The Mets dare to dream: a fall rumble in the Bronx

Sporting News, The, March 15, 1999 by Peter Schmuck

Let's get something straight right now. If I could justify it, I would pick the Cubs to win the National League's wild-card berth. Everything seems right in the baseball world when the Cubs qualify for the postseason.

Sorry, it just won't happen in 1999.

The Cubs stood around all winter waiting for Kerry Wood to grow into Roger Clemens. Meanwhile, the Mets, the team that helped embellish the Cubs' history of futility by overcoming a large Chicago lead in the 1969 N.L. East race, spent the offseason building a better mousetrap.

Not that there was that much wrong with the Mets in the first place. Bobby Valentine's team stumbled down the stretch last year or it might have been matched against the Astros in the Division Series, and then who knows what would have happened. We might have seen a Subway Series last fall instead of watching the Yankees beat up on those helpless monks from San Diego.

If you're a Mets fan, you might want to keep in mind that I picked the Padres to upset the Yankees in the 1998 World Series, so don't run off and bet the house on my say-so this time. But it certainly appears Valentine has a team that can win the wild-card spot and--if things go wrong in Atlanta--even contend for the N.L. East crown.

The Braves still have most of the horses, although the loss of first baseman Andres Galarraga is a tough blow. They've still got that terrific rotation, which should allow them to extend their amazing streak of division championships to eight (excluding the strike season of 1994), but it's not a mismatch anymore. The Mets need some things to go their way, but they finally have enough talent to be positioned for a divisional upset if one or two Atlanta starters encounter problems.

It would be tough to stomach, of course. New York already is the center of the American League universe, and the prospect of Valentine puffing up in the postseason might lead to a worldwide arrogance shortage. But give the Mets' organization credit for assembling an intriguing team that should finally create some excitement and suspense in an otherwise submissive division.

The signing of Rickey Henderson gives the Mets attitude at the top of the order--and a man who led the major leagues in stolen bases last season with 66. Yes, Henderson is 40 years old, but the man is still productive. The return of Bobby Bonilla gives New York a media lightning rod to take pressure off the rest of the offense. Who knows, Bobby Bo might just be primed for a Comeback Player of the Year performance after an injury-marred 1998 season split between Florida and Los Angeles.

How good is the Mets' batting order? Good enough that newly acquired third baseman Robin Ventura--a player with six seasons of 90-plus RBIs--has been pushed back to the sixth slot in the lineup. Good enough that Brian McRae--who hit 21 home runs in 1998--will hit deeper than that. Good enough to score a lot more runs than the 706 that ranked the New Yorkers 11th in the National League last year.

There no doubt will be second-guessing if former Mets catcher Todd Hundley--deemed expendable because of Mike Piazza's presence--gets off to a fast start with the Dodgers, but the front office couldn't have put together a better deal for a player who had no position to play in New York. The Mets received promising outfielder Roger Cedeno and catcher Charles Johnson from Los Angeles, passing along Johnson to the Orioles for 100-mph reliever Armando Benitez and thereby solidifying the roster in two areas.

The upgraded lineup-remember, Piazza will be on hand from Day One this time around--should help top starters Al Leiter and Rick Reed put up big numbers again, but those two combined for 33 victories last year, so the upside potential is at the other end of the Mets' rotation. Hideo Nomo, Bobby Jones and Masato Yoshii failed to reach double figures in victories, which creates the possibility of a dramatic across-the-board improvement, especially with the help of a deeper, more versatile bullpen.

Relief may be the club's major strength, with Benitez capable of working as a super-setup man or spelling John Franco in the closer role. Lefthanded setup man Dennis Cook is coming off an outstanding season (8-4, 2.38 ERA), and righthander Turk Wendell (5-1, 2.93) ranked among the best middle men in the league. Righthander Greg McMichael is the only returning bullpen veteran who did not have a strong 1998 season, and he probably could chalk that up to shuttling from New York to Los Angeles and back again in the course of last season. The pressure will be on in Queens. The Yankees won the battle for the tabloids' back page last year and fended off every attempt by the Mets to steal the spotlight over the winter, most recently with the stunning acquisition of Roger Clemens. But the Mets may finally be ready to reclaim some ground in baseball's most heated crosstown rivalry.

"There's no doubt the Mets have gotten back in the game," says Yankees starter David Cone, who has pitched for both New York teams. "They took a break for a few years, but this is probably the first time you could talk about a Subway Series and not have anybody laugh at you."