Miguel Cabrera

Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir

1. In todayas Post, I wrote this column about being at the domestic season opener last night between Carlos Beltranas Cardinals and Jose Reyesa Marlins, and sensing the stability of St. Louis and the sensationalism of Miami are so different right now from where the Mets are.

In the aftermath of the Cardinalsa 4-1 win, when my friend, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, asked Reyes if he missed the Mets, the shortstop said, aNo chance.a

He said it with a smile and good nature. But also honesty. He is in a place now where he is being paid lavishly — $106 million over the next six years a and the optimism and expectations abound after a few dreary years closing his Mets career.

So is there anything for Mets fans to look forward to in a season that begins today? Yes. There are always surprises and maybe the Mets will surprise. But more realistically what can occur this year is that more building blocks go into place as the Mets try to construct something long-term.

Here is what I feel good about as the season opens for the Mets: I do think Ike Davis is going to be a very good two-way player who challenges for Gold Gloves on defense and hits 30 homers. I think within the NL East it will be interesting to see who turns into the better long-term player among Davis, Atlantaas Freddie Freeman or Miamias Logan Morrison, who probably is best suited to play first rather than left.

In the Morrison ilk is Lucas Duda, who I think is miscast in right field, but not as a major league hitter. I think he has a chance to join Davis in giving the Mets two lefty-swinging 30-homer men. Understand what it would mean if Davis and Duda could actually do that. No team has had multiple lefty hitters reach 30 homers in a season since 2009, when the Phillies had three men do it: Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley.

In Daniel Murphy they have another strong lefty hitter who could be a .300/60 extra-base hitter if he could stay healthy and not be such a liability at second base.

I feel Ruben Tejada will make all the plays at short and get on base at a pretty good clip; and might even muscle up for 30 doubles. Jonathon Niese and Dillon Gee could be mid-rotation solutions. And by August, the Mets could be working some or all of Jeurys Familia, Matt Harvey and Jenrry Mejia onto their pitching staff (for those wondering, Zack Wheeler is beginning at Double-A and, thus, less likely to make it all the way to Flushing this year).

That is nine homegrown products who all, interestingly, were brought to the Mets during Omar Minayaas administration.

If all of this were to actually happen then even if the Mets meet the low expectations and finish last in the NL East, this would not be a lost season. It would be a season of growth toward what their suffering fans could hope is a better tomorrow.

2. I watched Miamias Giancarlo Stanton take batting practice twice in the last few days at Marlins Park and what stands out for me is not just how far he hits the ball, but how high.

For example, if you watch Alex Rodriguez take batting practice, he hits what you would more describe as missiles than moon shots. With Stanton, there is a majesty to these drives watching them arc seemingly as high as they go far. In this way, they remind me of watching Mark McGwire take batting practice during his historic homer run in 1998. Of course, that run is tainted now. But whatever I think of how McGwire amassed his power, I cannot erase from my mind being part of large, awed groups who would watch McGwireas BP sessions.

What stood out in last nightas actual game, however, was that Stanton hit two balls to center that off the bat looked as if they would be homers and died on or near the warning track. It reminded me of watching David Wright in the first year of Citi Field and seeing drives that, to him, felt like homers in his hands and to his muscle memory when struck, fall short. The Mets believe he altered his swing to try to compensate to generate the power to get the ball over the fence and ended up hurting his approach, leading to more strikeouts and less effectiveness.

Reyes, in fact, likened how Marlins Park was asimilar to Citi Field, big.a He also added, aThis is nicer. It is beautiful.a

However, when I asked him about Stantonas non-homers last night, Reyes said, aHe is going to hit his homers. There is nothing to worry about.a

That is likely true. Stanton is so big and strong that probably no stadium can contain him and we have not seen fully how weather conditions will impact Marlin Park and what the vagaries will be of when the retractable roof is opened or closed.

However, owners of teams have to be careful that they are not building their stadiums just to fit their fantasies of, say, Ebbets Field or a piece of modern art and actually a you know a enhance their teams and players. You do not want to build a stadium that you plan on being around for generations for specific players on a current team. But you do want to remember that it is being built for players to perform within, including the current ones. And not just for the ownersa egos.

