Chapter 30.5: New Sun Rising?

I hestitate to write this; by putting the words out there, I fear it could jinx the chance. I sense a shift in New York sports.



It's not simply that the Mets have signed Carlos Beltran, the premier free agent of the off-season. They have also signalled a dramatic change in how to approach certain players. The Mets now have an advantage no team has ever held: They have an Hispanic general manager and lots of money. This has clearly been a plus in negotiating with Pedro Martinez and Beltran. Now they have their sights set on Carlos Delgado, another potential Hall of Famer (he's about 165 home runs away from 500, so it's not impossible, though unlikely at his age.)



I wonder when the rest of Major League Baseball will pick up on this distinction between the Mets and everyone else. Omar Minaya ran the Montreal Expos for the past several years, but he didn't have money to spend there. In this baseball market place, that's a problem. But a team like the Texas Rangers or the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim (their name change just smacks of a marketing consultant gone nuts) have built in markets to develop. The number of Hispanics who already play for the Rangers is a good start. The Angels are owned by an Hispanic. And the Washington Nationals (formerly Expos) have opportunities with Tony Tavares in place as president of the club. But no one is doing it like Minaya.



Personally, if he's going to sign Delgado, I'd like to see him pick up John Olerud as a back up. But I'll let him make that decision. He seems to be doing a good job so far.



On top of all this, I sense the Yankees are having problems. Even when they make a no-brainer of a signing (in this case Randy Johnson) it blows up in their faces. He was photographed on the sidewalk yesterday by a professional photojournalist, and The Big Unit stuck out his beefy palm and said, "Get out of my face." In today's dueling press conferences, I can almost guarantee his accosting a photographer will be a major line of questioning for the new acquisition, whose presence on the Yankees roster has been anticipated for months. They need new news, and he just gave it to them. I know he apologized right after it happened. He's going to be asked about it, and he's not going to like it. And he'll probably get a little POd about it. Then, if he's not careful, he'll make a comment that will haunt him all season and perhaps throughout his contract. Reporters will question his ability to handle a cranky media -- not his obvious talents as a definite Hall of Fame pitcher. Welcome to the big city Big Unit. You're 6'10" and this town's reporters have never had a bigger baseball target.