The "New" Mets: 2002 All Over Again?

It begs the question: Will Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran and Doug Mientkiewicz be better New York Mets than Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar and Jeromy Burnitz?

The 2002 season was the last time the Mets enjoyed a pre-season ticket sales spike based on off-season trades and signings, and this time, the moves seem to have worked, at least as far as commerce goes; the only seats available for Shea Stadium for the entire season used to qualify as "crappy." Clearly, the fan base is very excited.

It's hard not to admire the "do anything" aggresiveness of new GM Omar Minaya, who already seems to be excellent at filling needs quickly. With the Beltran signing, the outfield already shapes up as the best, potentially, in years. After years of such cartoonish, barely passable efforts by such names as Benny Agbayani, Timo Perez, Butch Huskey, past-their-primers Rickey Henderson and Brian McRae, and the laughable, overpaid Roger Cedeno, a triumverate of Floyd/Beltran/Cameron sounds almost too good to be true.

To good to be true. That's what Mets boosters felt upon the Alomar trade before the 2002 campagn, yet Alomar wasn't even as effective as Carlos Baerga while in Mets orange and blue. And the disappointments continued; Burnitz turned back into the clumsy, strikeout prone, low average Burnitz that Dallas Green ran out of town; Vaughn was overweight and the worst regular first baseman since Dennis Menke (Houston Astros, 1971); the big signing of pitcher Tom Glavine produced 20 wins - over two seasons; and so it's gone.

However, the biggest reason for optimism for the National Leauge New Yorkers isn't the potientional for Martinez to be as effective as he was in Boston, or for Beltran to remain Beltran. It's the pre-existing roster that's important as we head for opening day. It will be imperative for David Wright and Jose Reyes to be as effective over a full season as they have been in the short time they've been in The Show thus far. It's a high priority for Kazuo Matsui to be comfortable in his switch to second base. It's important for Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd to stay healthy. But most of all, it will be important for fans to remember that this ain't no post-season team, because they aren't quite there yet. But they should be exciting from start to stop, thankfully.

Some points to ponder:

Even if Kaz Ishii posts a 5 ERA, the deal was a steal. Giving up only Jason Phillps, a non-prospect who exceeded expectations as a fill-in in 2003, for a 170 innings guy, was amazing - Steve Trachsel was injured only one week earlier. The Dodgers needed to dump salary, and the quickness of this deal proves that Minaya and staff realized that Ishii was on the block long before they needed him - and remembered that important fact at a good time. Think Steve Phillips would have paid such attention to detail?

It's actually GOOD that Ishii and Victor Zambrano are wild. One of the major reasons that Zambrano was so successful in Tampa before the trade to the Mets was because AL batters were scared to death of the guy. Like Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham, nobody "knows where the ball is gonna go." That can be a good thing; if MLB hitters are checking their drawers after being buzzed, they are certainly going to be off-balance at the plate. And if Rick Peterson screws with that, he'll be messing with a pretty good pitcher, walks be damned.

The Randolph Factor. Willie Randolph hasn't been afraid to mince words with sports writers or his own team, which is utterly refreshing following Art Howe Hell. Already, he's openly questioned whether Phillips was the kind of guy he'd want as a backup; and even suggested that even though Andres Gallaraga had a couple of good games, that it would be too little to late in terms of him making the final cuts. This reporter attended five games during spring training, both at Tradition Field and in Vero and Lauderdale, and the difference in the camp this year is stunning. This is a team that works hard together, and the person to thank for it is Randolph.

Overrated stiffs are gone. A huge problem with Mets fans is that they chronically overrate the players they watch. Ty Wigginton and Phillips, not to mention Joe McEwing, were described as "hustlers," which is basically a code word for "no talent." Sports radio station WFAN in New York has fielded at least 10 calls we've heard since backup catcher Vance Wilson was traded to Detroit, bemoaning the trade if the Mets had lost Johnny Bench. However, thankfully scouts aren't all wearing orange and blue glasses; trading Wigginton, Phillips, McEwing and Wilson combined wouldn't yield a starting MLB player. The fact that the Mets got anything at all for these AAA types is testament to the talents of the current brain trust.

Bullpen or bull pucky? Here's hoping the following names make the team as relievers: Bartolome Fortunato, Heath Bell, Mike DeJean, Matt Ginter and Pedro Feliciano. Roberto Hernandez is a retread who hasn't been effective since 2000. Felix Heredia is...well, ask any Yankees fan. The rest are faceless.

Part II tomorrow...