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Getting later for Mets
Updated: Monday June 04, 2001 3:57 PM
Is it still early? Or is it time for teams like the New York Mets, Oakland A's and Atlanta Braves to start worrying? In the Mets' case, the defending National League champions thought they were getting back to normal once Al Leiter returned from a month-long stay on the disabled list and Mike Piazza emerged from a three-week home run drought. But another losing week has followed. The wins still aren't coming for a team with a $94 million payroll and designs on a return trip to the World Series. The Mets are still nine games under .500 after playing more than one third of the regular season. For a club with a history of slow starts, there are still some shrugs, but not nearly as many as a few weeks ago. "When does it stop being early? I guess when you're mathematically out of it," Mets reliever John Franco said, only partially in jest. "You're always in it until the numbers don't add up." Fellow reliever Dennis Cook doesn't agree. "Everybody always says, 'It's early, it's early,' but I don't buy into that theory," Cook said. "Wins count just as much in April as they do in September, and the same goes for losses. At the end they all mean the same." So when does it cease being "early" in a baseball season? Middle of May? Memorial Day? The one-third mark of the schedule? The All-Star break? "I don't know when the cutoff is," Cook said, shaking his head. "I just know in my mind, the early thing is over with." Some numbers to consider about the Mets and their recent history of slow starts:
This year's Mets? Their longest win streak is three games. They had won consecutive games just six other times.
What's next for Felipe?Now that Felipe Alou has been fired in Montreal, speculation has turned to where he'll land next. Some see him replacing Jimy Williams if things turn sour in Boston or going to Houston to rejoin son Moises Alou if Larry Dierker gets fired. While the Red Sox certainly lead the world in FOFs (Friends of Felipe), others in the game aren't sure the 66-year-old Alou still has the energy to continue. Health concerns and the cumulative stress of managing have made these last few years difficult for one of baseball's classiest men. "You know what? Felipe might just go fishing and forget about it all," said a major league source familiar with Alou's thinking. "He might have had it. Somebody's going to have to coax him into coming back. He won't jump at the first thing. And the longer he stays out, the more unlikely it becomes that he'll come back." The Expos still owe Alou about $1.35 million through the rest of this season, the remainder of a three-year, $6 million contract. What happened to Alou in Montreal, where his last winner came in 1996? Obviously, financial constraints wore everybody down. But there was something else at work. "He couldn't get the team motivated," one club official told me. "I won't put it in that John Boles category. He didn't lose control of the club but he didn't get them motivated either." When your roster includes young Dominicans like Vladimir Guerrero and Fernando Tatis, as well as a half-dozen other Latin Americans (Tony Armas Jr., Jose Vidro, Orlando Cabrera, Javier Vazquez, Ugueth Urbina), that's not a good sign for a Dominican legend like Alou.
Strong reliefIf any American League club could match the Mariners' incredible bullpen, it might be the Indians. "They run three guys out at the end of the game [Paul Shuey, Steve Karsay and Bob Wickman] that are as good as any I know," one major league scout said. "All three of those guys have closer stuff. All have been successful in their roles. Wickman is a horse. He can go on a pretty regular basis. If they can get enough starting pitching to get them into the middle innings, they're going to win a lot of games. When it gets late, it's done." Indians starters rank 12th in the league with a 5.16 ERA, have a 23-15 record and have averaged fewer than 5 2/3 innings per start; only the Rangers' starters have been less durable. The Indians bullpen, however, is 12-3 with a 3.23 ERA, fifth in the league. After converting less than 60 percent of their save chances last year (23 blown saves in 57 tries), Indians relievers had blown just two of 18 save chances this year. Shuey and lefty Ricardo Rincon rank among the league leaders in stranding inherited baserunners, while Karsay and Wickman rank fourth and ninth, respectively, in fewest baserunners allowed per nine innings. If you're wondering how the Indians have matched the Minnesota Twins' pace despite the struggles of starters like Chuck Finley, Dave Burba and C.C. Sabathia, the bullpen is the answer. Mike Berardino covers the baseball beat for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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