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All stoked up

Clemens all worked up, Mets almost wiped out

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By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

	• Storylines • All Thumbs • Heroes & Bums • High Hard Ones • The Pitch • The Bottom Line

NEW YORK -- It's this simple: Either Roger Clemens was so stoked up in the first inning Sunday night that he didn't know what he was doing, or he was so stoked up in the first inning Sunday he knew exactly what he was doing.

A day after one of the most bizarre incidents in World Series history -- heck, maybe in baseball history -- people are still trying to sort things out. And almost lost in all the mess is the fact that Clemens' New York Yankees are now up 2-0 in the Series and the New York Mets don't look ready to put up a fight.

"The only way to get [Clemens] back," Darryl Hamilton was saying in a confused, and stunned Mets locker room after Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Yankees, "was to go out there and beat him."

The Mets didn't, and now face an off day on Monday filled with questions about Clemens, about whether they were intimidated by Clemens and about whether they can make a series of this Subway Series yet.

The questions about the Clemens incident continue to overshadow all else.

"I'm telling you, my feet were off the ground," Clemens told reporters Sunday night, trying to explain how he picked up the barrel of Mike Piazza's broken bat and flung it in his direction as Piazza jogged up the first base line. "I was pretty pumped up and emotional."

Pretty pumped up?

Clemens insisted the chuck of the bat was not intended to harm. He said he didn't even know if it was the bat or the ball. He said a lot of confusing things, in a confusing time. He maybe raised more questions than he answered.

When it gets down to it, though, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Clemens, after a week or more of buildup to this game (fueled by his much-publicized beaning of Piazza earlier in the year), was just too stoked. The bat flew at him, he fielded it cleanly and, with no time to think or his thinking clouded by his emotions, he flung it out of the way. Aimed or not? Even Clemens may not know.

For the conspiracy theorists, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Clemens jumped on the bat and, in the second it took to field it, knew exactly what he was doing. He flung it at or near Piazza to intimidate him and the Mets, knowing umpires wouldn't throw out the Yankees' pitcher in the first inning of a World Series game.

This much we know. The Mets, either way, are still down 2-0 in the World Series.

On to the World Series Day at a Glance, which asks: How the heck can you top that one?

The answer: It'll be tough. But Mike Piazza could make a legend for himself with a good game Tuesday.

Home Sweet Shea Not often in a Series has a home-field advantage meant as little as it does in this one. But the Mets will take anything they can get at this point. As the Series moves to Shea Stadium for at least the next two games, the Mets are hoping the confines in Queens are at least a little friendlier.
Intimidation It's the "I" word that may torpedo the Mets. Roger Clemens' bat-throwing incident is only a tiny part. More telling are the errors, the base running mistakes, the hitless attack. The Mets aren't playing like the Mets, and the big, bad Yankees are the reason why.
The Streak The Yankees have won the last 14 World Series games they've played. It's an awesome streak, considering the stage and the level of competition. But it has to end soon. Doesn't it?
An off day No matter where the Series is played, no matter who's in it, it has a couple of off days built in. Monday is one of those, a chance for the Mets and Yankees to take a breather from all the buildup and the intensity of the first two games and get ready for the fat part of the schedule. Nobody could use the break more than the Mets right now.
The Yankees . They're not doing everything right -- see Chuck Knoblauch running the bases Sunday? -- but they're doing enough right to befuddle the Mets.
Roger Clemens . A maniac or a master -- your pick. Whatever, going a bit batty in the first inning Sunday overshadowed what was an awesome effort. If the Mets can string this thing out long enough to meet the Rocket again -- that'll get people watching.
Todd Zeile . Not only is the Mets' first baseman hitting .444 for the Series, he's missed two home runs by a combined foot or so. It hasn't been enough, but don't blame him for the Mets' failures.
The DH . In the first two games, designated hitters have gone 1-for-17 in this series, including an 0-for-8 mark by the Yankees' Chuck Knoblauch. Glad to see that thing's working like it was meant to work.
Hero -- Paul O'Neill: A bum in Game 1, a hero after Game 2 (3-for-4 with an RBI). The Yanks' right-fielder, in perhaps his last call, is coming through, hitting .500 for the Series.
Bum -- Timo Perez: He was so important in the NLCS. Now the Mets' leadoff man is 1-for-10 and, worse, he has not scored a run in the Series. They can't win like that.
Hero -- Derek Jeter: He's an easy guy to forget, you get so used to him. A word of advice: Don't. Watch the Yankees' shortstop shine (.444 with two doubles and two runs scored and some fine play in the field) and appreciate.
Bum -- Bernie Williams: The Yankees' center fielder is hitless in seven at-bats. A bum now, he's the kind of guy who can break out at any time ...
Hero -- Tino Martinez: The Yanks' first baseman is hitting .455, he's scored two runs, knocked in a couple more. With Jeter and O'Neill and another hero (Scott Brosius), that could be more than enough to score a threepeat.
Bums -- The Mets' top: Including Perez, the top of the Mets' lineup (with Alfonzo, Piazza and Ventura) is hitting 6-for-37 (.162). .
A 2-0 lead's been overcome before. So has a 3-1. But a 3-0 -- never. They don't get any bigger for the Mets than Tuesday.
The Mets took some solace in their comeback Sunday. But an excuse-me homer from Jay Payton? More likely the Yanks just eased up.
Joe Torre may play Chuck Knoblauch in the field in Game 3. For his bat (0-for-8), supposedly. We'd go with Vizcaino or Sojo.
The Mets' Rick Reed has never pitched in a Series game. He may never pitch in a bigger one than this.
Roger Clemens is a maniac. A very effective one, though.
A look at the Game 3 pitchers (Tuesday) Yankees' Orlando Hernandez (12-13 regular season, 4.51 ERA). This will be El Duque's third career Series start. And he's 2-0, with a 1.29 ERA. He also won both games in the ALCS against Seattle this season, and his one start against Oakland in the division series. He's 2-0 lifetime against the Mets. Get the picture?
Mets' Rick Reed (11-5 regular season, 4.11 ERA). And then you have Reed, who never has started a game in the Series. And he's 0-1 in two starts this postseason. And he's 0-2 against the Yankees lifetime. This isn't looking good for the Mets, is it?
The Subway Series is turning into a Subway snooze. Unless the Mets can pull out a win in Shea Stadium's Game 3 on Tuesday -- no small chore considering what they haven't done so far -- those fans hollering "Sweep!" before Game 2 suddenly will sound awfully prophetic.

The World Series Day at a Glance appears every day through the conclusion of the Series.

 

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