mek@pyuxss.UUCP (M Kaufman) (10/19/84)
To: AL & Mets fans Subject: Impending (?) trade for Jim Rice The NY papers are rumbling about a Jesse Orosco/Jim Rice trade to occur during the winter meetings. As I bleed Mets blue, I thought it incumbent on me to solicit opinions and gather some facts for the edification of net.sport.baseball readers. I have not followed the career of Jim Rice too much, as he does play in the AL and I mainly watch Met games. I've heard stories by various announcers that Rice can 1) break the shaft of a golf club on a swing 2) break his bat on a checked swing 3) fly 4) walk on water. I realize he is a good home run hitter. Can he do anything else, e.g., field, throw, hit for average, drive in people, get clutch hits, hit home runs other places that Fenway, etc., etc.? In my opinion, this would be a bad trade for the Mets. Shea Stadium is just not a good hitters park because of the swirling winds, and has been a graveyard for many sluggers (Foster, Kingman spring to mind immediately. Roberto Clemente never hit well there, although he was more than a slugger. Willie Stargell and the Baby Whale didn't hit well there, nor did Willie McCovey or Hank Aaron), and acquiring another at the cost of a very good reliever seems too much to pay. Perhaps a package of less established players would not be too much to pay? Some rookies + Mookie Wilson might not be too bad. If Rice were traded, would the Boston fans burn down their ballpark? Matt K.
david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin) (10/23/84)
We all know the Mets are in the market for power, preferably behind the plate. But catchers with power are VERY rare and valuable gems, and are thus EXTREMELY expensive. Thus, the rumors for outfield power. Orosco for Rice? I never heard of that one, though I did read somewhere of a Wilson for Jack Clark deal... David Rubin