The intensity of the Subway Series has the city in its grips and it should go up a notch when Hampton faces Roger Clemens Sunday night. Clemens angered the Mets during the season when he hit Mike Piazza in the head with his first pitch to the slugger of a game July 8. Piazza had hit a grand slam against Clemens a month earlier, the third straight game in which he had tagged the Yankees ace. Intimidation is part of Clemens' equipment. Yankees manager Joe Torre compares it to the way Hall of Famer Bob Gibson approached his work.
Intimidation is part of that.
I go back to Gibson. He'd knock you on your rear end anytime. It's part of the package. The Mets believed the Piazza beaning was no accident. Hampton cooled the inflamed feelings the next day, shutting out the Yankees for seven innings in a 2-0 Mets victory.