February 16

Three of the New York Mets' first four starting pitchers could be free agents at the end of the season. Same with four of the best five relievers, the manager and general manager. No one, with the exception of Bobby Valentine, seems concerned that this will be a problem in what is being labeled as the year the Mets have to win it all.

	Bobby Valentine's days as Mets manager could very well be numbered.

For instance, Mike Hampton is a small town guy from central Florida. He came to the Mets from Houston in the offseason and showed up at spring training announcing that he will not negotiate a new contract until after the season. With that, he effectively joins Mike Mussina and Brad Radke on the likely free agent pitching chart.

"I don't want negotiations to be a distraction," said Hampton, a 22-game winner last season. "I don't see that being unsigned will be a distraction. My focus is on winning a World Series ring, and I think that's the focus of everyone here.

"Really, what better place to win than New York? If I do well, who knows? -- I may be doing a movie with Sylvester Stallone. People ask me about the risk of playing it out. I don't think athletes think like normal people. They don't think about risks. I dive after balls, slide into bases ... that's the fun of competing and playing. I don't think about risks."

Hampton, Rick Reed and holdover Met right-hander Bobby Jones are free agents at the end of the season. So are relievers John Franco, Turk Wendell, Dennis Cook and Pat Mahomes.

"I don't think it's a problem because of the personalities here and the fact that we're so focused on winning," said Reed. Added Piazza, "I went through this, and while all the daily questions can be distracting, how much one likes it with this team is what counts. I knew that I liked my teamates and the city and I could get something worked out. There are a lot of different cases here, but if the players want to stay, things usually can be worked out."

"I don't see any distraction,"says Reed. "All most of us want is that chance to win."

Several players pointed out that the risk factor isn't as great as one would think.

"Even if you have an off year, you're making big bucks," said one."There is less pressure than you think. So, how do you spend the difference between $5M and $8M?"

Valentine and general manager Steve Phillips, who bear watching this spring, will spend some of the next month finding out who might be interested in some of their nine lefties. Many in the organization want to keep Dennis Cook, who had a 2.61 ERA before the All-Star Game and a 6.23 ERA after it. That put him on the block, but there are many who believe pitching coach Dave Wallace can keep Valentine from overusing Cook in the first three months.

Jones looks terrific, an encouraging sign for the Mets. "He's a huge key," says one Mets official. "If he's healthy, it's easy to plug the fifth spot. If he isn't (he won three games last year), we need two pitchers."

"Everything around this team is about getting to the World Series," says Piazza. "If you're on a bad team, these things become issues. But we don't have time to think about the other things."

Junior's a bargain in Cincinnati
There were people in the Reds hierarchy who didn't believe that Junior Griffey's impact would be more than a $1-to-$2 million bump in revenues. Yah. It will be closer to $20 million this first season, which is why anyone who suggested that waiting until the end of the season to get him for two draft picks was, well, stupid. Someday Jim Bowden's grandchildren will say their grandfather brought Junior home to chase the great Henry Aaron, because this is to Cincinnati what Mark McGwire was to St. Louis.

What's amazing about Griffey is how much he put his money up to his mouth. This deal isn't going to immediately cost the Reds much more than $6 million a year -- about what Brett Tomko and Mike Cameron will make next year, combined, if they have the kinds of seasons they should. Why? Because Griffey isn't a mercenary and because he wants the Reds to have money to go get pitching. Bowden wants to deal for a Brad Radke/Jose Rosado type starter now, then make a splashy July trading deadline deal.

Once former owner Marge Schott was mercifully ousted and Bowden was allowed to start building the scouting and development, this franchise's future changed. Bowden's Venezuelan program produced right-hander Jacobo Seguea, who got them Juan Guzman at the deadline last year, which helped the Reds win 96 games. And Cincinnati's Dominican program produced second baseman Antonio Perez, a key element in the Griffey trade.

Schott never understood that.

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