MIAMI – The dark eyebrows are pinched as if he’s in a constant state of perplexity. Perhaps this is his normal demeanor, but unless you were part of his clubhouse in Houston, you can’t be sure.
Certainly, the body language suggests Mike Hampton is questioning himself or at the very least wondering how things can be going so wrong. To say he is tormented by his 2-4 record and his gaudy 6.52 ERA might be stretching it a bit. He has been here before, starting 1-5 during one of his seasons with the Astros. But a slow start on this team, in this season, qualifies as a crisis.
While hitters get four at-bats a game to turn things around, a pitcher has five days to think, evaluate, and think some more. Hence the pinched eyebrows. Everyone on the Mets coaching staff has a theory why a sure thing has become a question mark. They range from bad bounces, bad breaks and bad pitches to the trade that brought him from Houston, the big contract that he could earn for himself and the pressures of playing in New York.
Reality and human nature suggests that all have played their part in leaving Hampton searching for his confidence as well as his control. “When you get to New York, it all plays into your thinking,” Mets pitching coach Dave Wallace said.
A league-leading 36 walks sound the loudest alarm, contributing to his 34 runs and 78 baserunners allowed in 38 2/3 innings. His manager, Bobby Valentine, thinks the solution can be as simple as warmer weather, noting that Hampton needs to have a good feel for the ball in order to increase movement. “He hasn’t pitched where he’s broken a sweat,” Valentine said.
The walks don’t alarm Valentine, either. “He won 20-something games last year and walked 100-something guys,” the manager said. “He’s always pitched with walks and he’s had success with walks. It’s not some sort of New York virus he has got. Let’s not make an improper diagnosis here. He’s just had problems pitching out of jams. It’ll turn around. He’ll start getting that ground ball double play or they’ll hit it right at somebody.”
Valentine must hope Hampton doesn’t implode first. He has already wrecked a water cooler and admits to being baffled by his performance. “He’s got a little bit of a head problem right now,” the Mets roving pitching instructor Al Jackson said. “You just hope he’s strong enough to come out of this.”
There is still plenty of time for Hampton to turn his season around and make it the success that everyone expected it to be. Time for the Mets to feel confident they did the right thing by trading two of their top players – Roger Cedeno and Octavio Dotel – to the Astros for Hampton. Time to agree on a new contract that will keep him in Queens beyond this season. That would be the happiest of endings.
But even in May, the bad outings can become costlier to both Hampton and the Mets. With his contract up at the end of the year, he was hoping a good year would lead to a hefty raise over the $5.75 million he will earn this year. It’s why negotiations were suspended in spring training. Another 20-win season would have allowed Hampton to name his price. Now with each loss, he loses leverage and appeal, which will only make it harder for him to remain in New York if his season comes undone.
The economics of baseball being such as they are, Hampton will want a raise regardless of his record this year. But how will the Mets justify offering a lucrative deal to someone coming off a potentially lukewarm season? Simply put, if Hampton continues to bomb, he puts the Mets in a no-win situation. Overpay him to keep him or risk losing him without getting anything in return.
That’s the worst-case scenario, of course. The story could have a happy ending. Wallace is using a mixture of support and suggestion to help the ace. “When you don’t know somebody real well, you have to pick and choose when you sense he’s going to be open,” Wallace said. “Like any good player, they have some concrete ideas on how things should and shouldn’t be done, so you can’t be too quick to invade that territory.”
Where Hampton is mentally concerns the Mets more than where he is mechanically. He knows why he was brought here, the price the Mets paid to get him and what he can do for himself financially by having a big year. “He has had the exact human emotion you have when you’re 2-4 and not 4-2,” Valentine said. “I hope he’s frustrated and determined to do better, which I also think he is.”