3. In order to accommodate Reyes at shortstop, the Marlins had to move Hanley Ramirez to third. All indications were Ramirez did not initially like that plan, but slowly moved to acceptance and then to embracing the challenge.

But as the season opener displayed, there will be growing pains. Carlos Beltran hit a squibber in the short-third hole in the second inning. Ramirez took a few steps and then halted, looking toward Reyes as if this were the shortstopas ball. But Reyes also had pulled up. There was no chance Reyes was going to play the ball that deeply on a relatively slow-moving grounder and make a play against even this slower version of Beltran. Thus, it was incumbent on Ramirez that he make every effort to reach the ball.

Rafael Furcal led off the fifth inning by pushing a bunt toward third and beating Ramirezas throw. In that situation, with a leadoff man up who can run and bunt, Ramirez has to be cheating in a little more and, generally, be way more alert for the bunt.

And Ramirez is not alone in trying to adapt. Detroitas Miguel Cabrera, after a four-year hiatus, is moving back to third from first and the Angelsa Mark Trumbo is attempting the same cross-diamond transition. They are accommodating the only free-agent position players paid more in the offseason than Reyes a Prince Fielder with the Tigers and Albert Pujols with the Angels.

The Cabrera case is particularly tricky. One element that has made him so valuable is his ability to get on the field. He has played at least 157 games in each of the last eight seasons. But in spring training, he fractured a bone near his eye off of a bad hop. He has made it back for Opening Day. But what other physical landmines are out there for him, including just the sheer exhaustion of playing a more demanding position? Anything that detracts from his bat would negate some of the bonus of having Fielder. Also, Ramirez is a better athlete than Cabrera, so you wonder if Ramirez will frustrate himself and his pitching staff by what he cannot do at the position. In fact, you wonder if either man grows so frustrated and/or embarrassed that he no longer wants to accept playing the hot corner.

It does give a greater appreciation of A-Rod, who instantly embraced the shift to third base in 2004, knowing he could not be traded where he wanted, to the Yankees, without accepting that Derek Jeter was not coming off of shortstop. Rodriguez endures a lot of criticism. But his work ethic is generally admired by even his detractors. And Rodriguez worked hard to become a good third baseman and still works hard at the craft.

1. I wrote this column in todayas Post about how Andy Pettitte is symbolic of a Yankee roster in which many older players are trying to prove they still have plenty of quality ability left.

Whenever I write about Yankees age a which I do think is a significant issue for the team and, by the way, does the front office a there tends to be an angry reaction from a segment of fans. I think it is mainly about wanting to see players such as Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera as forever young, impenetrable even to age.

I am not paid to wear pinstriped-covered glasses. I am offering columns on what I think is important, dramatic, interesting, newsworthy, etc. But what should not be lost when I raise the age-old issue is that I am actually amazed at how well Yankees players have defied logic and sport-wide trends to, in general, offer sturdy work or better in their graying years. Just look at a few stories in the news the past few days and compare and contrast.

Chase Utley had to leave Phillies camp to see a specialist because his chronically problematic knees are keeping him from playing. Philadelphia already was without Ryan Howard, who tore his Achillies at the end of last yearas Division Series and also suffered a setback in camp. Utley is 33, Howard is 32. Jeter is 37, Alex Rodriguez is 36. What if we would have told you three years ago that Philadelphiaas high-priced, accomplished right side of the infield was going to fall apart before the Yankeesa high-priced, accomplished, but older left side of the infield? But that is what has happened.

Rodriguez has managed his many ailments, including to his knee, better than Utley. Look, one hope the Mets have had in recent times is that all the substantial long-term money that the Phillies have invested in older players such as Utley, Howard, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee would turn bad at one time and create an opening a at least against Philadelphia a for the Mets at a time when they hope to be rising. Interestingly, the Red Sox used to say the same about the Yankees, that they believed one day the Yankees would have a critical mass of veteran, expensive players crash. And then Boston officials just kept repeating this, but as an inside joke, because the Yankees players refused to succumb to age.

