[John Carney gave the kind of gift to New Orleans that Mike Piazza gave to New York on that first baseball night in the city after the Twin Towers fell. Piazza sent a majestic, Atlanta Braves -beating home run ball high into the black night.] It was like we were destined to win that game, ... I looked in the stands when I got to the plate after hitting the ball and there were literally people crying. |
[This might be Mike Piazza 's final season in the majors. Piazza hasn't ruled out retirement when his contract expires. Asked during a conference call,] So you're not ruling out retirement?, ... Not at this point. Personally, my body feels good. I still feel like I can be productive, maybe not the way I was 10 years ago. But you know what? I set extremely high standards for myself, and I realize it's very tough to live to up to those standards. I could stay, I could go. It doesn't really matter to me. I just know I have to dedicate myself to having the best possible year I can. |
[While Piazza gently tried to deny the rumors and say he had nothing against gays, his father was not as forgiving.] That was the toughest part, the stuff about his personal life, ... I would have handled it differently. |
A couple weeks ago I didn't think I'd be able to play for the rest of the year. Whatever Willie feels is best for the team, I'll be 1,000 percent supportive. |
Even though I'm not gay, I think Clemens is such a brute that he deserves this legal action. He brought it on himself by being so butch on the mound. Being straight, and not gay at all, I hold hope that he can turn himself around and take his place in the beautiful rainbow that is Major League Baseball. |
Everyone is assuming that I'm not going to be here next year, but I've never said anything either way. I'm just going to finish as strong as I can and see what the options are. |
focus, discipline, relying on training, trying not to take things personally, playing hard every day and hustle. |
For me, the most important thing is to catch, like tonight. |
Gotta do something, ... When you're my age, you take a day or two off and next thing you know you've put on a few pounds. Running at least gets the blood circulating, helps [the hand] feel better. |
He just wanted to keep us focused. He has a good instinct for that, a good feel for that. |
He told me, 'If you're not a thousand percent sure, don't quit,' |
He's unbelievable. Just great stuff. Competitive. He goes out for the seventh inning and strikes out the side. That shows you he's definitely a throwback guy. He didn't look to go out of the game there. ... There's no telling what he can do. |
Hi, I guess we're going to be teammates ... tomorrow night. |
Hopefully it won't be too long. |
Hopefully it would come in a win, but what are you going to do? Personally it is a nice milestone, but it would have been a little sweeter if we were playing a little better baseball. |