Andy,

I am not defending Clemens, what he did was wrong. However, if he wanted to hit Piazza with the bat, he would have. He tossed the bat several feet in front of him and at foot level. I think this was just posturing, not meant to hurt him.
Maybe Roger is smarter than all of us. If Piazza and the other Mets charged the diamond after that, who would have been thrown out of the game? Piazza was not hit by the bat, it wasn't even that close. It would have been the Mets who would have lost in that exchange. Thankfully, the Mets had cooler heads.

Again, Roger was wrong, I am not looking to defend him. I agree with everything you say. Peace.