Two good guys get a chance they deserve

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2000

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rick White was sitting on a training room table Friday, schmoozing with a couple of teammates about the flurry of trades throughout the game, when manager Larry Rothschild came looking for him.

"I was like, "Did I get traded?' You know, just joking around. He goes, "Yeah, you did,' " White said. "And I was like, "Okay ... ' "

White didn't want to go anywhere. Neither did Jim Mecir. Both had talked about signing long-term deals. They would have been happy to keep doing what they were doing, and doing rather well, holding together one of the league's most tattered pitching staffs.

General manager Chuck LaMar and the Rays brain trust had other ideas. To improve substantially, they felt they needed players who could be better than good. Potential impact players. And they were willing to risk giving up known quantities for the chance to hit it big.

In the deal for White and Bubba Trammell, they got Paul Wilson, who could be a member of their rotation, and Jason Tyner, who could be their centerfielder of the future. For Mecir, they got Jesus Colome, a 20-year-old starter they feel is among the game's elite prospects.

By the end of the night, the Rays felt pretty good about things. The Mets and A's undoubtedly did too.

But things may turn out pretty well for White and Mecir as well.

Sure, Mecir was a little concerned about the disruption of a midseason trade, and, with a year-round home in the St. Petersburg area, he probably wasn't too keen on going to the West Coast.

"After being here three years, I loved playing here and I loved the guys on the team," he said.

But Mecir, a bargain at $350,000 this year, was going to be in line for a hefty raise, maybe so much so that the Rays would have had to move him anyway. And, at least this way he is going somewhere where he is wanted -- very much so -- and will have a chance to win.

White is going to love New York, where he debuted with a victory in relief Saturday against the Cardinals. Sure, it's going to be a little tougher to find spots for hunting and fishing, but he should be a big hit with the fans and the media. The New York experience will be a good one.

And he has a chance to make a little money. White played for $610,000 this year and probably could have doubled that through arbitration. But it may have been hard for the Rays to pay him, Mecir and Roberto Hernandez next season.

"With me being arbitration eligible and having a couple good years, maybe I have a chance to make some money I might not have made here," White said. "I don't know what direction Chuck is going to go after this year. I have a chance to go play for a contender and a chance to do what I can and see what happens."

Besides, White has never been on a good team. Think about it: He's been with the post-playoff Pirates and the Devil Rays. "I've only played for one winning team, and that was in '98 when I was down with (Triple-A) Durham for a while and we were in first place. So I'm pretty excited to see what happens."

The Rays gave up two good pitchers. They also gave up two good guys.

FAMOUS CONNECTION: Rothschild was excited to see Sparky Anderson, for whom he played in Detroit, and Tony Perez, for whom he served as pitching coach in Cincinnati, go into the Hall of Fame. "Two class people," he said.

Most impressive about Anderson, Rothschild said, is his humility and graciousness. "He's in touch with himself. He never developed that ego that I guess a lot of people develop when they're in sports and in the spotlight and they've done the things that he's done."

Each year, Rothschild said, he and his wife, Jane, watched to see how Perez fared in the balloting, hoping he'd get in. "For what he did, you can't just consider the numbers when you're talking about Tony Perez," he said. "You have to consider the leadership he gave the team and the type of person he is."

MATCH GAME: With the St. Petersburg minor-league team sold, the Rays will be looking for a new Class A partner. The Daytona Beach and Fort Myers teams in the Florida State League are up for re-affiliation, as are most of the Carolina and California League clubs. The Fort Myers team, by the way, is owned in part by former Rays executive Mike Veeck.

HOO-RAYS: The Rays have discussed playing a spring exhibition in Jacksonville and still are talking about going to Mexico City. ... The first draft of the 2001 unbalanced schedule should be seen this week.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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