Piazza Helps Mets Rock Braves Again

With all the police, bomb-sniffing dogs and other precautions to safeguard John Rocker, nothing is being done to protect the Atlanta Braves’ other pitchers.

Less than 24 hours after assaulting three of them for 10 runs in the eighth inning of an 11-8 victory, the New York Mets came back Saturday to rip Greg Maddux for six runs in the second inning of a 9-1 win before a Shea Stadium crowd of 44,593.

Maddux came in with a 9-2 record and 2.91 earned-run average but was still not 100% after being scratched from Thursday night’s start because of flu. In a two-inning stint that was his shortest since 1996, he permitted six consecutive hits with two out in the second, including a solo home run by Benny Agbayani and a two-run shot by Mike Piazza, who made a little history as the Mets moved to within one game of Atlanta in the National League East.

Piazza, who capped Friday night’s 10-run rally with a three-run homer, has hit in 19 consecutive games, driving in a run in 14 in a row, the second longest streak in NL annals. The record is 17, set by Ray Grimes of the Chicago Cubs in 1922.

“It’s kind of cool as a footnote,” Piazza said. “It’s an honor to be mentioned with guys who played in the ‘20s, but I was actually a little disappointed in a personal way today because I felt I lost my concentration and had a couple bad at-bats [after the home run].”

Piazza has driven in 27 runs during the RBI streak and is batting .367 during the hitting streak. He has a .361 average overall, 23 homers and 70 RBIs, tied with Gary Sheffield for second in the league behind Jeff Kent.

“He is as good, if not the best hitter in baseball,” Met Manager Bobby Valentine said, “and I think he’s getting better. He has a better knowledge of the strike zone and a better knowledge of his own ability and is using it at a high level.

“I’ve admired him since he wore the other uniform. People tend to forget that he might have won a couple batting titles with the Dodgers if it hadn’t been for Tony Gwynn. He’s one of a handful of players worth the price of admission by themselves.”

Said Piazza: “I don’t think you ever stop learning. I don’t think you ever want to reach a point where you feel satisfied. I talk to a lot of guys about hitting, but I don’t do a lot of analysis. I go more by feel and timing. I’m swinging relaxed right now and that has a lot to do with the lineup. We’ve shown an ability the last two nights to strike quickly. We have a lot of guys getting big hits, and that distributes the load. You don’t have to feel you’re the man, that you have to carry the whole load.”

In a three-inning span covering their last at-bat Friday night and their first two Saturday, the Mets scored 17 runs, 16 with two outs. The early cushion Saturday made it easy for Al Leiter, enjoying the best start of his career at 10-1. Leiter struck out 12 in seven innings, scattering six hits.

The crowd was left to hoot at Chipper Jones--a favorite target here who got no relief from the derision despite a message-board announcement that his wife, Sharon, gave birth to a boy Friday night--and former Met Bobby Bonilla. The crowd called in vain at times for Rocker, who wasn’t going to pitch in a blowout and might not have been able to pitch because of the split callus on his left thumb.

Rocker said he iced it six or seven times Saturday in an effort to control the inflammation. He didn’t even try to throw because he knew it would bleed and he did not want to use up any potential bullets on a test.

Rocker has tried several remedies, will see a dermatologist in Atlanta (“maybe he has a magic cream”) and been told by team trainers that only extended rest will allow the condition to heal.

“They talk about the disabled list, but I can’t do that,” Rocker said. “Our bullpen is beat to death and it’s not going to get any better soon. If Mike Remlinger [who has a sore sore elbow] has to go on the disabled list, it will be another big blow.”

The Braves need a win today to split the four-game series and come out with the two-game lead with which they started.

“It’s a big game,” Rocker said. “If the situation calls for it, I’ll pitch no matter how [the callus] feels.”

Rocker put the city on edge with his derogatory comments in a Sports Illustrated article in December. He has been doing most of his traveling here in an unmarked police van, accompanied at times by his parents and girlfriend, Staci Sutton, the daughter of Brave announcer Don Sutton.

He has refused, however, to talk about anything but baseball. In that regard, he and the Braves had little to talk about Saturday.