The Return of Baseball

By Jeff Licitra
Business Manager

It’s baseball season again. With a cancelled hockey season that might have shocked the imagination of many Ranger fans when they asked “could this get any worse?” (yes, it can) and a Knicks team that represents only the schizophrenic changes in the mood of Isiah Thomas, I’d like to join all New Yorkers in a giant sigh of relief when I say: Thank God it’s baseball season again.

That’s right, back to what we actually win at. With the advent of the "New Mets," as Omar Minaya’s newly shaped team is being billed, it seems that Freddie Wilpon can actually hand over checks rather than food stamp offers to marquee free agents. If nothing else, prepare to be entertained with the Yankees’ favorite adopted son Pedro Martinez now pitching for a team that has always been characterized by some degree of misfits. Moving from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Mets is akin to being twice committed from the loony house to the loony bin.

Still, I have confidence in this Mets team for 3 reasons: Wright, Beltran, and Minaya.

David Wright: He has the potential to be for the Mets what Derek Jeter was to the Yankees, with a lot more power at the plate. He may have been the only reason to show up at Shea Stadium in those dying summer months when the Mets seemed to be finding new ways to lose every day and Art Howe seemed to unwind like a character in a bad Woody Allen movie.

Carlos Beltran: This guy is the real deal – slightly overrated, yes – but unlike most players who get billed as ‘overrated’, no one ever questions Beltran’s ability to play only his stats. And they vary. If Beltran’s year was judged by the first few months and the postseason he’d be hands down the best player in the game. With the Mets, we can hope the New York spotlight and the potential to compete might stop him from slacking off mid-season (something that was more than apparent in those final weeks before he was dealt to Houston). Plus, an outfield with Mike Cameron and Cliff Floyd has the potential to be the best the Mets have seen in recent years.

Omar Minaya: This is the man that rebuilt the Mets over a few months, and who somehow managed to go after and sign marquee free agents that don’t seem like they’re about to implode with Bobby Bonilla Syndrome. Moreover, he can be trusted to persuade the Wilpons to keep their finger off the red panic button and not deal our next Scott Kazmir away. Around the All-Star break, the Wilpons seem to be susceptible to extreme bouts of delusion, muttering over and over phrases such as “we are in a pennant race.” This can not be emphasized enough. The Wilpons are like a stupid couple who try and put out a fire by fanning the flames. Any Met fan should feel heartbreak every time they see Scott Kazmir pitch down in Tampa Bay for what could have been.

At Legends Field in Tampa, the Yankees just kicked off a spring training opener against Pittsburgh complete with F-15 flyovers as a symbolic gesture to the franchise’s staying power (read: BALCO tainted lineup or Steinbrenner donating a lot of money to Bush’s re-election). The Yankees made the two best free agent pickups on the pitching market with Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright. Their detractors say these are pitchers with rather paltry career win percentages around .500 and E.R.A.’s hovering around .400. However, that’s partly reflective of the current parity and hitter dominance in the league. These are pitchers who both shined last year and neither one of them should be expected to carry the entire rotation such as what happened to Javier Vazquez the end of last season. His ensuing meltdown landed him in Arizona (where I’m sure he’ll pitch just fine.) The decade-long pursuit of Randy Johnson that finally landed the Big Unit in pinstripes should prevent that.

It should also be mentioned that adding anyone younger than the age of 35 looks like an infusion of youth into the Yankee rotation. Since the loss of Paul O’Neill and much of the old guard, the Yankees have seemed like a staggering giant clutching onto a winning existence through big spending. Fortunately, they spent well this off season, and A-Rod might actually earn his pinstripes this time around. With a minor league system that is so sparse its only productivity comes from players picked up from Japanese Leagues, one has to wonder if the Yankees can continue winning or if that loss to Boston is a sign they should be rebuilding. Free agent names can only take you so far. Instead of Jay Buhner it’s Mike Lowell. Beware of the 1980’s.

Not to end this column on the ominous note of the 80’s, this is still one heck of a ballclub. Hideki Matsui is knocking balls around like an international star in a contract year (like he is and should). Tino Martinez is back at first and Giambi is even looking sharp behind the plate. Sheffield should have been the AL MVP and doesn’t show any sign of backing off. The guy deserves more respect for playing his heart out last season while receiving two cortisone injections. Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera are all still in their familiar roles.

So to New York sports fans everywhere, I say, let’s resume winning again. It should bother the very fabric of our existence when those uptight Harvard yard-going Puritanicals in the city of Boston win anything – not just one – but two championships. May we be thankful for the return of baseball and pray for the restoration of the curse and all known order to the sports universe.