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Look back at: Divisional Playoffs |
League Championship
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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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