Piazza

	Clemens

NEW YORK -- Mets' fans can stop salivating: Roger Clemens is likely to skip the New York Yankees' series at Shea Stadium later this month.

The Mets have been angry with Clemens since he beaned catcher Mike Piazza last July 8 at Yankee Stadium. Clemens, in a bizarre action, threw part of a broken bat near Piazza in Game 2 of the World Series, earning a $50,000 fine that went to charity.

"Who cares. I could care less," Piazza said. "We've got our own problems. I'm not even thinking about it. It's irrelevant to me. I don't even think about it. It doesn't matter who's out there, whether it's the Yankees, the Marlins or whoever."

In the Yankees' current rotation, Clemens is to start Saturday against Cleveland, Thursday against Baltimore, June 12 against Montreal and the finale of the Yankees' three-game series at Shea on June 17.

Because the game is in the NL ballpark and there won't be a designated hitter, Clemens would have to bat -- and possibly deal with pitches in the vicinity of his head.

That's why Yankees manager Joe Torre is leaning toward revamping his rotation in the next two weeks in an effort to avoid starting the five-time Cy Young Award winner at Shea.

"They'd be putting wanted signs up the two weeks before the game, promoting 'World War III,"' Torre said Friday. "As long as we have somebody ready to pitch -- I wouldn't want to disrupt everything for it not to happen. But you don't know what's going to happen between now and then weather-wise, so I can't say no he won't."

Torre said he was leaning toward pushing back Mike Mussina a day until Tuesday -- which would avoid a third matchup this season with Pedro Martinez, scheduled to start for Boston on Monday night. By pushing back Clemens one day, too, the Rocket would avoid a start at Shea Stadium.