Baseball Guru
02-16-2004, 10:47 AM
http://www.fanball.com/bb/article.cfm/ID.2265
By Court E. Mann, Associate Editor
February 12, 2004 7:00 AM ET
Spring Training Home: Mets Stadium – Port St. Lucie, Florida
First Grapefruit League Game: March 3 vs. Dodgers
With apologies to the Dodgers and the White Sox, the Mets were easily the biggest disappointment in baseball last season. With the payroll available in New York, Billy Beane could probably win a World Series with the Brewers and still have enough left over for a few barrels of Milwaukee's Best. In the past two seasons, the Metropolitans have won only 141 of their 324 contests and finished those campaigns a combined 61 games out of first place. Although astute fantasy owners know that limited success in the standings does not necessarily mean poor fantasy production, there has been very little to extract from this New York roster recently. Their two most appealing fantasy players, catcher Mike Piazza and outfielder Cliff Floyd, have proven extremely fragile in recent years. They managed to avoid ranking dead last in the National League in virtually every major offensive category last season thanks to the hapless Dodgers—a feat that is almost as impressive as beating Ruben Studdard in the 100-yard dash. Two of their top three home-run hitters from a season ago are no longer with the team, and their top hurler in 2003 was—prepare yourself—Steve Trachsel. This isn't exactly a recipe for optimism, but there are a couple promising middle infielders arousing interest in the Big Apple.
Notable offseason transactions
The Mets became the latest team to jump at the chance to add an impact player from Japan when they signed shortstop Kazuo Matsui to a three-year contract worth $20 million. They also added center fielder Mike Cameron in free agency from Seattle in order to move perennial disappointment Roger Cedeno to the bench. Outfielder Karim Garcia changes his uniform for the third time in the last nine months, joining fellow journeyman and newcomer Shane Spencer in a battle for time in right field. To address their depth, the club also brought on infielder Todd Zeile and re-upped with utility man Joe McEwing and outfielder Timo Perez. On the hill, the Mets' most significant addition was relief pitcher Braden Looper, who replaces Armando Benitez as the team's closer. They also lead the league in compelling "Where Are They Now?" contestants, as they've agreed to terms with Scott Erickson and Ricky Bottalico this week and James Baldwin is rumored to be next.
What to watch
Without question, all eyes in Port St. Lucie will be on Matsui, who follows in the footsteps of Ichiro Suzuki, Kazahuri Sazaki, and Hideki Matsui. This Matsui hit .305 with 33 home runs for the Seibu Lions last season, but recall that the Godzilla version across town went from 50-plus homers in Japan to just 16 in his first major-league season. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of Ichiro in Kaz: gold-glove defense, aggressive base-stealing, and top-of-the-order production at the plate. Matsui is currently slated to leadoff for the Mets, and fantasy owners should certainly keep a close eye on how he is handling big-league pitching. It will also be interesting to see how willing manager Art Howe is to give Kaz the green light on the basepaths. Last season, the team stole only 70 bases, led by Cedeno's total of 14.
Fantasy owners will also want to monitor the activity of Floyd and Piazza in the Grapefruit League. Floyd, whose season was cut short for surgery on his right Achilles tendon in August, is on schedule to be 100 percent and running full speed when training camp opens. The 31-year-old outfielder once had 30-homer, 100-RBI, 20-steal potential, but he doesn't run nearly as well as he used to, and he's a lock to miss at least 35 games with various leg injuries.
Piazza, a catcher who has the potential to put up numbers that rival power outfielders, will be a huge debate on draft day. After four seasons in a row with more than 30 homers and 135 games behind the plate, a groin injury limited him last year to only 68 games—and fantasy owners could have dug up his 11 dingers and 34 RBI from the likes of Eddie Perez and Michael Barrett. Clearly, at 35, his days as an everyday backstop are over, and the team is already listing him on their depth chart as the backup at first base. It's unclear how often he'll play there at this point, but spring training should provide our first glimpse. In either case, he'll qualify at catcher in your league, so if you choose to take the plunge, you should be rooting hard for him to keep that gear in his locker.
