Robinson said he did not establish intent on Clemens' part and said that wasn't his goal. He simply said that behavior of this sort on the field is inappropriate and must be punished.

But he offered at least a hint into his thinking when someone asked him if he had ever seen a similar bat-throwing incident.

"No,'' Robinson said. "Not at that velocity.''

Baseball's hope now is that the ugly incident that threatens to overshadow the World Series itself will go away. And it might -- for a day or two. But if this series extends beyond five games, Clemens will take the mound in Yankee Stadium for Game 6 and then the circus will begin anew.

For now, both clubs were happy to close the book on the incident Tuesday.

"Baseball handled it appropriately,'' Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "If they said they didn't want to do anything, we would have lived with that.

"If we have a chance to win the World Series, I'd like to do it with both teams at full strength.''

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and manager Joe Torre both declined comment on the fine, as did Piazza. Clemens didn't make an appearance, either -- although he did issue a statement.

"I have been advised of the fine and under the rules I have seven days in which to decide whether or not to appeal it,'' the statement read. "I want to stay focused on the task at hand, helping my team win the World Series, so I do not intend to consider the question of an appeal or respond to questions about the fine or the incident itself until this series is over.''

Why did Robinson fine Clemens now instead of after the Series?

"I felt now would have more impact on what may or may not happen during the rest of the series,'' Robinson said.

Robinson said that the fine should not be taken as an indication that baseball thought the umpires handled the situation wrong by not ejecting Clemens at the time.

"The umpires handled the situation very well,'' Robinson said. "They diffused the situation, and the players handled it very well.

"This is not to say that the umpires did not handle it correctly. I collect information, and if I feel it is appropriate to levy a fine or a suspension, I do it.''

Robinson said he never considered a suspension.

The meeting between Robinson and Clemens took place Tuesday afternoon, and Robinson listened to Clemens' explanation before levying the fine.

"He said he was really gung-ho out there, that he was pumped up for the game,'' Robinson said. "When the bat went flying, he said, he thought it was the ball coming to him. When he caught the bat, he knew it was the bat so he went to dispose of it. He said, "I was not throwing it at Piazza', and he said he asked the umpire to relay that to Piazza.''

The explanation still seemed fuzzy to Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon.

"If it wasn't intentional, it was just a foolish act,'' Wilpon said. "If it was intentional, it was malicious. I don't know whether he meant it or not.''

New York minute

No way this Clemens-Piazza feud dies anytime soon, not in this town. The tabloids are feasting on it.

Piazza is writing a guest column for the New York Post, and the banner headline across the cover of the Post on Tuesday was "Beep Show.''

In discussing Clemens, the words "bleep'' or "bleeping'' appeared in the Piazza column a total of 16 times.

"Sorry about the bleeps,'' Piazza writes at one point. "The more I write, the more emotional I get.''

Piazza mainly reiterated what he's already said, explaining that he asked Clemens what his problem is after the bat flew by and that Clemens didn't reply.

"He didn't hear me say anything to him?'' Piazza writes. "Then if he has a hearing problem, that's not my problem. Maybe he should get his ears checked, too. I don't know.''

Piazza also called Clemens "unstable'' and "idiotic.''

Thankfully, Clemens is not "writing'' a column for any local papers.

Yet.

Cold can't stop El Duque

Though the Yankees tried to downplay it, Game 3 starter Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez battled flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to his start.

Denny Neagle, who will pitch Game 4, admitted that pitching coach Billy Connors told him on Monday to be ready for Game 3 just in case

"El Duque is still a little under the weather, it's a cold or flu bug type thing," said Neagle. "I'm sure El Duque was feeling worse (Monday). From what I understand, he still has some symptoms. But knowing El Duque, when he gets out there in the heat of battle, he's not going to be thinking about any of the cold or flu symptoms he has."

True enough, El Duque struck out the side in the first two innings.

He's come a long way

Mets GM Steve Phillips can appreciate the rise of Rick Reed from relative nobody to a pitcher the Mets were depending on heavily in Game 3 of the World Series Tuesday night.

"I remember when we signed Rick to a minor league Triple-A contract, we got him as an insurance policy and a guy who could help our Triple-A team win," said Phillips. "He pitched for a year in Triple-A, we re-signed him with the intent of possibly selling him to Japan. He made our team that year (1997) and has established himself as one of the better right-handed starting pitchers in the game. There's no doubt this is the biggest game he's ever pitched for us or ever pitched in his career."

Going fourth

In Game 4, it will be Yankees lefty Denny Neagle against Mets righty Bobby Jones.

Neagle was nearly passed over for veteran David Cone, but Torre ultimately went the safe route.

Neagle struggled badly in the final month of the regular season but pitched decently despite going 0-2 in the ALCS.

"His last two starts were fine," said Joe Torre. "His first one was very good, the second one was good enough to win.

"Our lefties have done well against the Mets and Neagle can give us a little more length than Cone."

Meanwhile, Jones, who pitched a one-hit gem against the Giants to clinch the Division Series, went 0-2 against the Yankees in interleague play this season. The first time, he was shelled 13-5.

That said, he has no reservations about a rematch.

"My first game at Yankee Stadium was in the middle of all my struggles," said Jones. "That was my last start before being sent to the minors."

Homecoming for Vizcaino

Yankees second baseman Jose Vizcaino has made a startling transformation in the last couple of days from utility player to pivotal World Series starter.

He won Game 1 with a base hit down the left field line in the 12th inning.

And with the DH not in effect in the games at Shea, Vizcaino got the nod over Chuck Knoblauch at second base and hit leadoff.

Vizcaino was a Met from 1994-96 and saw some familiar faces upon arriving to the park on Tuesday.

"I had fun the three years I played (with the Mets)," Vizcaino said. "The fans were great to me and my family. Today, when I came to the park I saw a couple of people that work here and they hugged me and said, we love you, but we hate you now."

High praise

Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon couldn't have been any more pleased with the way Piazza handled his infamous encounter with Clemens in the first inning of Game 2.

Some Mets said that if they were in Piazza's shoes, they would have gone after Clemens.

"What Mike Piazza did was show the most restraint and respect anyone could show," said Wilpon. "He did the best thing for the organization, himself and major league baseball. And that was the hardest thing to do. You're not talking about a guy who would walk away from anything. He's a big strong guy. But he showed his character."

SportsLine.com's Ian Browne contributed to this report