Baseball Guru
02-07-2003, 05:27 PM
By JACK CURRY (NY Times)
David Cone attended John Franco's charity bowling tournament last week to support his friend and former teammate. But after Cone threw strikes with a bowling ball, Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets, asked the 40-year-old Cone if he was going to toss strikes with a baseball this year.
Cone told Wilpon he was straddling the fence about pitching again. Although Wilpon insisted the Mets have not made an offer to Cone, it is plausible that he could eventually sign a minor league contract with the Mets and compete for the vacant fifth spot in the starting rotation.
"If he announced that he was going to pitch this year, I don't know if our guys would want to do something or not," Wilpon said in a telephone interview yesterday. "They'd have to send him to the minor league camp and see how he felt. I don't have any indication of us doing that."
Cone, who did not pitch last season, was 9-7 with a 4.31 earned run average for the Boston Red Sox in 2001. A few days before his conversation with Wilpon, Cone told The Associated Press that he was seriously contemplating retirement. He worked part-time for the YES Network as an analyst in 2002 and is expected to return in a larger capacity this season.
Even if Cone does not pitch for the Mets, Wilpon could be interested in having him work for the Mets, as opposed to the Yankees, in some capacity. Wilpon has stressed a family atmosphere since becoming the sole owner of the team and he praised a pitcher he called "Coney" and mentioned the length and depth of their relationship.
Cone, who started his career with the Kansas City Royals, joined the Mets in 1987 and had an 80-48 record in five and a half seasons. He won fewer games (64-40) in six seasons with the Yankees, but he was also part of four World Series championship teams and pitched a perfect game at Yankee Stadium in 1999 so he is viewed as more of a Yankee than a Met.
As Wilpon described how the Mets would potentially evaluate a 40-year-old right-hander who took a year off, he interestingly noted that there is no spot for Cone in the Bronx.
"You bring him in to minor league camp and you let the guys who get paid to do that see if he has anything left," Wilpon said. "If he does, he could help some teams. Obviously, he doesn't fit on the Yankees because they have so many pitchers. But he might fit on other teams."
Although Cone did not answer a telephone message left at his home in Florida, a friend who has talked with Cone said Cone does not know how his arm will respond or whether he can still be productive in the major leagues. Cone is also curious about how George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner, would react to his trying a comeback with the Mets.
Cone, who has a career record of 193-123, does not want to embarrass himself if he cannot pitch effectively anymore and he does not want to impair his relationship with Steinbrenner and the potential for future employment in the Yankee organization. Cone has told associates that before makes any decision about the Mets, he must discuss his options with Steinbrenner.
After Cone went 4-14 with a 6.91 E.R.A. in 2000, he ended his career with the Yankees and had an encouraging comeback season with the Red Sox. He waited for a decent offer to pitch in 2002 and never received it. Cone wanted to pitch for the Yankees again, but they were loaded with starters last year, too.
If Cone could pitch five or six decent innings every fifth turn in the rotation, the Mets might consider him a better choice than the unproven Mike Bacsik. It makes more sense for a contending team to take a chance with an inactive 40-year-old than it would for a rebuilding team to do so, and the Mets believe they are contenders. Whether Cone becomes a part of that team remains to be seen.
David Cone attended John Franco's charity bowling tournament last week to support his friend and former teammate. But after Cone threw strikes with a bowling ball, Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets, asked the 40-year-old Cone if he was going to toss strikes with a baseball this year.
Cone told Wilpon he was straddling the fence about pitching again. Although Wilpon insisted the Mets have not made an offer to Cone, it is plausible that he could eventually sign a minor league contract with the Mets and compete for the vacant fifth spot in the starting rotation.
"If he announced that he was going to pitch this year, I don't know if our guys would want to do something or not," Wilpon said in a telephone interview yesterday. "They'd have to send him to the minor league camp and see how he felt. I don't have any indication of us doing that."
Cone, who did not pitch last season, was 9-7 with a 4.31 earned run average for the Boston Red Sox in 2001. A few days before his conversation with Wilpon, Cone told The Associated Press that he was seriously contemplating retirement. He worked part-time for the YES Network as an analyst in 2002 and is expected to return in a larger capacity this season.
Even if Cone does not pitch for the Mets, Wilpon could be interested in having him work for the Mets, as opposed to the Yankees, in some capacity. Wilpon has stressed a family atmosphere since becoming the sole owner of the team and he praised a pitcher he called "Coney" and mentioned the length and depth of their relationship.
Cone, who started his career with the Kansas City Royals, joined the Mets in 1987 and had an 80-48 record in five and a half seasons. He won fewer games (64-40) in six seasons with the Yankees, but he was also part of four World Series championship teams and pitched a perfect game at Yankee Stadium in 1999 so he is viewed as more of a Yankee than a Met.
As Wilpon described how the Mets would potentially evaluate a 40-year-old right-hander who took a year off, he interestingly noted that there is no spot for Cone in the Bronx.
"You bring him in to minor league camp and you let the guys who get paid to do that see if he has anything left," Wilpon said. "If he does, he could help some teams. Obviously, he doesn't fit on the Yankees because they have so many pitchers. But he might fit on other teams."
Although Cone did not answer a telephone message left at his home in Florida, a friend who has talked with Cone said Cone does not know how his arm will respond or whether he can still be productive in the major leagues. Cone is also curious about how George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner, would react to his trying a comeback with the Mets.
Cone, who has a career record of 193-123, does not want to embarrass himself if he cannot pitch effectively anymore and he does not want to impair his relationship with Steinbrenner and the potential for future employment in the Yankee organization. Cone has told associates that before makes any decision about the Mets, he must discuss his options with Steinbrenner.
After Cone went 4-14 with a 6.91 E.R.A. in 2000, he ended his career with the Yankees and had an encouraging comeback season with the Red Sox. He waited for a decent offer to pitch in 2002 and never received it. Cone wanted to pitch for the Yankees again, but they were loaded with starters last year, too.
If Cone could pitch five or six decent innings every fifth turn in the rotation, the Mets might consider him a better choice than the unproven Mike Bacsik. It makes more sense for a contending team to take a chance with an inactive 40-year-old than it would for a rebuilding team to do so, and the Mets believe they are contenders. Whether Cone becomes a part of that team remains to be seen.