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Up in the air With labor unrest on the horizon, baseball takes the field
Updated: Monday April 02, 2001 1:28 AM
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com There's the strike that looms -- the walkout, the lockout, the "work stoppage," whatever the heck you want to call it. Then there's that confounded high strike, too. There are newer, higher payrolls and even higher ticket prices. There are a half-dozen new managers spicing things up, a couple new ballparks, a new-look schedule, lots of familiar faces in strange new places ... Get the feeling the 2001 Major League Baseball season is a little, shall we say, up in the air? Baseball digs into the forefront of the sporting consciousness this week for what promises to be a long and lively run toward October. It would be a season of unbridled optimism except that hanging over it, once again, are the labor questions that seemingly have bedeviled the game forever. This time, the owners seem especially hell-bent on stopping spiraling salaries and an out-of-whack economics structure that many, including commissioner Bud Selig, claim are killing the game. The 2001 season still likely is to be played in its entirety -- the current labor agreement doesn't expire 'til Oct. 31 -- but the clouds on the baseball horizon look ominous. "If it happens again," St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire told The Miami Herald, talking about the possibility of some kind of work stoppage, "there's no chance the game of baseball will ever rebound, ever again."
An unbalancing actAh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. If baseball insists on doing a little foot-shooting again, there's still a lot of intrigue to be had and a few months left before that happens. A slew of series get the old game going beginning Monday and Tuesday. And how about some of those series? The New York Mets at the Atlanta Braves. The Oakland Athletics at the Seattle Mariners. The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians meet twice in three days. Don't be surprised if all those teams are fighting each other in September for their respective pennants. If that seems a little hot and heavy out of the gate, as far as rivalries go, that's because of the new unbalanced schedule. Owners voted in July to return to that type of scheduling, which calls for more games between teams within their division. So the Mets, for instance, will play the hated Braves 19 times this season -- six more than the teams played last season. That will have a direct impact on the standings.
Looking up in the strike zoneFor a direct impact within the games, look to the men in blue behind the plate. This season, they'll be calling the strike zone by the book, they claim, which means more strikes above the belt. No one knows quite what effect that will have on the game. Many figure the zone, if it expands in height, actually will shrink in width. That figures to hurt control pitchers (guys like Greg Maddux) and favor guys who can throw the high heat such as Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez. It could encourage free-swinging hitters, too (like Vladimir Guerrero), increase strikeouts (slow down, Preston Wilson) and speed along games. Which, Bud knows, we're all for: Last year's games lasted an average of 2 hours, 58 minutes, a record for nine-inning longevity. Talk of the "new" strike zone was all the rage during spring training games. But the real proof of what difference it will make will be in the first few weeks of the season. How the umps call the zone in April will set the tone for the whole summer.
The more things change ...There are changes in the game, as there always are. Two new ballparks -- PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Miller Park in Milwaukee -- debut. Cinergy Field in Cincinnati undergoes a major facelift while the Reds start to build their new park (due to open in 2003) next door. There are six new managers, too, including former broadcasters Bob Brenly in Arizona and Buck Martinez in Toronto. Joining them are Bob Boone in Cincinnati, Larry Bowa in Philadelphia, Jim Tracy in Los Angeles and Lloyd McClendon in Pittsburgh. But the biggest changes, personnel-wise, are among the players. Baltimore ace Mike Mussina hopped to the rival New York Yankees. Mets ace Mike Hampton jumped to the Colorado Rockies. Cleveland RBI-machine Manny Ramirez went from the Indians to Boston, while Juan Gonzalez left after a year in Detroit to bang things around in Cleveland's more hitter-friendly Jacobs Field. Rickety Rickey Henderson is back with San Diego with Tony Gwynn, and rickety Cal Ripken Jr. returns with the Orioles. It may be the last hurrah for all of them. The biggest offseason move, of course, was Alex Rodriguez's flight from the Seattle Mariners to the Texas Rangers. It was Rodriguez's record $252 million contract that fueled the salary jealousies of guys like Frank Thomas of the White Sox and Gary Sheffield of the Los Angeles Dodgers and ticked off the owners so much. It also puts a lot of pressure on Rodriguez, who joins a strong Texas lineup that includes Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Andres Galarraga and Ken Caminiti. Can money buy a pennant? Even without pitching? Watch the Rangers and find out.
... the more they stay the sameAs strong as the Rangers may be at the plate, though, most observers still like the chances of the Yankees, who will try to win their fourth consecutive World Series. The Yankees have the most imposing rotation in the league, thanks to the addition of Mussina, and have a bottomless payroll when it comes to acquiring new talent. No other team has won four consecutive Series. The Yanks have done it twice 1936-39 and '49-53). The Braves and the Mets figure to scrap again for the top spot in the National League, though many figure McGwire's Cardinals, ousted by the Mets in the NL Championship Series last season, have enough to get to the World Series. McGwire, who missed much of last year with a knee injury, has looked relatively healthy in the spring, which could make all the difference for St. Louis. There's also plenty of excitement for teams like the young Florida Marlins, the Indians and White Sox, the Oakland A's and [insert your favorite team here]. It all adds up to what could be an unusually entertaining season. Let's hope it's not the last for awhile.
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