Mets Mini-Camp Opens

In the hangover of a big football weekend, the baseball news is somewhat light, highlighted by the opening of Mets mini-camp in Port St. Lucie.

TCPalm.com: Mini-Camp starts today
Lisa Riddle reports on the opening of the Mets mini-camp. Of the current Mets, David Wright, Chad Bradford and Kris Benson (think he has something to prove?) are expected to report.

The mini-camp runs today through Wednesday. After that, spring training will begin February 16 when pitchers and catchers report.

The Hardball Times: Part 2 of Player Agents series
Maury Brown offers part 2 in his series A Look At Player Agents. In what he calls "Perspectives", Braun interviews several people who have had dealings with player agents. The list includes Bill James (who worked with the Hendricks brothers), Dodger executive Fred Claire, Buzzie Bavasi, ESPN writer Jerry Crasnick, and Astros president Tal Smith. The piece is geared towards those who think they might want to be an agent.

Some highlights:

Fred Claire: I think the biggest change related to agents through the years is that the teams have come to understand (in fact, they have to understand) that the agent is part of the process. I think clubs realize that their relationship with agents becomes very important. There are teams with money to spend that can't attract free agent players. The better the relationship between a team and agent, the better chance of striking a deal.

...I think the average fan tends to view the agent as the guy simply doing the big deals. Not seen are many smaller agencies and individuals who work very hard to build up a client base; who often guide players through the minor leagues only to lose their star players to the bigger agencies. There also is a lot of hand-holding that has to take place with agents in dealing with players and none of that is very glamorous. It's interesting that some fans will blame the agent for a big contract when the fact is the team has to agree and sign the contract. No agent has the power to do a deal all by himself.

Jerry Crasnick: The misconception, obviously, is that the agent's life is glamorous, and that a young go-getter can somehow work his way to the top through sheer force of will and a knack for bonding with young athletes. There are just so many obstacles to success. You need a big bankroll to get started and a coherent gameplan to keep you going during the tough times. And for the first 6-8 years or so, until a new agent gets a foothold, it can be all tough times.

... It's also such a degrading business at times -- whether the agent is hanging around a showcase or the Cape Cod League recruiting talent or hustling up another shoe deal to keep an 18-year-old kid happy. The young ballplayers have such a sense of entitlement these days, and the competition among agents has clearly helped fuel it.

If you missed it this weekend

Check out my 2006 Braves Preview at MetsDaily.com
I've branched out a little and penned a preview of the 2006 Atlanta Braves for MetsDaily.com. MetsDaily.com editor John Strubel has also conducted an audio interview with Gary Caruso, the Publisher of Chop Talk Magazine. You can access that from the Atlanta Braves team profile page.

Atlanta Braves Preview by yours truly

Braves team profile page with Gary Caruso interview

New York Post: Great David Wright feature
Kevin Kernan offers a great profile of Mets 3B David Wright, and his relationship with his family:

Spend a day with him, meet his family, his friends and his extended family of baseball and life coaches and you quickly understand why David Wright is the most mature 23-year-old athlete to come through New York since Derek Jeter.

His is a Wonderful Life here in this family-first area where David plays the role of Big Brother to the max. He beats on his brothers and they beat on him. He drops them off at basketball practice in his Land Rover or takes them out with him to go bowling - on Christmas night, and yes, his date did come along.

...Sure, Big Brother is a major league star, but he's one of four when he's home. He grew up sharing a bedroom and sleeping in a bunk bed until he became a professional ballplayer. David has earned the perk of graduating to the spare bedroom these days.

You can check out other Mets stories you might have missed this weekend:

Saturday

Sunday