| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Now, the real work begins for the Atlanta
Braves.
|  | | Chipper Jones led off the sixth with his 35th home run this season. |
The Braves clinched the NL East to win their ninth division title in 10 years, beating the New York Mets 7-1 Tuesday
night behind John Burkett's pitching and Chipper Jones' home run.
"We've got to start preparing for the playoffs," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We've got to start reading the scouting reports and start getting ready."
After the final out, the Braves shook hands on the field,
keeping the high-fives to a minimum. The only sign this victory
meant more came when Atlanta relievers ran out of the bullpen to
join their teammates.
Inside the clubhouse, however, the Braves sprayed champagne and
put on T-shirts proclaiming themselves champions.
"We didn't want to show anybody up out there," Cox said.
"It's not the World Series, it's the playoffs, the division. But
you absolutely should celebrate."
Added 20-game winner Tom Glavine: "Division titles don't come easy, but it's still all about winning the World Series."
With John Rocker back at Shea Stadium -- and dodging a beer bottle on the mound -- Atlanta prevented the Mets from wrapping up the wild card spot.
|
Alleged bottle-thrower arrested
|
|
A 22-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night and
charged with throwing the beer bottle that landed near Braves
relief pitcher John Rocker on the mound at Shea Stadium.
Also arrested in the fracas was the fan's friend, Brian
Peterson, 22. It was the same Peterson who pleaded guilty in 1998
to manslaughter -- along with his girlfriend -- in the death of their
newborn son at a motel room in Delaware.
Rocker, vilified by New Yorkers after disparaging them in a
magazine article last year, was loudly booed when he sprinted out
of the Braves bullpen in the eighth inning to face the Mets.
As he prepared to warm up, a beer bottle came flying out of the
first-base box seats and hit about 10 feet from Rocker. Within a
minute, police were leading a man out of the stands.
Braves manager Bobby Cox picked up the bottle and carried toward
the dugout, discarding it before he reached the bench.
Raymond Maniaci of Wyckoff, N.J., was charged with reckless
endangerment, police said.
Peterson, also of Wyckoff, was charged with obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, police said. The Mets confirmed Peterson was the same man involved in the infant's death in Delaware, for which Peterson received a two-year sentence.
|
New York would have been assured of that berth, however, if both
Arizona and Los Angeles lost later in the evening. The Diamondbacks
lost 7-6 to Colorado, but the Dodgers won 9-0 over the Giants.
Inside the Mets' clubhouse, the Arizona-Colorado game was on television. But the Mets did not plan to stick around to watch the late endings.
"I'll probably be awake, I don't know," New York manager Bobby Valentine said. "We might have to come out and win one tomorrow."
The crowd of 48,270 had little to cheer on a damp, chilly night
other than Edgardo Alfonzo's home run. The fans started booing the home team during a sloppy seventh inning.
"There is disappointment, but you still realize there's a very
good chance of your going to the playoffs, and it's the same
playoffs," Mets third baseman Robin Ventura said. "It's not like
they go to a different tournament."
Rocker drew loud jeers when he sprinted out of the Braves
bullpen to relieve in the eighth. A beer bottle landed about 10
feet from him as he prepared to warm up, and police quickly
appeared to have the man who threw it in custody in the first-base
box seats.
Rocker retired Ventura on a routine fly to end the inning, looked at the crowd without emotion as he walked off and smiled for his teammates in the dugout. Rocker finished up in the ninth.
"I don't have anything to say," Rocker said.
The Braves begin the playoffs on either Oct. 3 or Oct. 4 against
either St. Louis or San Francisco.
"We feel good at this point in the season. All facets are
falling into place," Jones said.
Atlanta won the NL West from 1991-93 and, after a strike wiped
out the end of the 1994 season, has won six consecutive NL East
championships.
Atlanta began the night with a magic number of three over New
York. Several Braves players wondered about their standing, asking
aloud in the clubhouse whether they could clinch and dubious that
it could be done.
Closer to the first pitch, though, they seemed clued in -- but that came only after the Braves called the commissioner's office to clear up the confusion.
"We're absolutely aware of it," Braves general manager John
Schuerholz said at gametime. "If we win tonight, we win it."
According to baseball's new math in the wild-card era, here's
why the Braves clinched: At 94-63 with five games left, the Braves
are assured of at least a tie with the Mets (89-68).
If they finish even and both are in the playoffs, the division
winner is determined by head-to-head record. Atlanta is 7-4 against
New York with only two games left.
The Braves won their fourth in a row and stopped the Mets'
three-game winning streak.
Burkett (10-6) improved to 3-0 against the Mets this season,
allowing three hits in six innings. He also hit an RBI single off
Al Leiter (16-8) in the fifth for the game's first run.
"With the Braves, you figure you're going to be in the playoffs unless something goofy happens," said Burkett, who joined the team in March.
Leiter, who won at Atlanta last Wednesday, lasted 5 1/3 innings
and gave up four runs and seven hits.
Reggie Sanders doubled in the fifth and scored with two outs
when Burkett, batting .132, singled for his third RBI of the
season.
Jones, a perennial Mets nemesis, hit his 35th homer leading off
the sixth. That made him 15-for-32 (.469) against New York this
year.
Ventura made an ill-advised throw home with the bases loaded
later in the sixth, allowing two more runs to score.
Atlanta added three runs in the seventh. Andres Galarraga hit a
two-run double -- right after catcher Mike Piazza threw to second
base when no one was stealing -- and an error by shortstop Mike
Bordick set up Brian Jordan's sacrifice fly.
Game notes
Rocker took a private car to the ballpark, and has no plans
to ride the No. 7 subway in this three-game series. While security
officers guarded the bullpen, there was nothing close to the
700-person police presence that greeted him in late June for his
first visit since making disparaging remarks about New Yorkers.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
NY Mets Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 2
Toronto 1
Cleveland 4
Minnesota 2
Tampa Bay 2
NY Yankees 1
Boston 4
Chi. White Sox 3
Kansas City 7
Detroit 6
Oakland 10
Anaheim 3
Seattle 5
Texas 0
Florida 5
Montreal 4
Pittsburgh 9
Houston 4
Atlanta 7
NY Mets 1
Philadelphia 10
Chicago Cubs 4
Milwaukee 7
Cincinnati 4
Colorado 7
Arizona 6
St. Louis 7
San Diego 1
Los Angeles 9
San Francisco 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 After helping the Braves clinch the NL East, John Rocker talks with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap.
RealVideo: | 28.8
Atlanta Braves players comment on winning their ninth straight division title in 10 years.
avi: 2310 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 NL East champs again: ESPN's Jeremy Schaap talks with Brian Jordan.
wav: 408 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Chipper Jones says John Rocker and the Braves have put all the controversy behind them.
wav: 197 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
In order to be a contender, Mike Piazza says the Mets will have to play better.
wav: 72 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
According to Tom Glavine, the Braves have shown a lot of character.
wav: 103 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Greg Maddux says this year's division title was a little more special for the Braves.
wav: 58 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
ESPN's Peter Gammons credits John Rocker and the Braves for overcoming a season full of adversity.
wav: 233 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
