Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Great fun, can you do it again?

Teams must tackle personnel issues before a rematch can be discussed.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 28, 2000

NEW YORK -- It took until the Mets' 39th season for the stars, the baseball talent cycles and the subway cars to line up for an all-New York World Series. But this is an impatient bunch up here, and Friday morning they were already wondering if, and when, it was going to happen again.

For the Mets or Yankees to get back to the World Series is going to take a lot of work, and a lot of money. Both teams face some significant off-season questions, and they start right at the top.

Yankees skipper Joe Torre, a remarkable 16-3 in Series games, has one year remaining on his contract at the hefty sum of $3-million, but there is some question if he will come back to try for a fifth ring or retire on top and wait for the induction to Cooperstown.

Late Thursday, when the champagne and tears stopped flowing, he said, "I don't anticipate not coming back." But he is 60 now, less than two years removed from prostate surgery with a wife and young daughter who want him at home.

Mets manager Bobby Valentine is signed -- through Tuesday. There has been considerable speculation about his future, whether the Mets will want him back and whether he'd want to come back.

Valentine seemed to state his case after Thursday's loss, saying, "My ownership has been great to me since I've been here and I have a wonderful team. I'm hoping like heck there's a situation where my respect for the organization and desire to manage this team is a mutual feeling. And there's no reason for me to think otherwise."

Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon, who stood in a corner of the auxiliary locker room watching Valentine's post-game media session, appeared to provide his answer, embracing Valentine tightly and patting his cheek as the two neared tears.

Once managerial matters are settled, the teams can move on to big-money issues. The Mets have nine potential free agents, including ace left-hander Mike Hampton, but may be most concerned about a certain other free agent -- shortstop Alex Rodriguez.

The bidding for him is likely to reach $200-million over 10 years, and the Mets are expected to be big players, figuring he'll improve their lineup and marquee appeal.

Of the players who wore their uniforms, the Mets probably are most concerned about Hampton, the Crystal River product who filled a huge hole in their rotation. They probably feel even more strongly about keeping him after reading comments Friday from Rodriguez agent Scott Boras, who suggested that retaining Hampton could help their bid for A-Rod.

Other free agents include pitchers John Franco, Rick Reed, Bobby J. Jones and Turk Wendell, infielders Mike Bordick, Kurt Abbott, and Lenny Harris, and outfielder Derek Bell.

"Some we want to sign right away, some we want to see what the free-agent market holds, and some we won't re-sign," general manager Steve Phillips said.

The Yankees, with a dozen potential free agents, may face tougher decisions. It seems unlikely they will go after A-Rod (because he or Derek Jeter would have to change positions), but they are likely to aggressively pursue Indians slugger Manny Ramirez or Orioles ace Mike Mussina.

Two ancient warriors, pitcher David Cone and outfielder Paul O'Neill, are at the ends of their contracts and possibly careers. Denny Neagle is a free agent looking to cash in, as is set-up man Jeff Nelson. Scott Brosius and Tino Martinez are heading into the final years of their contracts amid speculation they may be replaced. Chuck Knoblauch is suddenly an expensive spare part.

"When you think about the guys you've been with for five years -- O'Neill, Tino and Cone -- yeah, if you don't see them again after this year in uniform, it's going to be sad," Torre said. "But the fun part is to think of what it was like for those five years and celebrating that, probably, would take precedence over anything."

Every year, the Yankees make some changes. The challenge now is to make them on the fly, to sustain their level of excellence as they do so. The Yankees don't talk about five-year plans.

"We have a mission statement, really, every year," general manager Brian Cashman said. "We gather all of our people in Tampa, I call them the Knights of the Round Table, and we talk about players, possible trades, free agents, who we should keep. We draw up our depth chart and roster.

"The question the Boss always poses is, "Is this team good enough to get to the World Series and win?' That's what it's about. Not, "Are we good enough to win the division? Are we good enough to win the wild card?' Nothing like that. It's always the one thing.

"That's part of being a Yankee. The bar has been set."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

College football