CDIH

<font size="3">Mets appear to be healthy in the early going</font>
02/22/2002

Pete Caldera
Bergen (N.J.) Record

In the opening days of camp, the health issues surrounding several key
Mets have taken a backseat.

Pedro Astacio, Jeff D'Amico (shoulder) and John Franco (elbow) have
been throwing well and without pain. Mo Vaughn (biceps) and John Valentin
(knee, foot) are completely healed. Edgardo Alfonzo (back) is in
excellent physical shape.

Vaughn has shown good mobility and soft hands at first base, pleasing
manager Bobby Valentine. Alfonzo's switch to third base has been
typically uneventful. If Valentin can play first base and the outfield (in
addition to playing third base, shortstop and second base), the Mets could
go with 12 pitchers. . . .

Timo Perez is two years older than originally thought, and he reported
late to camp because of visa problems. Perez, who will be 27 in April,
is the least likely candidate to win the center field job outright.

In fact, the job could be a platoon of Jay Payton (a righthanded
hitter), Gary Matthews (switch hitter) and Perez (lefty hitter) because of
their diverse looks. Of the trio, Matthews is the best defensively, with
Payton second. While Payton is strictly a center fielder, Matthews
could get the occasional start in left or right field. . . .

In 1999, the Mets scored a club-record 853 runs. The team expects to
challenge that number this year, one season removed from scoring 642
runs, the lowest in baseball. The club's all-time home run total for one
season (198, set in 2000) is also in jeopardy.

Valentine is far from setting a lineup, but there is a good chance that
Roger Cedeno and Roberto Alomar will bat at the top, followed by
Vaughn, Mike Piazza, Jeromy Burnitz and Alfonzo. . . .

Kane Davis, 26, is a power righthanded reliever who is out of options,
and he has a chance to stick in the bullpen. He appeared in 57 games
with the Rockies last year. Righthander Saturo Komiyama is in excellent
condition and will be ready to start the season.

EARLY SPRING SURPRISE

Of the 22 pitchers throwing bullpen sessions during spring training's
opening week, Valentine said the pitcher he'd least want to swing a bat
against is Aaron Heilman.

Heilman, 21, was the Mets' No. 1 pick last June out of Notre Dame.
Already, he has shown a mature nature and an impressive variety of pitches,
starting with a fastball in the low 90s, a good curveball, a slider and
a changeup.

Plus, Heilman challenges hitters inside. Of the Mets starting staff,
only Al Leiter (with his cutter into righthanded batters) and Pedro
Astacio consistently bust hitters on the hands. Batting against Heilman is
an uncomfortable experience, and that is what Valentine meant when he
said he'd rather not face him.

Heilman could begin at Class AA Binghamton this year, and he is
expected to finish the season at Class AAA. Heilman might be ready to
challenge for a spot in the rotation by next spring. . . .

Jaime Cerda, 23, has some intrigue about him. He is a hard-throwing
lefty with a sharp breaking ball and could impact the major-league club at
some point this season. Also, lefty Bobby M. Jones has looked sharp
after shoulder surgery last year.

i can't wait!! six weeks til the season starts, and it looks like the mets are going to have a great line-up as long as they remain somewhat injury free!

Fuck The Mets.

Peter Gammons...

"The Mets are fun. There are the Mike Piazza imitations of Walt Hriniak, pretty good since Piazza has never met Hriniak (he learned the routine from Robin Ventura). There is Leiter, everywhere. But what's good about the veterans on this team is they care so much about winning, as evidenced by Leiter taking Shawn Estes under his arm on the first day of camp to try and instill the confidence to make Estes a 16-18 game winner.

This should be a good team. Roger Cedeno can get on base, and Piazza, Vaughn, Edgardo Alfonzo and Jeromy Burnitz are more thunder than they've had in a long time, much less last season when they were dead last in the majors in runs scored. In his first full day of camp, Vaughn was still at the park, working, at 5:30 p.m. Jay Payton spent the winter working on a program to strengthen his hamstrings, and also worked with Mike Lum on his swing.

The questions with the Mets revolve around their pitching staff. But the early indicators are good -- Estes' adoption by Leiter, Pedro Astacio throwing well, Jeff D'Amico throwing with the same arm angle he had in 2000, when he was 12-7, 2.66. "It's very early and a lot of things do happen," says manager Bobby Valentine. "But there's nothing wrong with getting off to a good start."