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Not cleaning up
Mets get regular cleanup hitter back for NLCS opener
Posted: Wednesday October 13, 1999 12:41 AM
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Mike Piazza, who hit .303 with 40 home runs and 124 RBIs this season, is running at 95 percent after his thumb injury. AP |
ATLANTA (AP) -- New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza was back in his accustomed cleanup spot Tuesday night for the opener of the best-of-7 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves.
It didn't help as the Braves beat the Mets 4-2 in Game 1.
Piazza missed the last two games of the NL division playoffs because of a reaction to a cortisone shot to his injured left thumb.
"The swelling had gone down and it's feeling better," Piazza said prior to Game 1. "I had to make sure I was ready. I've had a couple of days off and the trainer has cleared me."
Piazza, who hit .303 with 40 home runs and 124 RBIs this season, said he's about "95 percent."
"I'm ready to go," he said.
Piazza went 0-for-4, grounding out all four times. He did drive in New York's first run in the fourth with a grounder to third, scoring Edgardo Alfonso, who had doubled and taken third on a single by John Olerud off Greg Maddux.
Piazza hit .211 with two home runs and eight RBIs during the regular season in which Atlanta defeated the Mets nine times in 12 games.
Rojas' appeal turned down
National League president Leonard Coleman said Tuesday he had turned down the appeal of New York Mets third base coach Cookie Rojas, who was suspended for five games and fined $500.
Rojas drew the suspension for bumping umpire Charlie Williams during Game 4 of the division series against Arizona on Saturday.
"I spoke with Rojas last night," Coleman said. "We've been friends for years. I think he's done a lot for baseball. He just made a mistake, and that's it."
Coleman also announced he had fined Williams $500 for using profanity during the confrontation with Rojas.
Rojas, will be eligible for Game 6, if the series goes that far. He was replaced on the coaching lines by bench coach Bruce Benedict.
"The last time I coached third base was in 1996 when I was at Norfolk," Benedict said.
Norfolk is New York's Triple-A farm club in the International League.
"I think there'll be some kind of adjustment for me and for the players. I haven't done it on an everyday basis, but I have done it," he said.
"I'll be a different look, but we're professionals and we'll get it done."
Jordan's hand helped by Kersee
Braves outfielder Brian Jordan, who struggled for much of the second half of the season with a sore right hand and wrist after being hit by a pitch on June 22 by Mike Thurman, is giving credit to personal trainer Bob Kersee for his recovery.
"My hand is a lot better," said Jordan, who batted .471 (8-for-17) with a home run and seven RBIs in the four-game division series win over Houston.
He said Kersee used "cross friction" treatment on his right hand and now doesn't think he'll need offseason surgery.
"It seems to work. Bob said my joint was so jammed up in my wrist, and that was the reason for all the pain," Jordan said.
"What he did was actually pull it and reach in and just put me in a lot of pain, but actually it loosened up my joint and now I can swing."
Jordan was 0-for-3 with an intentional walk Tuesday night.
Jordan hit .283 with 23 homers and 115 RBIs during the regular season, but hit only .207 (19-for-92) with one home run and 14 RBIs in 26 games in September and October.
Hernandez takes a seat
As expected, opening-round hero Walt Weiss replaced Jose Hernandez as starting shortstop for the Braves in Game 1 of the NLCS.
What wasn't expected was his hitting.
Weiss went 3-for-4, drove in a run and scored another Tuesday night.
"The postseason. It's a new start. It's been a tough year," said Weiss, who hit only .226 while starting 69 games. He was primarily a defensive replacement after Atlanta picked up Hernandez from the Cubs just before the July 31 trade deadline.
"I was prepared either way," Weiss said. "I wasn't sure if I would start, but it's nice to be out there."
He started two of the final three regular season games, but the Braves already had clinched the NL East. Hernandez started all four games of the division playoffs against Houston but was only 1-for-11 (.091) and made an error.
"The postseason is a chance to contribute. When I wasn't playing, I was in the cage early in games just trying to get sharp. Actually, I never was sharp. So this is nice, this makes it fun," Weiss said.
Weiss made the play of the season for Atlanta with a diving stop on Tony Eusebio's line drive up the middle in the 10th inning of Game 3 in the NL division series. The Braves escaped a bases-loaded, no-out situation, won the game two innings later and wrapped up the series the following day.
On the field prior to the start of Game 1, Weiss was still being asked about his remarkable play.
"It's hard from my perspective to evaluate it," he said. "It happened so quick. Afterward, I was like, `What happened?'"
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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