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Sanchez denies getting clubhouse haircut during game

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Mets had a hairy situation Tuesday, holding a team meeting to deal with whether Rey Sanchez had his locks trimmed in the clubhouse during a game.

Sanchez denied the haircut, which was reported Monday by ESPN radio. But Mets officials and players, using so many similar phrases that they sounded like a barbershop quartet, repeatedly said the situation had been dealt with. No one else in the clubhouse would back Sanchez's denial.

"It did not happen," said the shortstop, who was booed at the start of Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Why should I be embarrassed if I didn't do anything?"

As the Mets turn ... NEW YORK -- Mike Piazza's next at-bat against Guillermo Mota will have to wait. The New York Mets catcher was out of the starting lineup for Tuesday night's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers after having a mole removed from his abdomen. Piazza and the Mets said doctors thought the mole was benign, but that final tests hadn't come back yet. He took seven stitches, and the skin in the area was too tight for him to put on equipment to play Tuesday. Meanwhile, Mo Vaughn learned his inflamed left knee cannot be fixed by surgery, meaning the best option for the first baseman appears to be painkillers. Mets general manager Steve Phillips said an MRI exam and X-ray Tuesday found fluid in the joint and a lack of cartilage that was causing bones to rub against each other. • Click here for full story.

ESPN radio reported that reliever Mike Stanton walked into the clubhouse and was surprised to find Sanchez getting shorn. Stanton wouldn't discuss what he did or did not see.

"This is now behind us," Stanton said. "Right, wrong or indifferent, we're moving on from here."

General manager Steve Phillips said he left any decision about discipline up to manager Art Howe, who wouldn't say whether Sanchez was penalized.

"It's taken care of," Howe said, repeatedly trying to end questions on the topic.

Asked why he called the meeting, Howe responded that he "just wanted to clear the air on this little situation that came up on the off day." He was sure the message he wanted to get through was heard by the players.

"Yes, I'm pretty good at it," he said.

Players thought too much was being made of the matter.

"Rey knows the rights and wrongs," Mo Vaughn said. "But we're not going to make a big issue of that as a team. We've got too many other things to worry about."

New York began the day 13-18, last in the NL East. Players said they need to focus on winning, not off-the-field distractions.

"If we're in first place, nobody cares," Vaughn said. "You could be getting a full body shave."

 

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