After a dismal 9-14 season, easily his worst since 1988, most are ready to write off Tom Glavine for good. However, you should keep in mind that the crafty southpaw had previously recorded at least 13 wins in 12 straight seasons, including five 20-win seasons. Monitor his comeback closely in Grapefruit League play. If he rebounds, you could get 15 wins and 130 strikeouts for very cheap in your draft.
Position battles
Ironically, Piazza's move to first base might actually provide fantasy ballplayers with an added option at catcher. If first baseman Jason Phillips—who was behind the plate for 29 games last season—swaps with Piazza often enough, you could be looking at a 20-homer, 75-RBI guy at the least explosive position in the game. Needless to say, keep an eye on whether Phillips dons the mask in spring training.
Matsui and Jose Reyes (second base) have the potential to be one of the strongest double-play combinations in the big leagues and will be joined by Ty Wiggington at the hot corner and Phillips (for the most part) at first. Given the dearth of productive middle infielders, and the fact that he'll also qualify at his natural shortstop position, Reyes is one to watch—especially considering he's currently penciled in the No. 2 spot in the order between Matsui, Piazza, and Floyd. It's a good thing Cameron is capable of covering a lot of ground, since Floyd in left and Garcia/Spencer in right are about as swift as Mo Vaughn on ice skates.
The rotation, headlined by Glavine, also consists of veteran Al Leiter (who recorded at least 11 wins in nine straight seasons), 16-game winner Steve Trachsel (who has Jessica Simpson-like bust written all over him), and the promising Jae Weong Seo (who won five of his last seven starts to finish the season). The fifth spot will be an open competition between also-rans Erickson and Baldwin and prospects Jeremy Griffiths and Aaron Heilman.
Finally, new pitching coach Rick Peterson is reportedly using the latest in video technology to film several of the team's most promising prospects training in spandex and adorned by shimmering silver balls. We'd like to get excited about what that means for the growth of the Mets' staff, but thought better of it.
By Court E. Mann, Associate Editor
February 12, 2004 7:00 AM ET
Spring Training Home: Mets Stadium – Port St. Lucie, Florida
First Grapefruit League Game: March 3 vs. Dodgers
With apologies to the Dodgers and the White Sox, the Mets were easily the biggest disappointment in baseball last season. With the payroll available in New York, Billy Beane could probably win a World Series with the Brewers and still have enough left over for a few barrels of Milwaukee's Best. In the past two seasons, the Metropolitans have won only 141 of their 324 contests and finished those campaigns a combined 61 games out of first place. Although astute fantasy owners know that limited success in the standings does not necessarily mean poor fantasy production, there has been very little to extract from this New York roster recently. Their two most appealing fantasy players, catcher Mike Piazza and outfielder Cliff Floyd, have proven extremely fragile in recent years. They managed to avoid ranking dead last in the National League in virtually every major offensive category last season thanks to the hapless Dodgers—a feat that is almost as impressive as beating Ruben Studdard in the 100-yard dash. Two of their top three home-run hitters from a season ago are no longer with the team, and their top hurler in 2003 was—prepare yourself—Steve Trachsel. This isn't exactly a recipe for optimism, but there are a couple promising middle infielders arousing interest in the Big Apple.
Notable offseason transactions
The Mets became the latest team to jump at the chance to add an impact player from Japan when they signed shortstop Kazuo Matsui to a three-year contract worth $20 million. They also added center fielder Mike Cameron in free agency from Seattle in order to move perennial disappointment Roger Cedeno to the bench. Outfielder Karim Garcia changes his uniform for the third time in the last nine months, joining fellow journeyman and newcomer Shane Spencer in a battle for time in right field. To address their depth, the club also brought on infielder Todd Zeile and re-upped with utility man Joe McEwing and outfielder Timo Perez. On the hill, the Mets' most significant addition was relief pitcher Braden Looper, who replaces Armando Benitez as the team's closer. They also lead the league in compelling "Where Are They Now?" contestants, as they've agreed to terms with Scott Erickson and Ricky Bottalico this week and James Baldwin is rumored to be next.