Also, we saw that Detroitas Miguel Cabrera took a smashed grounder that hit under his right eye causing a small fracture and needing eight stitches to close. Now word was that any third basemen would have been endangered by the speed of the ball hit by Hunter Pence. But there is the reality that Cabrera is trying to transition to third base, a position of reflex and danger. And one worry that Detroit has to have as it makes room at first for Prince Fielder is wearing Cabrera out or hurting him at third and diminishing one of his most important assets: Games played. He will miss a few weeks now.

That is why A-Rod was a marvel. He not only moved over and handled third base well beginning in 2004. But he remained an iron man. In his first three seasons at third, Rodriguez played 471 games, which was 12th most in the majors. Only now in his mid-30s has he begun to have his games played severely diminished.

Also we learned yesterday that Joakim Soria might be facing a second Tommy John surgery. He is just 27, just five years into his career. There have been times during those five years in which the Yankees have tried to acquire Soria with the idea he would be Riveraas set-up man now and his replacement when Rivera retires. Think about this, in his five seasons with Kansas City, which equate to his age-23-to-27 seasons, Soria has appeared in 298 games, covering 315 1-3 innings with a 2.40 ERA. In the same period, which coincides with his age-37-to-41 seasons, Rivera has appeared in more games (322), covering more innings (329 2-3) and with a lower ERA (2.02) a and this does not even count the playoffs.

Now Soria may miss a whole season while Rivera is still providing seasons that look like his prime and is considering retirement not because he canat perform, but because he wants to go out on his own terms.

2. It was revealed this morning that the Rangers have given Derek Holland a five-year contract worth $28.5 million that also contains two option years. Why do we bring this up?

Well, you now know one of the perpetual stories around the Yankees is their vow to get under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold for the 2014 season as a way to financially benefit via the inducements that are part of the new collective bargaining agreement.

If you read me (thank you), then you are aware I have pointed out in previous columns and posts that the Yankees will either have to get pro-active to stay under that level or get used to living without their familiar quantity of stars and depth. I covered much of the issue, including ways to work with contracts, in this column.

But I wanted to highlight Holland, just because he shares a lot in common with Phil Hughes and so, if the Yankees are really as enamored with Hughes as they say they are, it might be worthwhile to consider a long-term contract similar to this since what counts toward the luxury tax is the average annual value of a long-term contract, which for Holland is $5.7 million or at minimum what Hughes would receive for just next year if he has a good 2012.

Hughes is four months older than Holland, but is due to be a free agent after the 2014 season, whereas Holland was not until after the 2015 campaign. That means Hughes would probably cost more long term, but again this is just to show where the Yankees could be proactive. Hughes has a career 4.46 ERA, Holland is at 4.73. They have similarity (Hughesa numbers are listed first) in hits per nine innings (8.54/9.51), strikeouts per nine innings (7.51/7.38), walks per nine innings (3.18/3.15) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.36/2.34).

If not Hughes, then Holland potentially could provide the framework for what the Yankees can do with Ivan Nova. Nova is just three months younger than Holland and is due to be a free agent after the 2016 season.

3. There is no doubt that yesterday was a victory for Mets ownership. They reached a favorable settlement with the trustee trying to recover money from the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, and they also announced finalization of sales to 12 limited partners, which has allowed them to pay off many of their short-term debt obligations.

But, of course, what is good for Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz is not necessarily good for Mets fans. It is not like the Wilponas financial plight was completely solved yesterday. It is possible that the Mets are still looking at years and years of limited payrolls and avoidance of star player salaries.

Look the Wilpons might not have much credibility with their fans and it is possible they never will. But we should remember that when George Steinbrenner was suspended by then Commissioner Fay Vincent in 1990, a home crowd at Yankee Stadium stood and cheered the news. That was mostly forgotten in the hagiographies offered upon Steinbrenneras death. He was remembered instead as a great owner for fans because the team had gone on an extended binge of winning, championships and superstar collection.

