Mets - Soriano Trade, Piazza's Yogi, Erickson Shelled



From Bob Klapisch's column on ESPN.com :

(Rangers owner Tom) Hicks has a relatively affordable offensive weapon in Soriano, but that $5.4 million salary will likely balloon to $8-9 million through salary arbitration in 2005. And with free agency beckoning in 2006, the Rangers could end up paying Soriano as much as $12-14 million a year.

No wonder Texas has its eyes on Kazmir, a Texas native who's not only young and talented, but tantalizingly cheap. The Mets are just as aware of Kazmir's charms, but there are still members of the hierarchy who find it hard to resist the offensive upgrade Soriano offers.

"Are you kidding me," is all one executive said, when asked to measure Soriano's productivity batting in front of Mike Piazza. Not only has Soriano proven he's a perennial 40-40 threat, but he's a .300-caliber hitter who's also New York-tested. In three years with the Yankees, he totaled 95 homers, 266 RBI and 119 stolen bases.

And even though Soriano now admits he lied about his age while in Pinstripes -- he's 28, not 26 -- he still fits into the Mets' quest for under-30 talent. Club officials believe Soriano could, on his own, lift the Mets into instant-respectability in the NL East, if not contention.

But at least one NL executive thinks the Mets are seriously misguided for everyone considering this deal.

"For what Soriano costs today and next year and the year after, I wouldn't trade for him. He's not worth it, not for Kazmir," said the executive. "Soriano strikes out too much, he doesn't walk and he can't play defense. What else is there to think about?"

Indeed, Soriano's 1-in-3 strikeout to at-bat ratio in the 2003 postseason raised eyebrows everywhere. Pitchers finally found his Achilles' heel -- fastballs in, followed by sliders down and away -- and used Soriano's lack of plate discipline to turn him in a near automatic out.

Which is to say, some days he's the next Roberto Clemente; other days he's the next Raul Mondesi.

Newsday's David Lennon & Bob Herzog also claim that talks are ongoing.

Alfonso Soriano's apparent enthusiasm for staying in Texas, as well as remaining a second baseman, was not enough yesterday to dissuade Mets officials from entertaining the idea of future trade discussions with the Rangers.

Asked about Soriano's comments in Tuesday's edition of Newsday, general manager Jim Duquette refused to talk about the availability of another club's player, but said, "We don't need a second baseman." The Mets have considered Soriano to be a major upgrade for rightfield, a position they currently plan to fill with a platoon of Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia, and one club official called Soriano's comments more of an "anthill" than a major obstacle if talks do eventually heat up with the Rangers later in spring training.

Soriano balked at switching positions when he first arrived in Texas, refusing to move to either centerfield or shortstop, and he said Monday, "I want to be a second baseman forever. I'm comfortable there."

Privately, Soriano had told friends he would consider playing rightfield if it meant returning to New York, and the Rangers have thought about what they could get from the Mets in a swap, though nothing has advanced beyond monitoring each other's spring training sites at this point.

In today's NY Times, Mike Piazza's yoga instructor, Andrew Bourell was profiled by Lee Jenkins.

Before Piazza takes the field, Bourell offers him seeds and juice, reminds him to use mental checkpoints when he's stretching and tells him to breathe through his nose so he doesn't strain his lungs. After practice, Bourell stretches Piazza near a batting cage, allowing him to relax his body and clear his mind from fan and news media demands.

At night, Bourell often visits a local health food store to buy more fruits and seeds. Then he leads Piazza in a yoga session, gives him a massage and fixes a dinner consisting only of uncooked foods: a spinach salad with raw portobello mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, a clove of raw garlic, sunflower seeds and olive oil. Bourell has never seen Piazza eat a steak or drink a beer. "I'm very spiritual about things and I believe people come into my life for the right reasons," Piazza said. "Andy has got a calm way about him. He tells me what he sees. I'm not a hard-core vegetarian, but I realize there is a philosophy to raw foods instead of cooked foods that could make a difference in the long run."

There are a lot of guys who would be too shy to ask another man to help them with things like flexibility, breathing through their nose, groin injuries, etc. Fortunately for Mets fans, Mike Piazza is not one of those guys.

Scott Erickson, trying to make the club after nearly two years out of the game, gave up 7 runs in one inning in yesterday's intra-squad game, including a 3 run HR to Raul Gonzalez. Mike Piazza's spring debut at 1B was marked by a throwing error when Erickson failed to cover first and Piazza's threw to the empty bag.

Posted: Wed - March 3, 2004 at 01:58 PM      

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