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Monday, June 5 | |||||
Rocker or no Rocker, Shea security ready | |||||
NEW YORK -- Sorry New Yorkers, John Rocker probably won't be
coming to town anytime soon.
"Mets fans are going to be real disappointed, real
disappointed," said Ted Bajek, 33. "It would've been a wild
night, probably wild beyond imagination.
"But he's got to take his medicine some time," Bajek said from the upper deck at Shea Stadium on Monday night. "When he does,
we'll be here to see it."
"Yes, we will," assured Bajek's father, Walter, of Woodbridge,
N.J., wearing a Mike Piazza jersey.
Rocker was demoted to Triple-A Richmond and fined $5,000 by the
Atlanta Braves on Monday. The moves came a day after his angry
confrontation with the Sports Illustrated reporter who wrote the
story in which the reliever made disparaging remarks about
minorities, gays and immigrants living in New York.
The Braves are scheduled to make their first trip to New York
this season June 29 to start a four-game series at Shea. There's
a good chance Rocker may still be in the minors at that time.
"If I had to bet, I'd bet he wouldn't be here when the Braves
come to town," Mets reliever Turk Wendell said before the interleague game
against Baltimore. "They don't need that kind of distraction."
"He's an idiot," Wendell said. "Let him grow up and mature a
little bit, on and off the field."
Rocker's visit was shaping up as a volatile event.
"It was probably going to be a bit hectic. Batteries, the whole
works," said Todd Webber, 28, of Yonkers, N.Y.
"That's the only reason I was coming," added his friend,
Melissa Donato, 24.
The Mets were getting ready as best they could for the Braves'
trip.
"We'll be prepared -- security-wise -- whether he's here or
not," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said.
Phillips, who earlier this season released Rickey Henderson -- a
persistent problem to Mets management -- saw the Braves' logic.
"I can understand why Atlanta did it," he said. "Clearly,
he's been struggling pitching as well as the other obvious trouble
he's been having."
Wendell went fishing in the morning with fellow pitcher Rick
Reed and, aware of Rocker's latest outburst, said he predicted the
Braves would take action.
"I knew that was going to happen as soon as I heard what he
did," said Wendell, who began his pro career in the Braves'
system. "I told Reeder it would.
"The Braves are a first-class organization, a classy
organization. He hasn't handled himself in a first-class manner in
any way, shape or form," he said. "Before, he could get away with
it because he was pitching well. Now, he can't." | AUDIO/VIDEO |