Inside Baseball

Rust-Free  

How much more can the Mets expect from 40-year-old David Cone?

By Albert Chen

"Where am I?" David Cone asked no one in particular as he stepped into a near-empty Mets clubhouse last Friday, three hours before he would pitch in his first game in a year and a half. Cone, who arrived at Shea Stadium an hour late for an optional pitchers meeting, had to pause for a moment to scan the room for his locker.

Cone's first start thrilled the Mets (for whom he pitched from 1987 to '92) and the Coneheads at Shea Stadium. Heinz Kluetmeier

Pardon Cone's lost sense of time and place: The unexpected rebirth of the 1994 AL Cy Young winner has surprised many, especially the 40-year-old Cone. "Even the drive to the stadium today was surreal," he said after tossing five shutout innings in the Mets' 4-0 win over the Expos, Cone's first victory since Oct. 6, 2001. "I still couldn't believe what I was doing. It's all happened so fast."

After a one-year retirement, during which he worked as a part-time announcer with the Yankees, played golf and never once picked up a baseball, Cone is attempting to become only the second pitcher in his forties to start 20 games after sitting out the previous season. (In 1992 the Angels' Bert Blyleven went 8-12 with a 3.99 ERA after missing the previous season with a rotator-cuff injury.) "For a guy who sat out a whole year, he still knows how to pitch," says one NL scout.

Last spring the Mets toyed with the idea of inviting Cone to camp, but with a set starting rotation the team ultimately decided against it. This year, however, the Mets were in the market for serviceable arms and approached Cone, who had won 80 games for them from 1987 through '92. With the fifth starter spot up for grabs -- Mike Bacsik, Aaron Heilman, Jason Middlebrook and Jae Weong Seo, with 17 career big league starts among them, were the other options -- and Pedro Astacio sidelined with a shoulder injury (he should return in about two weeks), Cone locked down a spot on the staff with a solid spring (4.40 ERA, 12 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings).

"His best weapon now is his head," says Mets pitching coach Vern Ruhle. "He's a carpenter who's become a master carpenter: He knows what tools to use and when to use them."

Cone, six wins shy of 200 for his career, has become a finesse pitcher who lives and dies by an arsenal of deception -- curves, sliders and splitters -- and location. More than half of his pitches against the Expos were off-speed. "When you're thinking about each pitch, it's more fun being out there than when you're just blowing heat by the batters," says Cone, whose fastball last Friday topped out at 88 mph, far below the 98 it reached in his late-'80s heyday.

But what do the Mets expect from Cone, who has little to no trade value and is good for no more than 90 pitches every fifth day? "No one can say," says Ruhle. Astacio's return will push Cone into the No. 5 spot, where he would receive a few extra days off to nurse his biggest health concern: an aching back. The Mets remain aggressive in their pursuit of free-agent righthander Shane Reynolds, a pickup that could turn Cone into a reliever for the first time in his career. "I'm willing to take any role that I'm needed in," says Cone.

For now, Cone's role is clear. "He's our fourth starter," says manager Art Howe. "Hopefully his start [against the Expos] means he'll be in there all year. That would be a real blessing."

Back In Business
An update on five other pitchers who, like David Cone, were hoping to come back in 2003 after missing at least one season.
Name	Age	Throws	Team
Steve Avery	32	LH	Tigers
Was: Out of baseball past three seasons following left shoulder surgery in 1999. Is: Reliever at Triple A Toledo after failing to make Tigers out of spring training.
Nick Bierbrodt	24	LH	Devil Rays
Was: Sidelined last year after suffering two gunshot wounds in Charleston, S.C. Is: Tampa Bay's No. 4 starter; gave up seven runs in four innings in 2003 debut.
Darren Dreifort	30	RH	Dodgers
Was: On DL for half of 2001 and all of last season following right elbow surgery. Is: L.A.'s fifth starter; allowed three runs in six innings last Friday.
Curt Leskanic	35	RH	Brewers
Was: Out last season while recovering from October 2001 shoulder surgery. Is: Middle reliever for Milwaukee; appeared in three of team's first six games.
Gil Meche	24	RH	Mariners
Was: Sidelined past two years after surgery on right shoulder and rotator cuff. Is: Seattle's No. 5 starter; gave up six runs in five innings last Saturday.

Issue date: April 14, 2003

For more Inside Baseball see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, April 9. Click here to subscribe to SI.

 

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