Big demand for Big Unit
Posted: Thursday November 12, 1998 01:28 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci checked in with CNNSI
anchor Paul Crane from the Major League Baseball general managers' meeting
in Naples, Florida. Paul Crane: A number of teams
seem to be making a run at the Big Unit. Tom Verducci:
Absolutely, and among those teams interested, Arizona has put on the real
full-court press here. They did meet with Randy Johnson
on Monday and, according to one Diamondbacks source, they're ecstatic with
how that meeting went. They believe that they are Randy Johnson's top
priority. Now that may be true, but the Los Angeles Dodgers
have yet to be heard from. They expect to meet with Johnson to make a
formal offer next week. Right now Johnson has three offers on the table:
one from the San Diego
Padres, one from the Houston Astros and one
from the Arizona
Diamondbacks. PC: I'm sure he's going to wind up
getting incredible money. What about Bobby Bonilla
-- he's heading back to the Mets but to play what position there?
TV: Well, it's very interesting. I thought manager Bobby Valentine
was extremely blunt in talking about Bonilla's future with the Mets. He
said he intends to play him in either left field or right field but first
they have to find out if Bonilla can catch the ball. I thought Valentine
was being very honest. Bonilla was a disaster last year in left field with
the Dodgers. The Mets believe that's because he had a lot of injuries and
he was out of shape. They're hoping to get him back into shape, he can play
either left field or right field. They now have their sights set on finding
another corner outfield spot through free agency and their primary targets
are B.J.
Surhoff and Brian Jordan.
PC: And, of course, the Mets have Edgardo Alfonso to play
third, so it doesn't look like Bonilla will play there. I'm sure a lot of
reporters in New York are just doing back flips over the fact that Bobby
Bonilla is returning. What do you think it's going to be like this time
around for him when last time in New York he had several "moments?"
TV: I'm very surprised because Bonilla's time in New York was a
complete disaster and the Mets are going to revisit that again. They think
the big difference now -- and they said this today -- is that Bonilla is
more mature and better equipped to handle New York now than he was then.
And the other aspect is now he's coming in as a complementary player.
Before they expected him to step into Darryl
Strawberry's shoes and carry the team. Bobby's not that kind of player,
but he's got Mike
Piazza to carry the load now. PC: We see Dean Palmer
getting more than $7 million per year from the Tigers. Good player, great
money. TV: The Tigers are in a situation now with their
stadium coming up in the next couple of years where they do have some
revenue coming in. That said, I think this signing shocked a lot of people
in baseball, that Detroit did go that far in years and dollars with Dean
Palmer. The Tigers were almost forced into that situation, though, because
Palmer did have a four-year deal on the table worth $28 million from the Tampa Bay Devil
Rays, of all teams. He went back to the Tigers, told them he had that
four-year deal -- they went the extra year, and the extra $7 million, to
get him to Detroit.
| 