What to watch
Without question, all eyes in Port St. Lucie will be on Matsui, who follows in the footsteps of Ichiro Suzuki, Kazahuri Sazaki, and Hideki Matsui. This Matsui hit .305 with 33 home runs for the Seibu Lions last season, but recall that the Godzilla version across town went from 50-plus homers in Japan to just 16 in his first major-league season. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of Ichiro in Kaz: gold-glove defense, aggressive base-stealing, and top-of-the-order production at the plate. Matsui is currently slated to leadoff for the Mets, and fantasy owners should certainly keep a close eye on how he is handling big-league pitching. It will also be interesting to see how willing manager Art Howe is to give Kaz the green light on the basepaths. Last season, the team stole only 70 bases, led by Cedeno's total of 14.
Fantasy owners will also want to monitor the activity of Floyd and Piazza in the Grapefruit League. Floyd, whose season was cut short for surgery on his right Achilles tendon in August, is on schedule to be 100 percent and running full speed when training camp opens. The 31-year-old outfielder once had 30-homer, 100-RBI, 20-steal potential, but he doesn't run nearly as well as he used to, and he's a lock to miss at least 35 games with various leg injuries.
Piazza, a catcher who has the potential to put up numbers that rival power outfielders, will be a huge debate on draft day. After four seasons in a row with more than 30 homers and 135 games behind the plate, a groin injury limited him last year to only 68 games—and fantasy owners could have dug up his 11 dingers and 34 RBI from the likes of Eddie Perez and Michael Barrett. Clearly, at 35, his days as an everyday backstop are over, and the team is already listing him on their depth chart as the backup at first base. It's unclear how often he'll play there at this point, but spring training should provide our first glimpse. In either case, he'll qualify at catcher in your league, so if you choose to take the plunge, you should be rooting hard for him to keep that gear in his locker.
After a dismal 9-14 season, easily his worst since 1988, most are ready to write off Tom Glavine for good. However, you should keep in mind that the crafty southpaw had previously recorded at least 13 wins in 12 straight seasons, including five 20-win seasons. Monitor his comeback closely in Grapefruit League play. If he rebounds, you could get 15 wins and 130 strikeouts for very cheap in your draft.
Position battles
Ironically, Piazza's move to first base might actually provide fantasy ballplayers with an added option at catcher. If first baseman Jason Phillips—who was behind the plate for 29 games last season—swaps with Piazza often enough, you could be looking at a 20-homer, 75-RBI guy at the least explosive position in the game. Needless to say, keep an eye on whether Phillips dons the mask in spring training.
Matsui and Jose Reyes (second base) have the potential to be one of the strongest double-play combinations in the big leagues and will be joined by Ty Wiggington at the hot corner and Phillips (for the most part) at first. Given the dearth of productive middle infielders, and the fact that he'll also qualify at his natural shortstop position, Reyes is one to watch—especially considering he's currently penciled in the No. 2 spot in the order between Matsui, Piazza, and Floyd. It's a good thing Cameron is capable of covering a lot of ground, since Floyd in left and Garcia/Spencer in right are about as swift as Mo Vaughn on ice skates.
The rotation, headlined by Glavine, also consists of veteran Al Leiter (who recorded at least 11 wins in nine straight seasons), 16-game winner Steve Trachsel (who has Jessica Simpson-like bust written all over him), and the promising Jae Weong Seo (who won five of his last seven starts to finish the season). The fifth spot will be an open competition between also-rans Erickson and Baldwin and prospects Jeremy Griffiths and Aaron Heilman.
Finally, new pitching coach Rick Peterson is reportedly using the latest in video technology to film several of the team's most promising prospects training in spandex and adorned by shimmering silver balls. We'd like to get excited about what that means for the growth of the Mets' staff, but thought better of it.