NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 11, 1999

Mike Piazza

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, actually the swelling has gone down considerably. So I think now the good thing is the residual effects of the actual medicine that was put in there is starting to work, and the swelling has gone down and the inflammation has gone down; so it's feeling a lot better.

MIKE PIAZZA: I do right now. Again, I obviously just hit batting practice. It's not game speed, game intensity, but it feels pretty good. The pain has definitely subsided a lot. The swelling has gone down a lot. So I'm probably going to continue with the support wrap, which I've actually used before, in a thumb injury I had before. So I've played with it before, and as I said, I think it's feeling better, and right now, again, I don't want to say anything definite right now, but it is feeling good. I do expect to play tomorrow. But if it so happens that I come out and it's not feeling to the point where I'm going out there and I'm going to really let it go in batting practice and try to get it as close to a game situation -- reality as possible. As I've said, it's obvious that this ballclub is not just me. And I don't want to come back and not be like I feel like a hundred percent, where I can swing the bat the way I know I can and catch the way I want to.

MIKE PIAZZA: I had a thumb injury in '95, and I had a very, very short rehabilitation and wore that for actually the remainder of the season. So to me, it's just a matter of going out and wearing it. It's a support wrap. It's to stop the thumb from bending back, which was the original injury I sustained. And as I said, it should be feeling -- it should help with the support. But the main thing for me was to get the swelling out and the mobility back, and that's what is feeling better. So again, that was the most important thing. And I think the wrap is just more for support and so I don't reinjure it, and for precautionary, as well.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, I was never good in math, but if I can guess right now, I'm probably close to 90 percent, I really think right now. And I'm positive I'm going to go and ice it; ice it throughout the evening. In another 24 hours, it should be a lot better. Like I said, I hope by this time the following day, it's a non-issue.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, it was obviously very frustrating for me, but very happy the way the ballclub has played. As I've said before, and I said at the time, it's just a great feeling knowing you're on such a good team and a good bunch of guys; that they came up to me and were looking at my hand the first day and said: Take this series off, but we're going to need you in Atlanta, or whoever was going to win that series. So that just shows that I think when we're playing at our best, it shows the balance we have on this ballclub. I was very frustrated, but I knew, obviously, I wasn't able to play and contribute. What can you say about Todd? He's done a tremendous job. And it wasn't like I had this overwhelming pressure from Bobby or anybody else: "You've got to get out there, we don't care if you're 20 or 30 percent, we need you out there." It was like they're going to have to do it without me, and that's a good feeling. Again, I really feel why now it's more important to make sure I'm feeling good. They said, "Hey, if you need the first game off, we don't want you to feel there's a gun to your head to play." Obviously, they desired that I would be in the line-up. Anything I could do to get there would be great. But I wanted to feel like I could play and go out and have it be a non-issue, not something I have to think about.

MIKE PIAZZA: No comment. Go ahead, I'm sorry.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, again, I think -- I can't really put into perspective as far as those teams. I thought those teams were very good ballclubs. I know my role was obviously big on those clubs, as it is on this club. I think it's just evident of the fact that these clubs are obviously -- this club is just more balanced, as far as you look at the infield and for most of the year, you had 1 through 7 hitting .300. You have our second baseman driving in 100 runs. I think Olerud came close; Robin had a hundred. So it was almost like -- yeah, you've seen that, whereas, those ballclubs, it was obviously Eric and myself and there was some other guys. But it was just a matter of -- it was almost like if we weren't doing it or driving in the runs, or we weren't the bulk of the offense; we didn't have much offense. That was the way it was. It wasn't like negative for me. I looked at it as a challenge; as this team is a challenge. I know my role is big on this team, too, but it's not sort of spotlight. I know that I'm expected to come through, but as you see, the balance is great, and you have 1 through 7 in the line-up that can sustain you at any time. That's a good feeling. That's a good feeling for everybody. And that's something that has been real positive this year.

MIKE PIAZZA: I don't know. I've seen the comments. It's funny. It's kind of how the trash talking gets sort of magnified or amplified or whatever you want to say. Personally, I think it is -- it's kind of like we feel the team -- it's almost like you keep getting knocked down, and probably they're saying: "How many times are you guys going to come back for your beating?" And we're the proverbial sort of kid-on-the-block who is maybe trying to work out and get stronger and do something different to finally beat up the bully. Hopefully, this will be that time. I guess it's inevitable sooner or later. I hate to say this, I've said this before. I said it going into the first series in Atlanta. I said, I can't see us playing much worse, and we did play worse. I won't say that here. Hopefully, we'll play better. They have an outstanding club. They obviously rise to the occasion against us. They have a lot of positives, and they find a different guy to come in and contribute in different spots.

MIKE PIAZZA: I really don't think so. I think that this team now is playing with the attitude of like: "We have nothing to lose." No one obviously expected us to be here right now, and that's the way we feel; so we're kind of having fun with it. And I think you have to have that attitude. There's no question everybody in our clubhouse, including myself, we want to win at all costs. That's a given. I don't think that has to be said. But I still feel like now that maybe we're just -- just our attitude is a little different. Maybe we won't put as much pressure on ourselves this time. But. I don't know, because this is a League Championship Series, so there will be a lot of excitement. We want to go there. We expect to win. We expect to play our best. And I think now that it's evident that Arizona was a club that played us tough the whole season, and we feel we can turn it around against Atlanta, if we can put it all together.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, he's obviously a tremendous pitcher. He has a lot of experience, postseason experience, as well, for with right-handed hitters, he moves the ball around so well. He's got tremendous control. And when he's on, he's tough because he keeps the ball down. The ball has tremendous sinking action to it. It comes out of his hand, and he's got the great change-up; appears he's got great hand motion on that. I've always thought Greg Maddux was the type of guy if you can get one or two hits against him in a game, that's a tremendous ballgame. I don't see that changing. I know at times this year he's probably seemed a little more vulnerable than he has in the past, but that doesn't mean on any given day he won't go out and throw a shutout; that's evident. I think that's why these type of games, at least tomorrow, it seems like every little scoring opportunity you get, you have to take advantage of.

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, it's impossible to predict a reaction like that, but obviously, if I would have known that, I would have not gotten the shot. But to answer your first question, as far as rehabilitation, just a lot of ice, a lot of working with the trainers, trying to increase circulation in the thumb and getting all the swelling out of there. And initially, too, because of the fact when you get a shot in your fingers or toes or anything like that, there's not a lot of muscle in that area, there's a tremendous amount of bruising, as well, just from the needle going in. So that was another -- that was also part of the injury, as well. So that's also gone down. Like I said, I hope that the residual effects from the medicine are working and it's subsided.