Baker key to Giants, Mets

After watching the San Francisco Giants win the first game of the World Series, I couldn't help but think that they are a crappier version of the New York Mets. Yes, the Giants do have Barry Bonds, but outside of Bonds they do not have a single positional player (okay, maybe one) that is better than the player that plays the same position for the Mets. And, their pitching staffs are remarkably similar as well. So what is the difference between the two teams? The answer is Dusty Baker and the Mets had better hire him when he becomes a free agent after he wins the World Series.

Look at the Mets starting lineup: 1B Mo Vaughn, 2B Roberto Alomar, SS Rey Ordonez, 3B Edgardo Alfonzo, RF Jeromy Burnitz, CF/LF Roger Cedeno, LF/CF Timo Perez, C Mike Piazza. Now look at the Giants starting lineup: 1B JT Snow, 2B Jeff Kent, SS Rich Aurilla, 3B David Bell, RF Reggie Sanders, CF Kenny Lofton, LF Barry Bonds, C Benito Santiago.

If you examine both teams with the possible exception of Rich Aurilla at shortstop and the obvious Bonds exemption, not a single Giants player at a given position should have had a better season than the equivalent Mets player. Simply, at the beginning of the season, with the exceptions of Bonds and Aurilla, I would not have picked a single Giants player to have a better season than the equivalent Mets player.

This has to do both with the age of the Giants players and more importantly their talent level. The youngest player in the Giants starting lineup is the 30 year-old David Bell, who was ostensibly released by the Seattle Mariners last year. The average age of the Giants' starters is 34.125. The Mets' starters, in comparison are a relatively youthful 31.125.

Despite my preseason feelings, every Giant player played better than the equivalent Met player with the exception of Mike Piazza who will be going to the Hall of Fame one day. One could argue that Mo Vaughn had a better season than JT Snow, and he did _ offensively. However, Vaughn committed ridiculous 16 errors at first base, while Snow is a perennial gold glove candidate. Vaughn's bat, which was a far cry from what it was when he played for the Red Sox in the mid-90s and was not worth the embarrassment of having him play defense.

The Giants pitching staff is no better than the Mets' either. Take the team's top four starters at the end of the season: Al Leiter, Pedro Astacio, John Thompson and Steve Trachel for the Mets and Jason Schmidt, Kirk Rueter, Russ Ortiz and Livan Hernandez. In a worse case scenario for the Mets, the starting pitching between the two teams could be deemed a draw.

Likewise, closers Armando Benitez and Rob Nen are basically identical as well. During the regular season, Nen saved 43 games in 51 opportunities and Benitez saved 33 in 37 opportunities with ERAs of 2.20 and 2.27 respectively.

Making the situation even more difficult to fathom is simple economics. The Mets had an Opening Day payroll of 94,633,593, sixth highest in MLB. On the other hand, the Giants payroll of 78,299,835 was tenth in the league _ nearly 20 million lower than the Mets'.

Yet somehow the Giants won 95 games and are on the way to winning the World Series for the first time since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958, while the Mets lost 86 games and suffered their first losing season since 1996.

Thus, the question becomes, why are the Giants playing in the World Series when most of their starters will be collecting social security in a few years, while the Mets players are undoubtedly spending October the same way the spent the regular season _ smoking weed?

But, the Mets have the opportunity to become the 2002 Giants (or to at least win more games than they lose) with just one move _ stealing Dusty Baker from San Francisco. Yes, this tooth-pick twirling, wristband wearing, former Dodgers slugger is the National League's answer to Joe Torre and he is a free agent after the World Series.

In fact, Baker is probably a better manager than Torre. Hell, the Yankees have the highest payroll in the Major's every year ($125,928,583 in 2002) and paid almost $50 million more in salaries this year than did the Giants, yet the Yanks lost in the first round of the playoffs.

And despite a payroll that is consistently in the middle of the pack, Baker has managed to guide the Giants to the playoffs three times in the past ten years and has a won-loss record of 835 and 715. During this time, the Giants have signed exactly one big-name free agent _ Barry Bonds, after the 1992 season. Not to mention the fact that Baker has also won three Manager of the Year awards.

Remember, that Torre, considered by many to be the games best manager had a losing record as a manger before he joined the Yankees and became a "genius" in 1996. In 1995, the year before Torre took over, Buck Showalter guided the Yankees to the playoffs where they lost the ALDS to Seattle in five games. In other words, Torre took over a team that already had all the pieces to the championship puzzle in place.

And, it's not like Torre managed low budget teams before joining the Yankees in 1996. He previously managed the Mets, the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals _ teams which consistently have among the higher payrolls in MLB.

To make things simple for the New York Mets, in the past ten years there have been exactly two free agents who could have impacted the Mets the way Dusty Baker can. Their names are Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Bonds had no interest in playing in New York and the Mets were too cheap to sign A-Rod. But, Baker will come to the Mets for the right price, and with a proven record of getting the most out of limited talent Baker is just what the Mets need.

So, Fred Wilpon, if you are listening, take out that fat check book of yours and sign Baker. Give him whatever he wants: $10 million per season, a lifetime supply of toothpicks and wristbands, the Statue of Liberty. For the love of God, rename Shea Stadium Baker's Field if that's what it takes. But, whatever you do Mr. Wilpon, don't let this big fish get away.