ST. LOUIS – Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon wore a radiant smile as he strolled along the grass at Busch Stadium last night prior to Game 2 of the NLCS. Why shouldn’t he be happy. His Mets had won Game 1, 6-2, with a sterling pitching performance from Mike Hampton and an offense that featured the resurrected bat of Mike Piazza.
Al Leiter, the Mets best money pitcher was starting Game 2 against Cardinals rookie Rick Ankiel. The smell of a 2-0 lead heading back to New York was in the air. The last thing Wilpon wanted to discuss is the increasing interest in his manager Bobby Valentine, whose contract expires Oct. 31. At that time Valentine becomes a free agent able to sign with any of the clubs seeking a new skipper.
“I don’t want to talk about contracts,” Wilpon said. “I want to talk about hits and runs and Hampton pitching well, and a happy ending tonight, too.”
Still, Wilpon made two things clear: One, there will be no discussion of extending Valentine’s contract or the contract of general manager Steve Phillips until the conclusion of the World Series. “Hopefully, we’re playing,” Wilpon said. Secondly, he’s not spooked by the half dozen clubs that have managerial openings or a report in the Post that Valentine would be heavily courted by the Dodgers.
“I’m going to be 64-years-old in November,” Wilpon said. “I’m too old to be scared.”
If Wilpon is at all worried about losing Valentine, who has led the Mets to the NLCS two straight years, he wasn’t showing it yesterday. He politely reaffirmed his intentions, first stated last spring, that negotiations on new deals for Phillips and Valentine would be evaluated at the end of the season. That won’t change even though the Mets are three wins away from the World Series and the Dodgers have enough money and connections to interest Valentine.
“That has been my consistent answer and it’s going to stay that way,” Wilpon said. “I think it’s in the best interest of the ball club.”
In midst of what could be a memorable, if not historic (see Subway Series) playoff run, Wilpon, Valentine and Phillips could be heading towards a battle of high stakes poker. With each Mets win, Valentine’s market value increases. The team’s success also reflects favorably on Phillips, the architect of the team.
The Mets could have signed both Valentine and Phillips at a cheaper price had they come to an agreement on extensions last spring. But Mets ownership decided to wait to see how the season went. Now they face two options: giving both significant raises or losing them to another club.
“That decision was made at the ownership level,” Phillips said, “and with it was an understanding of the risks and rewards of waiting.”
Valentine insists that he has not been contacted, legally or illegally, by any club to manage their teams. “Absolutely not,” he said.
Teams can’t contact Valentine without the Mets permission until his contract expires Oct. 31. But what’s to keep the Dodgers from putting together a multi-year, multi-million package that can be presented on Nov. 1. The expected protocol is that Wilpon and owner Nelson Doubleday will sign Phillips and then Phillips will negotiate with Valentine. How quickly that gets done, no one can say: a day, one week, one month?
“You play the cards you’re dealt,” Phillips said. “Once my deal’s done, I’ll be the one to negotiate with Bobby. But I don’t dictate the timing of it.”
Then Phillips offered this ominous assessment. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep things together.”
That apparently is Wilpon’s intention even though baseball sources have said Seattle’s Lou Piniella is on the Mets short list of replacements.
“Bobby has done a great job with the team,” Wilpon said. “I said so in the beginning of the year, the middle of the year and I say so now. Nelson and I have a great relationship with the manager and the general manager. It’s in our best intentions to see Bobby and Steve back and we’ll discuss that at the end of the season.”
Question is, will Valentine still be available by the time the Mets reach a deal with Phillips. Valentine is under no obligation to wait past the Oct. 31 expiration of his contract. Phillips sounds like he has no qualms about keeping Valentine. Though their personalities and point of view may clash at times the friction seems to benefit the Mets. They may not have dinner to together, but there is a workable respect.
“Bobby is a student of the game,” Phillips said. “I know a lot of people say that, but Bobby really studies the game. He’s better than any manager I’ve worked with that understands situations in the game and what type of personnel he needs to succeed in that situation. He has a way of keeping everybody ready and everybody hungry.”
Clearly, both Valentine and Phillips have earned the right to return. The ball is in Wilpon and Doubleday’s court. Right now, they’d rather watch baseball.
