Changes: stunning trades and unprecedented free-agent movement have shifted the landscape and affected the balance of power

Sporting News, The, Feb 16, 2004 by Ken Rosenthal

"Now it seems he almost has the label, 'Rent a Great Outfielder'. For the past few years, he and Kenny Lofton have been the steal of the year every year."

Sanders' numbers have been solid, but they're also along the lines of what clubs expect from younger--and less expensive--corner out fielders. Then, as the season approaches, a club sees Sanders is available and takes him almost as insurance. He wins a starting job, provides steady production and is bid farewell come October.

The Cardinals, however, have bigger plans. They signed Sanders to start in right field after they traded J.D. Drew to the Braves. They'll stick Sanders in the second half of the order and hope he proves healthier than Drew and more productive than Tino Martinez, the veteran first baseman traded to the Devil Rays after two disappointing years in St. Louis.

And if nothing else, Sanders will be able to say he hit in the same lineup as slugger Albert Pujols, adding yet another superstar to his already impressive list of teammates.--Stan McNeal

RELATED ARTICLE: Managerial changes.

Terry Francona for Grady Little, Red Sox. Managing in Philadelphia taught Francona how to handle demanding media and fans. His toughest job in Boston might be maintaining clubhouse chemistry.

Ozzie Guillen for Jerry Manuel, White Sox. Guillen could be the next Tony Pena--or he could be as unsuccessful as Larry Bowa, another brash former short-stop, was in his first managing job.

Lee Mazzilli for Mike Hargrove, Orioles. Mazzilli, a first-time big-league manager, will face his mentor, Joe Torre, 19 times this season. We'll see what the pupil has learned.--Tom Gatto

RELATED ARTICLE: Mets' biggest pitching change is a new coach.

When Rick Peterson left the A's for the Mets, the headlines in the newspapers weren't as large nor the zeroes on the contract as plentiful as they were for the arrival of free agents Kazoo Matsui, Mike Cameron and Braden Looper.

But the acquisition of Peterson could prove just as important, even though he won't hit a single homer or strike out a batter. Peterson is the Mets' new pitching coach, which rates as one of baseball's most challenging jobs this side of Alan Trammell's. The Mets were 18tn in ERA, 26tn in strikeouts and sixth-worst in walks allowed last season.

If anyone is up to the task of righting the Mets' pitching staff, it is Peterson--although the challenge of doing so is not why he left Oakland. He moved east so his family wouldn't have to relocate west. The Mets jumped at the chance to reunite Peterson with his old boss in Oakland, manager Art Howe, and reassigned last year's pitching coach, Vern Ruble.

Peterson has combined passion, philosophy and science to become one of baseball's most effective teachers. In six seasons with the A's, Peterson directed a staff that finished among the top three in the American League in ERA for five consecutive seasons.

Most clubs break down pitchers' deliveries with video; Peterson hooks up pitchers to a computer for biomechanical analysis. Most clubs track pitch counts during games; Peterson monitors them from the first warmup toss.