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Amazin' grace
Mets unruffled by Sheffield saga
Posted: Tuesday March 06, 2001 11:57 AM
Throughout spring training, CNNSI.com will feature regular dispatches from
Sports Illustrated staffers assigned to scout camps in the Grapefruit and Cactus
Leagues.
By Jeff Pearlman, Sports Illustrated
TEAM: New York Mets
SITE: Port St. Lucie,
Fla.
WEATHER: Windy and
cool.
PLAYER I SAW WHOM I REALLY LIKED: Glendon Rusch. The Mets' No. 4 starter
threw three solid innings against Baltimore on Monday, allowing one run and
reminding folks why, even after the departure of Mike Hampton to
Colorado, New York remains a playoff favorite. Rusch is a smart, crafty
left-hander with minimal velocity but unmatched ball placement. He could easily
win 15
games.
AROUND THE
HORN
With apologies to Tom Kat Sporting Goods right fielder David Clingerman, who
robbed me of a homer in the 1984 Mahopac Sports Association World Series, I have
seen the greatest catch of all time, and it came Monday afternoon. With no outs
in the top of the second inning of New York's game against Baltimore, Orioles
center fielder Melvin Mora smoked an arching fly to deeeeeep right. The
Mets' Timo Perez caught the ball, ran into the dugout bench, fell over
and smashed into the wall, banging open the outfield door.
Dazzling.
The Gary Sheffield Watch has definitely died down. Two days
after it looked as if Sheff would most definitely join the Mets, the odds of
that happening are now closer to 40-60. Dodgers' GM Kevin Malone, dealing
from a position of Olive Oyl-esque weakness, has no hope of receiving equal
value for a whine-a-minute 32-year-old outfielder with the ego of a teen pop
diva. Would New York still consider giving up Jay Payton or prospect
Alex Escobar? Probably -- but not both. And now, Malone's request for
either Mike Piazza or Edgardo Alfonzo, two positive clubhouse guys
with zero baggage, seems all the more laughable. The Dodgers will have to trade
Sheffield, but in the end it could be for an above-average outfielder and a
semi-decent
prospect.
The Mets were a fun team to cover last year, and the jarring loss of
Bubba Trammell doesn't change that. Infielder Lenny Harris
strolled into the clubhouse at 8:20 a.m. Monday, wearing a royal blue, velvet
jump suit. Moments later, he began to sing a selection of tunes, by artists
ranging from Dan Fogelberg to Boyz II Men. Harris replaces Derek Bell as
the club's official cutup.
The world of baseball mourned the loss of one of its great treasures
Monday. Two days after Mets GM Steve Phillips announced the signing of
Kevin Stocker, the veteran shortstop's agent called New York and told the
team his client's heart was no longer in the game. Oddly, up until that point,
Stocker seemed strongly interested in continuing to play. On Saturday night, he
boarded a plane in Spokane, Wash., that was bound for Seattle. The jet, however,
was turned around, and Stocker flew the next morning instead, from Spokane to
Seattle to Orlando, Fla., where a car service picked him up and drove him to
Port St. Lucie. Something must've happened in the hotel that night because
Stocker -- the Buddy Biancalana of his era -- never made it to the
stadium. "If you're a minor leaguer, you quit," Mets assistant GM
Jim Duquette joked. "But since he was a veteran, he
retired."
Although Tsuyoshi Shinjo is about to become the first
Japanese League position player to jump to the majors, his press following is
minimal. Five members of the Japanese media are attending Mets camp -- a stark
contrast to Seattle, where Ichiru Suzuki (You can call him Ichiru) is all
the
rage.
The Mets have invited outfielder Bubba Carpenter to camp as a
non-roster free agent. He, along with former Met Trammell, are the first two
Bubbas in the history of New York
baseball.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman will check in periodically
with reports from his tour of spring camps.
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