Piazza Not the Lone Star

The Dodgers were swept in two National League division series during Mike Piazza’s tenure at Chavez Ravine.

Not surprisingly, the all-star catcher took much of the blame for the Dodgers’ playoff flops because he didn’t play well in October.

Piazza batted .250, had one home run and three runs batted in while the Dodgers were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves in 1995 and ‘96, respectively. The experiences were unpleasant for Piazza because he had been expected to carry the Dodgers against teams that were superior.

That isn’t the case now.

The Mets’ lineup is considered among the best in the major leagues. Piazza, who sat out the last two games of the Mets’ division series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks because of left-thumb problems, still is counted on to stir the Mets’ playoff drink--but they have other straws.

“I think it’s evident that this is just a more balanced lineup [than the Dodgers had],” said Piazza, who was 0 for 4 in Game 1 against Atlanta.

“I mean, just look at our infield and how good it is. For most of the year, our Nos. 1-7 [batters] were hitting .300. We had three guys drive in 100 [runs] and I think Ole [first baseman John Olerud] came close [with 96]. It’s almost like, yeah, you can see that [balance]. There’s no doubt about it.”

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Atlantans have come to expect the Braves to qualify for postseason play. Maybe that’s why they don’t pack Turner Field for the division and championship series anymore.

On Tuesday, the Braves and Mets played before a crowd of 44,172 in the 50,000-plus-seat ballpark.

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Brave batting coach Don Baylor, who interviewed with Chicago Cub President Andy MacPhail and General Manager Ed Lynch in Atlanta on Monday regarding their managerial vacancy, said he has heard nothing from the Angels since an initial call to express their interest.

“I believe they have to hire a general manager first and the general manager will hire the manager,” Baylor said.

Besides the Cubs and Angels, Baylor will probably draw interest from the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles. However, as a resident of La Quinta and the only Angel ever to win the American League’s most-valuable-player award, Baylor has already said that the Angels seem to represent a fit too good to be true.