A return to old friends

Well, maybe. The Mets and their fans can greet new Rays shortstop Rey Ordonez.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 20, 2003

ST. PETERSBURG -- He'll go back to see some old friends tonight with a different uniform and a fresh attitude.

As much as Rey Ordonez liked playing for the Mets, and he used to think it would last forever, he understands now it was time for a change.

"I've changed already," Ordonez said Wednesday. "When I was traded to Tampa it was like a new life."

The Mets were eager to get rid of Ordonez, eager enough that they spent $5-million to do so (the $4.25-million they are giving the Devil Rays toward his $6.25-million salary and the $775,000 they took on that the Rays owed Russ Johnson), figuring they would clear room for phenom Jose Reyes and whisk away any rancorous clubhouse issues Ordonez might have been party to.

They also made a statement to fans who were still upset over this statement Ordonez made about them in September: "I don't want to play here no more. The fans here are too stupid. You have to play perfect every game. You can't make an error. You can't go 0-for-4. Are we like (expletive) machines?"

Ordonez admits he was wrong, that he was speaking after a frustrating game at the end of a frustrating season.

"We were not a good team, we were losing every day and with the fans in New York it was hard because they want to win. The players want to win too," he said Wednesday.

"It's last year, it's in the past. I said I'm sorry to the fans of New York. I love New York, I feel bad. I'm real sorry about what I said."

Ordonez said he enjoyed the overall New York experience, that it was "a nice city and a good organization." He said he is treating tonight as "just another game," and doesn't know what kind of reaction he'll get from the Mets' spring crowd, much less during three regular-season trips to New York to play the Yankees.

The Rays, though, have welcomed him warmly, figuring that his spectacular defensive play -- even if not quite up to the level that won him three straight Gold Gloves from 1997-99 -- will be of significant benefit to an inexperienced pitching staff.

"He should be a good addition for us," manager Lou Piniella said.

Boston bullpen coach Euclides Rojas, a fellow Cuban who watched Ordonez before he defected, said Ordonez should lend a helpful gloved hand.

"He's exceptional," Rojas said. "I've seen him play for a long time and he's always had the outstanding hands and the great instincts to play defense."

The Rays, however, are looking for Ordonez to contribute offensively too, and that might be asking too much.

Ordonez is a career .245 hitter and Piniella this spring thought he might be of help in the No.2 slot, but after a short trial dropped him back to bottom of the order.

"He needs to get a little more selective at home plate," Piniella said. "He swings at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone, and it's tough to hit with consistency that way. I know he likes to free swing; it's hard enough to hit when you swing at good pitches as opposed to chasing.

"It should be easier for him in this league because you don't have the pitcher hitting behind you. If you're patient you're going to get good pitches to hit. They're not going to be pitching around you to get to the pitcher like they do in the other league."

There is something else Piniella wants out of Ordonez, something New York sports writers scoff at, which is leadership.

Ordonez is 32 and with seven full seasons in the big leagues is one of the most senior Rays, making him a potential role model, especially to the young Latin players.

"I told him I expect him to be a veteran here and lead by example," Piniella said.

Ordonez said he is ready and willing to do so. But he didn't set a good example Tuesday, drawing Piniella's ire when he missed the game because he was late returning from an off-day in south Florida. He said there were mechanical difficulties with the same private jet service he used regularly last year to go back and forth from New York.

"It never happened before," Ordonez said. "And it won't happen again."