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Friday, May 12
Griffey must now produce

By Bob Brookover
Special to ESPN.com

With the addition of Ken Griffey Jr., it is now official.

The National League rules.

True, the New York Yankees are the closest thing to a baseball dynasty since the days of Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's. But when you talk about individual talent, there has been a major shift the past couple of seasons.

We mostly have the Seattle Mariners to thank for this development. They have given the National League baseball's premier power pitcher in Randy Johnson and premier player in Griffey. Those two have joined Mark McGwire, the game's premier power hitter, to make the senior circuit the far more interesting of the two leagues.

With just days left before catcher's mitts start popping in Florida and Arizona, we're going to take a look at a dozen players who will be under the microscope when the season begins in seven short weeks. The season's key players in the National League:

1. Ken Griffey Jr., Reds. During his first 11 seasons, Griffey went from being a teenage sensation to a beloved superstar with Seattle. By asking the Mariners to trade him, he has opened himself to criticism. He is certainly loathed in Seattle and it's impossible to give him credit for taking less money to join the Reds when he'll still be receiving an average salary of more than $13 million per year.

For all his immense talent, Griffey never took the Mariners beyond the American League Championship Series and has only appeared in the postseason twice. To be considered a success in Cincinnati, he must take the Reds to a World Series championship. He is joining a talented team that gave up little to get him.

2. John Rocker, Braves. He wasn't eligible for arbitration this winter, but he has himself a hearing with an arbitrator anyway. Has any player ever been on a hotter seat than the one on which Rocker currently occupies?

Regardless of what the arbitrator rules in his appeal of commissioner Bud Selig's 73-day suspension (including spring training), Rocker still has hell to pay for his offseason slurs in Sports Illustrated.

First, he must make amends with his teammates, many of whom have publicly admitted their anger with him. Then he must deal with the hometown fans, some of whom have said they don't want a racist on their favorite team. Finally, he'll have to deal with the New York fans. The Braves' first appearance at Shea Stadium is June 29, but Rocker is sure to hear plenty of ugly verbal assaults in other cities as well.

The arbitrator, Shyam Das, is only deciding when Harassment Tour 2000 will begin.

What rarely gets mentioned is that without Rocker, the Braves have themselves a closer dilemma once again. They were fortunate when Rocker expertly assumed the role last season after Kerry Ligtenberg was injured for the season and Mark Wohlers' control crisis continued. As well as Ligtenberg performed in 1998, he is not as dominating as Rocker.

3. Mike Hampton, Mets. With the departure of Johnson, he emerged as the Astros' staff ace last season, winning a league-leading 22 games while losing just four times. Hampton, however, didn't go into last season as the Astros' ace. In fact, he's never gone into any season as an ace.

But he has that title this season. The Mets surrendered a lot of talent to acquire the grand prize of starting pitchers this winter and they fully expect Hampton to duplicate his 1999 season.

Pitchers will tell you that the title of staff ace is nothing more than a title and does not present any added pressure. Don't believe it. There also are some pitchers who live for the bright lights of New York and others who wilt under those same conditions.

4. Jose Lima, Astros. Speaking of new roles, Lima inherits the title of ace from the departed Hampton. He won 16 games in 1998 and followed up with a 21-win season in 1999.

Now, the Astros need and expect Lima to win. That's pressure even for a man who doesn't appear to understand the meaning of the word.

5. Andy Ashby, Phillies. Shortly after joining his new team, Ashby went from being the No. 2 man in the rotation to the staff ace because of a shoulder surgery that is expected to sideline Curt Schilling until at least the middle of May.

Ashby must be at his best during the first six weeks of the season if the Phillies have any hope of staying with the Mets and Braves in arguably the league's toughest division. He also is pitching for a contract because he is eligible for free agency after the season.

6. Mike Jackson, Phillies. He converted on 90 percent of his save opportunities (79-for-88) over the last two seasons with the Indians and appeared in more games than any major league pitcher (644) during the 1990s.

Nevertheless, both Cleveland and the Cardinals considered him a health risk this winter, which opened the door for the Phillies to sign him to an incentive-based contract that could pay him as much as $15 million over the next three seasons or as little as $3 million just for next season. The deal was finalized only after the Phillies took an extensive two-day look at MRIs of Jackson's valuable right arm.

Jackson is in a role that was a glaring weakness for the Phillies last season and if he isn't healthy, the team must count on either Wayne Gomes or Jeff Brantley to close games, which would significantly weaken the entire bullpen. All that's riding on Jackson's arm is a lot of money and the Phillies' hopes for a playoff berth.

7. Shawn Green, Dodgers. Before hitting 42 home runs and driving in 123 runs for the Blue Jays last season, Green had 77 career homers and 253 RBI. That didn't stop the Dodgers from immediately giving him a six-year, $84 million deal after dumping problem child Raul Mondesi on the Blue Jays. He better be a great player for general manager Kevin Malone's sake.

8. Kevin Brown, Dodgers. Let us not forget that this man is making $15 million per season. At that price, it isn't asking too much for him to average 20 wins per season during the lifetime of his seven-year contract. He may have been the first pitcher in history to go 18-9 with a 3.00 ERA and have his season be considered a mild disappointment.

9. Pat Hentgen, Cardinals. Is he the pitcher who won 20 games and won the AL. Cy Young Award in 1996? Or is he the pitcher who went 23-23 with a 4.97 ERA in his final two seasons with Toronto?

The Cardinals are hoping for the former.

10. Darryl Kile, Cardinals. Is he the pitcher who won 19 games for the Astros in 1997? Or is he the pitcher whose career took a disastrous nosedive with the Rockies?

Once again, the Cardinals are hoping for the former.

11. Barry Bonds, Giants. Unquestionably the National League player of the 1990s, Bonds has some tremendous challenges facing him as we enter the new millennium.

First and foremost, he wants to play in a World Series before his illustrious career is over. At 35, time is running out for the future Hall of Famer.

With Griffey now on the scene, he'll be hard-pressed to maintain his title as the best all-around player in the league.

And, finally, Bonds has gone on record as saying he is going to try to be kinder and gentler this season. Let's hope he can do it.

12. Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks. Like Bonds, he is running out of time to win a world championship. Like Bonds, he has set some incredible standards for himself. Like Bonds, his team is counting heavily on him to lead them to a division title.

Bob Brookover, who covers the Phillies for the Delaware County (Pa.) Times, writes on the National League for ESPN.com.


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