World Series results in question

[BROWNING_G_WILLIAM@Lilly.com]

Enjoy:
Bill B
BJ8
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Mets Call for New World Series                                             
 By Dorothea Cooke                                                          
 November 15, 2000                                                          
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
 New York - The New York Mets announced Wednesday they are petitioning      
 Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and the US District Court in  
 New York City to get an additional inning added to Game 5 of the World     
 Series, which they lost to the Yankees by a score of 4-2. The game ended   
 on a pop-up by Mets slugger Mike Piazza, giving the game and the           
 championship to their cross-town rivals.                                   
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Piazza said there was no way he meant to hit the ball to Yankees           
 centerfielder Bernie Williams on the warning track of Shea Stadium. "I     
 meant for that ball to go all the way out of the park and take us to the   
 next game. I misread Mariano Rivera's pitch. I mean let's face it, I'm     
 Mike Piazza and it is my right to hit a home run. That's what I've done    
 all season. I demand another at bat."                                      
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Mets General Manager Steve Phillips and Manager Bobby Valentine said the   
 outcome of the game could alter their earlier decision to fire hitting     
 coach Tom Robson.                                                          
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "Because of the confusion of the balls being thrown our way, a man has     
 lost his job," said the usually emotional Valentine. Between tearful sobs, 
 Valentine said the Yankees admitted to deliberately confusing Mets batters 
 by mixing up their pitches and making it impossible for his normally       
 hot-hitting team to win.                                                   
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "We are going to keep playing Game 5 until we like the outcome," said      
 Valentine. "We want a new game and new balls."                             
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Mets management was joined by members of the Major League Baseball Players 
 Union, who said they supported the Mets, but urged everyone "not to rush   
 to judgment and let this game be played out," for the sake of the fans.    
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "We meant to hit those pitches from the Yankee pitchers," said Phillips.   
 "We were confused by the irregularities of the pitches we received and     
 believe we have been denied our right to hit."                             
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, winner of game 5, said there was "no way"   
 he was going to "telegraph" to the other team when he was throwing his     
 sinking fastball. "I did that last year and it took all the fun out of the 
 season and almost got me traded," Pettitte said while fishing in his home  
 state of Louisiana.                                                        
                                                                            
                                                                            
 One claim specifically noted by Mets attorney Alan Dershowitz was that a   
 small percentage of the Mets batters had intended to swing at Roger "The   
 Rocket" Clemens fastballs, but couldn't keep up with them. However, that   
 should not disqualify them from being allowed to bat continuously,         
 Dershowitz argued.                                                         
                                                                            
                                                                            
 But a high-ranking front office official for the Yankees who requested     
 anonymity accused Dershowitz of "extreme partisanship," in the matter,     
 citing the attorney's support of the Boston Red Sox, arch rivals of the    
 Yankees. "The friend of my enemy is my enemy," said the official.          
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Several hitters said they found themselves confused by closer Marino       
 Rivera's cut fastball as well. Mets hitters said they weren't sure if they 
 were swinging at sliders or curveballs from any of the Yankee pitchers.    
                                                                            
                                                                            
 One Major League Baseball official, who asked not to be identified said,   
 "It was clear that these batters never intended to swing at curve balls,   
 though a much higher percentage were not confused by the pitches."         
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Several sports reporters at the press conference pointed out that the Mets 
 had extensively reviewed film of the Yankees pitchers prior to the World   
 Series and had in fact faced the Yankees in inter-league play earlier in   
 the year.                                                                  
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "The fact remains that some of the pitches confused us and denied us of    
 our right to hit," said Valentine. "The World Series is not over yet and   
 the Yankees celebrated prematurely and we understand they are already      
 ordering their championship rings."                                        
                                                                            
                                                                            
 ,Major League Baseball has reviewed the telecast of all the World Series   
 games and recounted the balls and strikes called by the umpires of each    
 game.                                                                      
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "While some of the strikes called against the Mets were, in fact, balls,   
 there were not enough of them to change the outcome of the World Series,"  
 said Selig.                                                                
                                                                            
                                                                            
 Another portion of the Mets legal claim stated that according to the       
 on-base percentage of the team, the Mets had actually won the World        
 Series, regardless of the final scores of the games. "It's clear that we   
 were slightly on-base more often than the Yankees," said a Mets spokesman. 
 The Mets had eight hits compared to seven for the Yankees in Game 5.       
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "The World Series crown is rightly ours," said Valentine, but Yankee       
 Manager Joe Torre dismissed the claim, calling the Mets "sore losers."     
                                                                            
                                                                            
 "Quite frankly I expected more from them. They are a class organization    
 from top to bottom," said Torre. "But this World Series was clearly an     
 engagement of democracy in action. Everyone on the team produced, from     
 utility infielder Luis Sojo to Jose Vizcaino and an injured Paul O'Neill.  
 In certifying this victory for the Yankees, we respect and abide by the    
 will of baseball fans everywhere."                                         
                                                                            
                                                                            




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