| | ATLANTA -- Mike Piazza faced a media horde in a hotel conference room Monday evening, his left arm dangling helplessly under the table.
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| Piazza |
"I'm looking for a donor," Piazza joked. "Maybe I could call
Arnold Schwarzenegger and get his left arm."
The NL Championship Series has become a war zone for the New
York Mets catcher, whose left thumb already was hurting after the
opening round of the playoffs.
Through five games against the Atlanta Braves, Piazza has been
hit twice with a bat -- backswings by Gerald Williams and Ryan
Klesko -- and has been on the receiving end of bone-crushing
collisions at home plate with Bret Boone and Keith Lockhart.
The mishaps left Piazza with an aching hand and a deep bruise on
his left forearm, not to mention the lingering effects of a slight
concussion. He was forced to leave New York's 4-3, 15-inning
victory in Game 5 with two innings to go, the pain simply too much
to bear.
Piazza plans to be back on the field for Game 6 Tuesday night at
Turner Field. The Braves lead the best-of-7 series 3-2, but the
Mets have momentum from two straight victories.
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ROCKER IN ACCIDENT
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ATLANTA -- Left-hander John Rocker, whose two NLCS saves have helped the Braves to a three games to two advantage against the Mets, was involved in a minor two-vehicle accident Monday afternoon.
The accident took place on Georgia Route 400 around 12:30 p.m. ET as Rocker was on his way to Turner Field to receive off-day treatment.
According to an Atlanta police department spokesman, Rocker, driving his 1998 white sports car, swerved to avoid another car that cut him off and in doing so skidded under the back end of a 1983 black truck.
Rocker's car sustained front-end damage.
There were no injuries reported and no citations were issued. An accident report was filled out for insurance purpose, and the police spokesman said that there was no further investigation and the matter was closed.
Rocker's NLCS has been noted for his remarks on the behavior of Mets' fans this postseason.
"I would say the majority of Mets fans aren't even human," Rocker said. "I've said how brutal the fans were and how disgusting they were. These last three games they were worse than I ever suspected."
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"I feel a little better," Piazza said after the Mets arrived
at their downtown hotel. "I had a good night of sleep. I'm a
little banged up, but I'll give it all I have."
Piazza has never gone through a stretch with so many nagging
injuries. He might switch to a lighter bat to cope with the pain in
his arm and hand.
"It's weird," he said. "I can't explain why I'm so banged up.
Maybe I've done something wrong. Maybe I need to do a good deed
like helping an old woman across the street."
On Sunday, after Lockhart tried unsuccessfully to bowl over
Piazza with the tie-breaking run in the top of the 13th, the
catcher came to bat in the bottom half. But he knew it was time to
come out after striking out against John Rocker.
"My whole arm felt numb," Piazza said. "There was a tingling
in my fingers and a real hot sensation throughout the arm."
He was replaced by Todd Pratt, who walked with the bases loaded to force in the tying run in the 15th before Robin Ventura's grand slam-single brought home the game-winner.
Pratt hit the series-winning homer against Arizona in the
opening round.
"Todd is doing such a great job, it's not like the guys are
saying, 'If Mike's not in there, we can't win the game,' " Piazza
said. "Everybody knows they can make an impact with this team."
Others are starting to take notice of the Mets, who had to win
the final four games of the regular season just to make the
playoffs. Now, they've rallied to win two straight games against
the Braves won the first three.
"No matter what happens, I think they can walk around proudly
anywhere, New York especially," Yankees manager Joe Torre said
before his team played Boston in Game 5 of the ALCS on Monday
night. "They've shown a lot of heart and lot of grit to win those
games." | |
ALSO SEE
Mets vs. Braves series page
Braves relying on home cooking to poison miracle Mets
 Klapisch: Drama descends on Atlanta
Poll: Greatest Mets win ever?
Mad Mets: Rickey lashes back at Wendell
Klapisch: Nothing is impossible
The grand slam that wasn't
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