of Mariano Rivera's 94-mph running fastball -- a pitch so devastating, even the Mets' best hitters like Piazza and Edgardo Alfonzo have been rendered powerless by it.

Actually, Rivera's effectiveness was the primary story in this game. The Yankees thundered to a 3-0 lead against Bobby Jones -- including Derek Jeter's first-pitch home run off leading off the game -- before Piazza responded with a two-run bomb off Denny Neagle in the bottom of the third.

Piazza said, "Obviously, we thought that was going to be the start of our comeback. But it never happened." Not even after Joe Torre curiously removed Neagle with two outs in the fifth, after he'd retired seven of the last eight Mets he'd faced.

Torre summoned David Cone to pitch to Piazza, and despite all the respect the Mets had for Cone, Bobby Valentine said, "I thought we'd be in good shape because we finally got in their bullpen before the sixth inning. That's what we'd been hoping for this whole Series."

But Cone got Piazza to pop up to end the inning, and the Mets never got a runner past first base in the final four innings. Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton and Rivera combined to limit the Mets to just two hits.

What went wrong? The Mets tried to replay the images, thinking of ways they could've muzzled the Yankees. Jones, for one, took responsibility for Jeter's ambush home run, admitting he never expected to be swinging on the first pitch.

"I'd been watching films of the way Jeter had approached the at-bats against our other pitchers, and he seemed to work deep in the count a lot," Jones said. "He seemed very patient. I hadn't seen anything that told me he'd be swinging right away."

Indeed, Leiter -- who starts Game 5 -- said, "The Yankees are obviously not afraid to go to two strikes in any at-bat. And even when you get them there, they keep fouling off your best pitches. They make every at-bat a real grind."

With that data in his head, imagine Jones' surprise when Jeter blasted that first-pitch home run -- setting the tone for the rest of the night. Even though Jones threw reasonably well after that, the Mets learned immediately the Yankees were prepared to take the initiative.

Paul O'Neill's triple set in motion the Yankees' second run in the second inning, but it was Jeter's leadoff triple in the third -- and the strategic dilemma it created in the Met dugout -- that may have broken the Mets once and for all.

After all, how could Valentine really decide between playing the infield in -- risking a bloop single from Luis Sojo -- or playing back, getting the out, and conceding a 3-0 deficit? As Piazza said, "Either way you go, you get second-guessed."

As it turned out, the Mets opted for the conservative defense, giving up the run, as Sojo's grounder to second base did, indeed, allow the Yankees a 3-0 lead. The Mets obviously thought they could lean on Neagle, but who knew the Yankee bullpen would be so air-tight?

Then again, the Mets sensed all along this World Series would turn into a bitter struggle. Valentine ruefully said, "We played a great game in every game. Every single one has been close. And we're still down. We're going to find a way to win three straight. It won't be easy, but we're going to do it."

Needless to say, Valentine's fingers were crossed. Tightly.

Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for ESPN.com.



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