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Rotten apples Big budget Mets no match for Braves, expectations of fansPosted: Tuesday June 18, 2002 1:07 PMUpdated: Tuesday July 09, 2002 4:32 PM
Let's get the disclaimers out of the way up front. Having grown up a die-hard Mets fan, I still pull for the New York NL club. But what in the devil has GM Steve Phillips done with a franchise less than two years removed from the World Series? Sadly, the Mets rank among the most poorly constructed teams that money can buy. A $102 million waste dump of tired, over-hyped talent. But, hey, it could have been worse if Phillips had prevailed in his courtship of free-agent Juan Gonzalez, who last winter cast his lot with the equally inept Texas Rangers. Phillips spent the offseason frantically swapping players and tossing about money like it was play stuff. On paper, his work was a rotisserie player's dream, pulling together a collection of high-profile players such as Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Shawn Estes, Jeromy Burnitz, Pedro Astacio and Jeff D'Amico.
Some of Phillips' moves didn't make sense last winter. A lot of them make even less now. Tell me, please, what's with Vaughn? The big guy sat out last season with a ruptured biceps tendon, switching to the National League where he can't DH. If it was a one-year experiment you might understand -- but the Mets are on the hook to Vaughn for $40 million through the 2004 season. So, a guy who should be a DH -- if he was even hitting a bit -- is stationed around first and a guy who should be politely shown first base, Mike Piazza, is left to suffer behind the plate, at last check throwing out three of 56 runners. The embarrassed parties being Armando Rios, B.J. Surhoff and Alfonso Soriano. By contrast, Piazza and Vaughn clog the base paths themselves. And between them, they're pulling down almost $23 million this summer -- a fair chunk of the entire Montreal Expos payroll. The Mets are shelling out another $19 million over four years to Roger Cedeno, who figured to jump-start the offense from the leadoff spot. Instead, Cedeno is hitting down near the bottom of the order these days and his lack of instincts in left field has also proven costly. Two other hired bats, Alomar and Burnitz, appear to have lost their edge. The club has to decide whether to do a new deal with Alomar, who has an option for $8 million next season, while Burnitz is guaranteed $11.5. Edgardo Alfonzo, who moved to third upon Alomar's arrival, is a free agent after the season. Incredibly, Phillips put himself in a position where four of his starting pitchers are also free agents -- Leiter, Estes, D'Amico and Trachsel. Pitching has actually proven to be strength of Team Reload, its 3.41 ERA second in baseball only to the Braves. Where the Phillips creation falls short is with bat in hand. Despite all the moves that put the club $7 million over ownership's budget, the Mets rank last in the NL in slugging percentage and homers, and 12th out of the 16 clubs in runs scored and walks. What this means is pressure will build on manager Bobby Valentine should the pace not dramatically pick up. Then again, if this collection of names falls shy of the postseason, the Mets could be reinvented by a new GM next offseason. Olympic doping businessIf the rumors floating about are true, it is no wonder U.S. track officials kept quiet during the Sydney Games about a competing athlete who previously tested positive. The federation is headed to arbitration to determine if its handling of the case has been proper and whether it has to ID the athlete.The federation was embarrassed in Sydney when international officials leaked that sprint star Marion Jones' then-husband, shot putter C. J. Hunter, flunked a steroid test leading up to the Games. The other athlete who competed in Sydney despite a prior positive test is thought to have run on a relay, but not an individual event. "I've heard that it is somebody who ran one of the preliminary rounds, not the final of one of the relays,'' offers Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA]. "You can ask yourself if that is why everybody is sitting on this. Is it that they don't want to give up a medal?'' All four U.S. relays came home with Sydney medals, with gold for the men's and women's 4 x 400 relay and men's 4 x 100 relay. The women's 4 x 100 relay took the bronze. Pound, a Canadian, isn't fond of either the track federation or the U.S. Olympic Committee's handling of the drug issue. He frequently digs the track group as a "rogue federation.'' You have to wonder if his feelings aren't rooted in the busting of sprinter Ben Johnson at the Seoul Olympics and the subsequent fallout. To their credit, the Canadian government and sports officials have been seen as much more vigilant about doping issues than their American counterparts. "The C. J. Hunter thing was a complete [mess],'' Pound says. "Give me a break, he tested [positive] four times in a single season. He'd been screwing up competitions for people who hadn't cheated for years.'' If Pound has his way, WADA will prove a major step towards cleaning up the drug mess in international sport. The organization just issued a first draft of its universal doping code, which it hopes will be adopted next year by the various sports federations, national Olympic committees and governments. Promises, promises . . . promisesThe Atlanta Hawks are so hot on their playoff hopes for next season that season ticketholders are being promised a $125 refund if the NBA club falls short. Word has the novel promotion being initiated by coach Lon Kruger. That's cool, but if you scanned the real estate section Sunday in the Atlanta newspaper, Kruger has his $1.25 million house on the market. It might be as simple as downsizing with two children away at college, but you also have to wonder how secure Kruger, a nice guy and proven college coach, is heading into his third pro season.Police blotter
Mike Fish is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. Comments? To e-mail Fish, click here. |
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