Train of No Thought
Rocker Should Think Before He Speaks -- No, That's Asking Too Much
By MARK SCHLABACH
ATLANTA-- Let him ride the No. 7 train. Maybe someone will rip out his tongue so he can't open his big mouth anymore. At the least, maybe New York's finest will break his arm so he'll go away, and we won't have to hear him anymore.
Braves closer John Rocker still doesn't get it, and many of his teammates are beginning to wonder whether he ever will. While Rocker blames the media for his ongoing nightmare, he continues to be the one who won't shut his mouth and let it die.
Just as Rocker was coming off one of his best outings of the season, when he struck out three of four Phillies in Veterans Stadium on Sunday, the strong-armed reliever opened his mouth again.
Yes, if Rocker gets his wish next week, his post-Sports Illustrated world will come full circle.
Rocker said that "there's probably a pretty good chance" he'll ride the No. 7 train to New York's Shea Stadium during the Braves' four-game series against the Mets.
That was news to Rocker's teammates, the Braves' front office and Major League Baseball, which will increase Rocker's security during the trip to New York.
"It's a non-issue for me," Braves general manager John Schuerholz said.
"Guys travel to the ballpark however they like."
But it's the same No. 7 train that has caused most of Rocker's problems. After he made disparaging comments about New York and minorities in the Dec. 21 issue of Sports Illustrated, he was suspended by Major League Baseball for two weeks and has been ostracized by teammates, fans and opponents ever since.
"Imagine having to take the (No.) 7 train to (Shea Stadium)," Rocker told Sports Illustrated last year, "looking like you're (in) Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing."
Now, it seems like Rocker can't wait to buy a token to sit among them. In this week's issue of Baseball Weekly, Rocker says he is looking forward to the ride.
"The first day I get to New York," Rocker told the magazine, "I'm getting on the 7 train. I'm taking it to Shea Stadium. I won't be in a cab. I won't be on the bus. I'll be on that train.
"And I'm looking forward to it."
So are New Yorkers, who for months have had next week's series against the Braves circled on their calendars. Since Rocker ripped the city's fans during the playoffs last season, he has become Public Enemy No. 1 in the Big Apple.
"Yeah, I'm not scared," Rocker told Baseball Weekly. "What are they going to do? I mean, I'm not going to approach anybody or go out of my way to talk to someone, but if someone wants to talk to me, that's fine.
"You saw how they treated me when I pitched in New York last year. How can it get any worse than that? And nothing happened there. I went out in the city, and no one said a word to me. I really don't see that changing."
Rocker's latest ill-timed comments were not a surprise in the Braves' clubhouse. During spring training and the first two months of the season, the Rocker ordeal was overshadowed by Andres Galarraga's miraculous return from cancer and the arrival of rookie shortstop Rafael Furcal.
Now, while Rocker continues to steal headlines with his mouth, his performance on the mound has been even more embarrassing. At home against the Cubs on Wednesday, Rocker gave up five earned runs in only one-third of an inning. He yielded only one hit but walked four batters (one intentionally) and hit another.
Chicago's Mark Grace called them the "five easiest runs we've ever gotten." Rocker's wildness reminded Grace of another loose cannon whose wackiness cost him a job before his time.
"He's Mitch Williams -- with 10 mph more," Grace said, shaking his head. "I don't know what they're going to do, but they have to do something."
Rocker's teammates continue to ignore his off-field antics.
"Hey, it's his prerogative (to ride the train}," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "I wouldn't have announced it to everyone that I was coming like he did. I guess he likes the attention.
"I'm not his babysitter," Jones said. "He can do what he wants to do. As long as he's ready to pitch in the ninth, I don't care what he does."
Rocker says the worst thing that could happen to him next week is receiving a warm reception from New Yorkers.
"The worst thing they could do to me there is have no reaction. No reaction at all," Rocker said. "That's the thing that would piss me off the most. I'd hate that.
"I want to get booed. That fires me up. Look at what happened last year in New York. I didn't give up an earned run at Shea or Yankee Stadium in the playoffs. Those people bring out the best in me."
And the worst.
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