Dodgers Have Sad Reunion

Mike Piazza won’t gloat.

Of course, he has had opportunities.

Reporters constantly approach the New York Met catcher, hoping the onetime Dodger franchise player will bash his struggling former ballclub.

But the seven-time all-star simply refuses to go there.

Piazza is living the good life in the Big Apple, helping resurrect the surprising Mets. Piazza is happy, healthy and wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, working and playing in the city that never sleeps.

Piazza went hitless in three at-bats against the Dodgers on Friday night, but the Mets still earned a 2-1 victory before a crowd of 43,825 at Shea Stadium. Met rookie right-hander Octavio Dotel (4-1) outdueled Chan Ho Park (6-9), though they each pitched seven strong innings.

Dotel gave up only three hits and one run--on a third-inning balk--with a career-high 10 strikeouts. With one out in the ninth, the Dodgers got the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base against Armando Benitez.

Benitez struck out Raul Mondesi and Adrian Beltre swinging to nail down his 12th save for the Mets (67-43), who are atop the National League East.

Although Piazza wasn’t an offensive factor, it turned out to be a good night for at least one former Dodger.

Right fielder Roger Cedeno scored the tying run in the Mets’ half of the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Edgardo Alfonzo. Cedeno had a one-out infield single and stole second and third, marking his major league-leading 53rd and 54th stolen bases.

The Dodgers? They (47-62) dropped a season-high 15 games under .500 and are 1-3 on their 10-game trip.

Piazza rip the Dodgers? Why bother.

“To be real honest about it, I don’t think there’s any reason for me to look back,” said Piazza, who signed a seven-year, $91-million contract in the off-season.

“I know what [reporters] are looking for, I know what they want me to say, but I’ve moved beyond all the negativity from that situation. It’s just not something I focus on.

“I mean, I feel really good about how everything is going with the team. We have a great bunch of guys and a talented bunch of guys. We’re working to accomplish something, and we’re all working together.

“We’ve been having a lot of fun and things have been good.”

Indeed.

The Mets are the hottest team in the major leagues since the All-Star break, going 17-4 and overtaking the powerful Atlanta Braves for first place in the division.

Piazza is having another impressive season, batting .311 with 23 home runs and 76 runs batted in.

“We had other issues that stopped us from reaching the level of expectations people had for us. Mike definitely wasn’t the problem,” Dodger first baseman Eric Karros said of his longtime friend. “If that’s not apparent by now. . . .”

Unlike his Dodger days, Piazza carries only part of the load offensively in New York.

The Mets have the type of offensive balance that Dodger Manager Davey Johnson has longed for this season.

Third baseman Robin Ventura and first baseman John Olerud provide left-handed power to complement what Piazza and Alfonzo provide from the right side. Rickey Henderson continues to add to his credentials as the greatest leadoff batter in major league history, and Dodger castoff Cedeno is making Met General Manager Steve Phillips look like the executive of the year.

What does all that mean for Piazza? Peace of mind, something he didn’t have when he worked at Chavez Ravine.

“There were times [with the Dodgers] when if I didn’t hit, we didn’t win,” Piazza said. “Here, Nos. 1-7 [in the batting order] are hitting .300. I can go 0 for 5 with three strikeouts and we’ll still win by seven runs. That’s not something I think can happen, it has already happened.

“I’m still doing a fair amount of the work, but there’s not as much on me to carry the team all the time. You can call it less pressure or whatever you want to, but it just helps when a lot of guys are contributing.”

The Dodgers know.