So there is hope for the Wilpons still to, at the very least, spruce their reputations. But it has to start now with them explaining to the fans why this is good for the loyalists and not just good for ownership. This means providing a roadmap of what ownership believes is possible in terms of spending over the next few years. And this canat just be some more of the blather that has been p.r.-spun by Mets ownership in recent years. The ownership should make clear promises and say it should be held to those promises, and then every three months a Wilpon should hold some kind of press conference to discuss where ownership is in fulfilling those promises.

When it comes to trust in their word and their abilities, Mets ownership is as far down as you could be.

But if I would have told you in August 1990 that George Steinbrenner would die a hero to Yankee fans, you would not have believed that. So here goes Mets ownershipas last best chance to make a go at changing their reputations.

1. In todayas Post, I wrote this column about the declining certainty at third base in the New York. And there is a glaring mistake in it. So I apologize.

Somehow I was watching the ESPN third base rankings on TV and I did not see David Wright. How? I have no idea. He was actually ranked fourth. When I went to make sure of this fact on line, I went here on the ESPN site for third base rankings, on which Wright is 14th. I did not realize that this is not the same ranking system as ESPN was using on TV.

I actually exchanged e-mails with ESPN to get historic rankings and this still got through without being caught. But this is my mistake alone and for that I apologize. The standard we shoot for is perfection in facts, nothing less. So, again, sorry.

That being said, in general, I think the tone of the piece remains the same: Doubt about the New York third basemen.

Alex Rodriguez was acquired by the Yankees before the 2004 season and switched from shortstop to the hot corner. Wright made his debut on July 21, 2004.

Over the next four seasons, 2005-08, no third basemen in the game combined excellence and durability as well as A-Rod and Wright.

Then in 2009, A-Rod needed hip surgery and made his steroid confession. Wright moved into spacious Citi Field and took a 94 mph Matt Cain fastball off the head. And, well, nothing has really been the same since. Both still stray to very good. But sustained brilliance has been mostly missing, as has Iron Man durability.

Both are, of course, vowing returns to vintage performance. And it is not hard to fathom why that is vital for their teams. Not only do they remain the starting third basemen, but Wright hits third for the Mets and A-Rod fourth for the Yankees.

As just a barometer of how the players are viewed, ESPN projects Wright as the 29th player to draft and A-Rod 68th. So yesterday I asked my friend Jayson Stark of ESPN if he could give me an idea of how different that was from recent years and he asked some folks in the Fantasy wing at ESPN and, well, you can see the slide in, at the very least, perception:

2. Last year, Wright was ranked 11th and A-Rod 22nd. For 2010, A-Rod was ranked third and Wright 12th. In 2009, Rodriguez was expected to miss at least a month to begin the season, so he was ranked 31st, but Wright was third. In 2008, A-Rod was the top-ranked player and Wright was third. And in 2007, as far back as this research went, A-Rod was fifth and Wright was ninth.

I wonder what the pre-season perception will be of the duo going into next season.

Maybe it is just me, but I cannot remember a larger class of accomplished players who either are in forced retirement by being unable to reach agreement with a team or actually retired for what seemed, in many cases, like a pre-emptive strike against not being able to find a job.

Here is my All-They-Played-Last-Year-But-Not-So-Far-This-Year team (potential backups in parentheses:

C-Ivan Rodriguez (Jorge Posada, Jason Varitek)

1B-Derek Lee (Pat Burrell)

2b-Carlos Guillen (Craig Counsell)

ss-Orlando Cabrera (Edgar Renteria)

3b-Miguel Tejada (Melvin Mora)

LF-Hideki Matsui (Marcus Thames)

CF-Mike Cameron (Johnny Damon)

RF-Magglio Ordonez (J.D. Drew)

DH-Vlad Guerrero (Matt Stairs)

SP-Roy Oswalt (Tim Wakefield)

RP-Ryan Franklin (Arthur Rhodes)

I am sure I am missing somebody, let me know your thoughts.

3. There is a lot of attention, justifiably, on Johan Santana and everything he does from pitch to throw a bullpen to put ice or heat on his arm. I get it. He is the presumptive ace and the most expensive player in team history.

