Monday Morning — February 24th, 2003
The full squad has reported, and Spring Training games commence on Thursday. The sights and sounds of summer are near, which is a welcome relief after this very rough winter in the Northeast!
Returning in Sparkling Fashion - Tsuyoshi Shinjo arrived in Port St. Lucie in style last Tuesday. Wearing a denim jacket, sunglasses, cowboy boots and silver rings, and slinging his equipment bag over his shoulder the way a rock star would carry his guitar, Shinjo stepped out of a stretch limousine to greet the Japanese press that was awaiting his return to the Mets after a year with the Giants. Welcome back, Mr. Sparkle!
Also Showing Up in Style - A slimmed-down Mo Vaughn also made his spring training debut stepping out of a limousine. While Vaughn has been tight-lipped about how much weight he has lost and details about his diet, he has been forthcoming about how good he feels, indicating that his offseason conditioning program not only made him stronger, but "more explosive and more dynamic" as well. The first baseman reportedly weighed in between 260 and 265 pounds, which is an improvement over last year when he started out at 275 and reportedly gained weight throughout the season.
Adding to the Mets Family - Congratulations to pitcher Pat Strange and his wife, Raquel, on the birth of their first child last Wednesday. The 8 pound 13 ounce baby boy was named Brian Cole Strange, to honor the Mets prospect who was killed in a car accident in March 2001. "He was a good friend of mine, and I wanted to honor my friend," said Strange.
Man's Best Friend? - Grant Roberts has been losing sleep lately due to his new housemate. "I bought a puppy, and he's keeping me awake at night. He's a Jack Russell terrier. Actually, he's a Jack Russell terror," quipped the pitcher. The dog's name is Petey.
Calling the Shots - Assistant general manager Bruce Benedict is once again moonlighting as a NCAA referee this season. Last Saturday he officiated the Auburn-Ole Miss game.
RIP Steve Bechler - The baseball world mourns the sudden death of 23-year-old Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler last Monday. Bechler had been working out the day before when he collapsed after complaining about dizziness and lightheadedness -- 24 hours later he was dead, a victim of heatstroke. Preliminary autopsy results point to the over-the-counter herbal supplement Ephedrine as a contributing factor in Bechler's death. While Ephedrine controls appetites and provides energy, it also restricts a person's ability to control his body temperature through sweating -- after working out in 81 degree heat, Bechler's body temperature soared to 108 degrees!
Many are calling upon Major League Baseball to ban the supplement in the wake of Bechler's death, as the International Olympic Committee, NFL and NCAA have already done. Others are taking a more cautious approach. Al Leiter, who has used the supplement "on and off for the past five years," plans to do some research before making a decision about using it in the future. "I'd like to know more about it," he said. "It might be a question of proper dosage. Caffeine is a stimulant and you don't want to drink 12 cups of coffee before exercising. But no one's saying you shouldn't drink any coffee."
In the meantime, a young man is dead. Steve Bechler leaves behind a wife, Kiley, who is expecting the couple's first child in April. Hopefully he will not have died in vain, and that other athletes will act cautiously before putting potentially dangerous substances into their bodies.
Special Feature: Baseball as America
Special Feature: Talkin' Baseball with Terry Cashman
Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , and www.mets.com reports.
