Again, for the record. This time it's coming from Foxsports.com since the story is not yet avalible on the Yankees website. I'm sure everyone by now knows about that little thing that happened with Mike Piazza and Roger Clemens. Every time they replay that I just crack up. I was really hoping to find and image with Roger holding the piece of the bat just before he threw it, but this is the best image I found so far. What does everyone think about that whole thing? Roger says there was no intent and that he was just fired up and that he needed to settle down. He also said that he didn't realize Mike Piazza was running past him when he threw the bat, he was trying to throw the bat back toward the dugout for the bat boy to get it when Mike Piazza happen to be running past. I'm sure you saw all the news about it after, but in case you didn't there is more about it in the text below.
Two the hard way
Yankees play hardball to take 2-0 lead
BY DAVE VAN DYCK
FOXSports.com
NEW YORK — Roger Clemens threw everything he had at the Mets Sunday night. Including a bat. Or part of one.
Yes, they played hardball in the Subway Series, an emotional spillover from one city splitting at the seams with excitement.
In a "bizarre" beginning and nail-biting ninth inning, the Yankees somehow held on to take a 6-5 victory over the crosstown Mets and take this World Series to Game 3 in Shea Stadium Tuesday night with a pair of victories.
But this was a game that will not be soon forgotten, just because of one of the strangest events in post-season history and its possible implications for the rest of this Battle of the Boroughs.
With Mike Piazza batting in the first inning, the bat snapped in two and the big barrel end bounced towards Clemens on the mound. He fired it toward the first base line, just inches of front of Piazza's feet.
Piazza moved toward the mound, the shortened handle of the bat still in his hand, as the benches emptied. Peace was restored without any punches being thrown and Piazza grounded out to end the first.
Later — after Clemens completely dominated the Mets with two hits over eight innings and after the Mets had rallied for five runs in a wild ninth inning-explanations came without apologies.
"There was no intent," Clemens insisted time and again, saying he did noit know Piazza was running down the first base line.
But why would he angrily throw the bat in Piazza's direction?
"I was extremely emotional in the first inning," Clemens said. "After the first inning, I had to go into a room by myself. I knew I had to get control of my emotions to finish the game."
And why was Clemens emotional?
Because of week-long media attention on the July 8 interleague game between the teams, when he beaned Piazza so hard it caused a concussion.
So what did Piazza think of the incident?
"Bizarre is what it was," he said.
Did he think Clemens was trying to hit him with the bat?
"It doesn't really matter," Piazza replied. "If the umpires though it was unintentional, that's the ruling. It doesn't matter what I think."
Umpire crew chief Ed Montague issued a statement calling the incident an "emotional reaction. . . .There was no intent."
The rest of the game was played with a buzz on from the overwhelmed crowd of 56,059, who oohed and aahed through Clemens hitting Edgardo Alfonzo in the fourth inning and Mets' starter Mike Hampton hitting David Justice in the sixth.
What was left of the crowd in the ninth inning also saw an amazing comeback from the Mets, who rallied for five runs one Piazza's two-run homer and Jay Payton's three-run homer.
Bullpen closer Mariano Rivera finally got the final out.
It was 3 ½ hours after the start of this strange Sunday evening in the Bronx, which had seen the Yankees dominate from the start. In fact they went right to work against Hampton, with a little help from Hampton himself.
With two outs in the first, the lefty walked Justice and Bernie Williams, with Justice scoring on a single by Tino Martinez and Williams on a single by Jorge Posada.
The Yankees were back with single runs in the second (on Scott Brosius' homer), fifth (on Paul O'Neill's double), seventh (on Brosius' sacrifice fly) and eighth (on Martinez' single).
And now the Mets are in deep trouble, not only behind two games to none, but with the prospect of facing Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez when this World Series moves to Shea Stadium Tuesday. Hernandez is 8-0 in nine career post-season starts.
"It puts us in a good position, but not a guaranteed position," manager Joe Torre said.
It could put them in a dangerous position if there are repercussions come Tuesday night.