THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300449
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Mike Birkbeck was part of the wave, the New York Mets' offseason acquisition of minor league free agents the team hoped would help in the big leagues now - rather than simply being stashed in Norfolk as insurance policies.
At the moment, though, Norfolk is their lone destination. And experienced hands like pitchers Birkbeck, Don Florence and Jimmy Williams and outfielders Jarvis Brown, Chris Jones and Derek Lee come with a price. A price that might be too high for them all to retain jobs with the Tides.
If replacement baseball gets off the ground and hangs around, the veterans who don't play as replacements could be victims in an organizational move to slash costs at every level, said Gerry Hunsicker, the Mets assistant vice president of baseball operations.
``Having five or six six-year free agents that could add a quarter-million dollars or more to a Triple-A payroll is a luxury that we may not be able to afford,'' Hunsicker said. ``We signed these guys not to win a pennant in Norfolk. We signed these guys because we thought they could either make our club in spring training or contribute to our club during the year.
``If the circumstances have changed to where they are not either available to contribute or there is no major league level for them to contribute at, then I think we have to look at it.''
That's reason for yet another worry line across Birkbeck's forehead as this stormy spring training swirls toward a finish.
``I haven't been directly approached with that, but I've heard that same concern from other sources,'' Birkbeck said. ``I think you'd have to be short-sighted as an individual if you didn't realize that was a possibility.''
Birkbeck, for example, would make $160,000, pauper's pay in the big leagues. For Triple-A, though, his deal is princely compared to most - $10,000 a month, or $50,000 for the season. The other free agents - players with enough minor league time to have earned free agency - are believed to have similar deals.
If they can't help the big league team, they go from economical to exorbitant commodities. Thus one or more could be candidates for release, depending on how long replacement ball continues. Another option would be releasing and immediately re-signing them, but at a reduced salary.
``Basically, we told them we couldn't guarantee all of them that they would be here if these circumstances lasted,'' Hunsicker said.
Birkbeck, like the other veterans, continues to wrestle with the many-tentacled dilemma of whether to play replacement baseball, aware that on a minor league contract ``the only guarantee is your last day's pay.''
After two seasons with the Richmond Braves, for whom he won 13 games each season and was second in the International League with a 2.73 earned-run average last year, Birkbeck re-signed with the Mets. The 34-year-old righthander was a Tide, and a Met for one start, in 1992.
He had a chance at a middle relief job in New York's bullpen this spring. Instead, he got a restless experience with the daily opportunity to examine his convictions, while hoping a labor agreement somehow materialized to take every player off the hook.
Birkbeck decided not to play in spring training replacement games, but with the Mets scheduled to open the season Sunday, he cannot say what he'll do then.
``I work for the Mets, I don't work for the management of baseball,'' said Birkbeck, who has pitched in 50 big league games. ``I signed a contract. I said, `Yes, I'll play for you.' That's my word. You give them your word and you keep it, too.''
A frustration, though, is that definitive word on the strike has been so mute.
``The information is only coming from the media, and it's hard to distinguish between what's posturing and what's fact,'' Birkbeck said. ``It's been a tremendous burden. I just hope they get it done. Just for the best interest of everybody.''
NOTEWORTHY: Triple-A rosters have been expanded from 23 to 25 players for as long as replacement baseball runs, to potentially provide more bodies for those games. . . . The Mets have gotten commitments from a number of minor leaguers willing to play replacement games but have not chosen their team. Their roster does not need to be turned in until 6 p.m. Sunday, two hours before their opening game with the Florida Marlins. ``We might be signing guys in the clubhouse Sunday night,'' Hunsicker said. ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Staff
Pitcher Mike Birkbeck chats with a coach. Although he wears a Mets
uniform now, Birkbeck has refused to be a strike-breaker.
by CNB