But you can actually make a case that for the long-term health of the club, the other lefty, Jonathon Niese, is more important. Niese is trying this spring to refine the pitch, a changeup, that has elevated Santana.

So far in his career, Niese has teased about being a near-top-of-the-rotation piece while his overall performance has been more No. 4-ish. In his two full seasons in the majors, he is 20-21 with a 4.30 ERA. Is he that, or something more?

Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson homered during an eight-run rally in the sixth inning Tuesday and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 10-8.

Baseball whispers: He’s struggling at the plate despite batting ahead of Prince Fielder. Also, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Portland are all possible locations if the Athletics leave Oakland.

Baseball whispers: He’s struggling at the plate despite batting ahead of Prince Fielder. Also, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Portland are all possible locations if the Athletics leave Oakland.

You have to say this about the Denver Nuggets: They love to play the “talk-radio trade fantasy talk” game.

You know what that is, right? Johnny from Jersey or Larry from Long Island, long-time-first-timers, call in and propose a trade and it usually goes like this: My Team gets Your Team’s best player, My Team gives up a bag of balls and a couple cases of chewing gum in return.

What the Nuggets are doing is a modified version of this, one they tried out on the Nets a few months ago and have lately beenA slapping on the Knicks: We have a Great Player; you want that Great Player; all we want is return is Everything.

Until you call back.

Then “Everything” becomes “Everything … and a few things extra.”

This is the way a league source described the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony dealings to Yahoo! Sports:

“This is like the Nets talks all over again: Denver keeps moving the goal posts. They donat know what they want there.”

They moved the goal posts on the Nets so often that Mikhail Prokhorov finally went all Teddy KGB on them and shut down trade talks until such a time as the Nuggets wanted to call back; earlier this week they did. With the Knicks, it’s been even worse. It was bad enough when the ransom for Anthony moved to Raymond Felton, Danilo Ganillari, Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and a first-rounder (with Chauncey Billups coming to New York); now, it looks like Denver wants to completely carve a hole in the Knicks’ roster, demanding Wilson Chandler, Gallinari, Landry Fields, Felton, Timofey Mozgov andA the first-round pick (obtained via Anthony Randolph).

It’s talk-radio craziness, only reportedly coming via the men who run the Nuggets. It’s madness.

“They want everything,” a league source told the Post’s Marc Berman, talking of of Denver. “The Knicks didn’t even have to sit down and talk about that offer. It’s not even logistically possible. They’d have two miserable stars with nothing around them.”

Precisely the point. Look, Denver can play this anyway it choose to, it can throw whatever it wants on the table in the hours and days before Feb. 24; the fact is they have a player who doesn’t want to play for them any longer, so they can continue to indulge the fantasy that they see retaining Anthony as viable long-range stategy or they can keep the two most interested suitors, the Knicks and the Nets, at the poker table.

At some point, all the players in the gam are going to have to declare, and if I’m Donnie Walsh my final bid ends at Curry’s contract, the presumed pick Randolph would yield, either Gallinari or Chandler and Felton (a painful addition, but since he was viewed only as a two-year rental only, they quite easily make do for now with Billups and his proud if declining leadership skillsets. If that’s not good enough to top the Nets’ peak offer, fine; if it’s not good enough to convince the Nuggets to pull the trigger, that’s life.

The Nuggets have already driven one area team batty with their unique negotiating practices, and have their eyes set on a second. It’s time for that foolishness to end. If the Knicks want Anthony, they should hae to pay a price, maybe even a steep one. Just not a stupid one.

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Who’s next, John Wayne Gacy?: As character witnesses go, you think the Wilpons would like someone other than Bernie Madoff to step forward and bear witness, you know?

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They keep going and going and …: I sound like a broken record on this, I know, but I am utterly fascinated by what the Devils are trying to do. Another win last night, now only 12 points out of the final playoff slot. It’s still an impossibly ridiculous chase they’re on … but I’m watching.

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Why is this man smiling?: YouA wonder why it’s hard to get behind a player like Miguel Cabrera … and then youA see this and you realize it isn’t soA hard to understand at all.A

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