Mike Piazza had the union appeal his five-game suspension Friday, assessed after he charged the mound after he was hit by a pitch from the Dodgers' Guillermo Mota.

Unless Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, hears the appeal next week, Piazza would be eligible to play the season opener.

	Piazza

Fearful of missing Opening Day for the first time, Piazza was guarded in his first comments since being suspended for starting a benches-clearing brawl in a spring training game against the Dodgers.

Piazza is concerned about any impact his comments might have on an appeal.

"I've never missed an Opening Day," Piazza told the New York Daily News. "To miss it over this would be frustrating and disappointing. I'm going to do what I can. Hopefully we can talk and hopefully we can get it reduced."

Piazza and Mota were suspended for five games for their roles in the brawl. Piazza was fined $3,000 and Mota was docked $1,500, while Mets outfielder Jeromy Burnitz was fined $500.

Asked by the newspaper if he had any regrets, Piazza said "Yeah. But I can't comment on that. I think it's pretty self-explanatory."

Piazza and Mota got into trouble March 13 at Port St. Lucie, Fla., after Piazza was hit by a pitch. The problems continued when Piazza later went into the Dodgers' clubhouse looking for Mota, who had already left.

"I wish he was playing Opening Day and every game after that," Mets manager Art Howe told the Daily News. "But obviously he's going to have to miss some games. I'd like to get it over with. Once it happens, let's get it behind us and go forward."

Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, a friend of Mota's who also has a thrown-at-Piazza history, criticized Piazza this week, saying: "Maybe he felt like he had to show off his testosterone. But this may be more embarrassing than the one before. Why would you go after skinny Guillermo Mota in spring training and do nothing to Roger Clemens in the World Series?"

When asked about Martinez's remarks, Piazza was initially quoted by the Daily News as saying: "Don't waste my time." But he didn't stop there.

"Maybe he should write a book," Piazza said, a veiled reference to Yankees pitcher David Wells' critical comments about Piazza not retaliating against Clemens during the broken-bat incident in the 2000 World Series.

Meanwhile, Watson has vowed to get tough on players who tangle and continues to walk the walk, especially after a spate of run-ins at spring training.

Earlier this month, he suspended Montreal outfielder Vladimir Guerrero for three games, Expos infielder Jose Macias for two games and Florida pitcher Brad Penny for five games for their roles in a fight. Guerrero has an appeal hearing on Tuesday, before the Expos break camp.

Piazza and Mota had a bad history between them -- last year in spring training, Piazza was fined $3,000 by Watson for grabbing Mota by the shirt after being hit by a pitch.

This time, Mota's first pitch to Piazza was inside. The next one hit Piazza behind the left shoulder, and he rushed the mound.

Mota threw his glove at Piazza, began backpedaling and ran away from him. Both dugouts emptied, Piazza was restrained on the mound by several Dodgers and the Mets made a wild charge to get Mota, with Burnitz getting tackled by Los Angeles reserve Mike Kinkade.

Mota said this week he would talk with his agent, Adam Katz, about whether to appeal. The pitcher, a former Mets farmhand as a shortstop, would not say if he thought the suspension was fair.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.