By Anthony Bosco
The New York Mets, the only professional sports team to make its home in Queens, in case you have forgotten, made some absolutely enormous off-season moves this past winter and will be bringing a team with a whole new look to the borough this year.
While the team struggled much of last season only to make a valiant late-season push for the playoffs that came up just short, General Manager Steve Phillips went all out during the “hot stove” months to dramatically improve the team.
Among the new acquisitions are second baseman Roberto Alomar, first baseman Mo Vaughn, outfielders Jeromy Burnitz, Gary Mathhews Jr. and Roger Cedeno and pitchers Pedro Astacio, Jeff D’Amico, Shawn Estes, Grant Roberts and David Weathers, joining an already adept line-up that made it to the World Series two seasons ago.
Of course, existing in New York alongside the Yankees makes the Mets second-billing. The moves Phillips made this off-season were nothing short of colossal for a franchise that in my opinion should have been plucking up free agents for years like their neighbors to the north. But even so the moves still received a hair less coverage than the Yankees and their moves this winter.
Of course Jason Giambi’s addition to the Bronx Bombers was a standout one, but will his presence in the lineup make a greater impact on the Yanks as Alomar’s does for the Mets? I don’t think so, but time will tell.
The Yankees also picked up reliever and College Point native Steve Karsay, re-signed starting hurler David Wells, who bounced around with Toronto and Chicago after being dealt for Roger Clemens in his last tenure in pinstripes. Not to mention the team acquiring John Vander Wal to fill the vacant position in right field left by the retiring Paul O’Neill.
These moves by the Yankees are meant to bolster a team that made its fifth trip to the World Series in the past six years a season ago, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games.
Whether the moves by both teams will merit another Subway Series, well, only time can tell, but things are certainly more interesting in New York this March than in any recent years, especially if you live in Queens and pull for the Metropolitans.
Cedeno at the top of the order is a big improvement for the Mets, who haven’t really had a steady personality in the one spot since they traded Cedeno years ago. Follow him with Alfonso, who is due for a bounce back year, in the No. 2 hole and that is a solid one-two combination to lead off any game.
With runners presumably on first and third and no one out, up steps Alomar, who is a solid .300 hitter with pop in his bat and some speed as well. (Notice how I haven’t even mentioned the fact that he is one of the best defensively at his position yet).
Batting clean-up, of course, is catcher Mike Piazza, one of the most dangerous hitters in the league and probably the best offensive catcher in the history of the game.
Vaughn probably gets the nod in the No. 5 spot in the order. If he is 100 percent healthy and returns to his old form, look for close to 40 home runs, 100 RBIs and a .320 batting average from Vaughn, who should make Todd Zeile nothing but an unpleasant memory for Mets fans.
Burnitz, a solid pro ball player, will fill in nicely in the sixth slot, another vast improvement for the Mets, followed by probably Jay Payton, the only reasonable answer for the team in center field, unless, of course, Gary Matthews Jr., Timo Perez or Joe McEwing simply beat him out for the job in Spring Training.
And at shortstop, who else, Rey Ordonez, who barely hits his weight, but can glove with the best of them.
I don’t know how many teams can go stride for stride with the Mets order numbers one through six, but I am guessing not many.
With Al Leiter, Bruce Chen, Steve Trachsel, Atascio and Estes do their part on the mound, the Mets should be greatly improved this year. I am not thrilled with their starting pitching, but the potential is there. If things fall into place, it is entirely possible for this club to win the National League East, finally bumping the Atlanta Braves out of the top spot they have owned for the better part of a decade.
Of course, that’s a big if.
The Yankees, on the other hand, have showed no signs of slowing down the torrid pace they have been on since 1995, when the team first returned to the playoffs after a 14-year hiatus.
Even though O’Neill, Scott Brosius and Tino Martinez are gone, they have brought back solid replacements, like Vander Wal, Robin Ventura and Giambi. The Bombers also have able back-ups in the form of Rondell White, Enrique Wilson and Todd Greene.
The Diamondbacks may be the defending champions, but it is the Yankees every team has to go through. And even if the Mets get to the Series this year, the Yanks will most likely be waiting — and with superior starting pitching.
The old baseball proverb “pitching wins championships” may not ever be more appropriate than this year. But it’s a long season and it is just beginning.
At the very least, things are interesting around here, and that isn’t a bad thing.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
