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Hare-Raising Move Burns 'Nitz.
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BURNITZ SHOULDN'T FEEL LEFT BEHIND, METS SAY
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
6/15/94
The only message for Jeromy Burnitz in Shawn Hare's promotion to the New York Mets on Tuesday is that Hare is better suited at the moment to be a part-time major-leaguer.
Hare's a bench player, whereas Burnitz should be a regular. That's all, said Joe McIlvaine, the Mets' executive vice president for baseball operations. Burnitz is not in Mets manager Dallas Green's doghouse, McIlvaine said. He's not buried in the eyes of the Mets. Despite his poor start with the Mets this season, he still has a future in New York.
An hour before game time Tuesday, Burnitz wasn't so sure of any of that. His status hadn't been addressed by anybody in power. Not that he was owed an explanation, Burnitz said, but he was still puzzled by the lack of communication.
``I'm very, very curious what the plan is and what's going on, and the reason is there's no communication,'' Burnitz said. ``I was given a chance to be the starting rightfielder for the Mets at the beginning of the year . . . and if it's all of a sudden over and I'm not part of the future, let me know. If I am, let me know, one way or the other.''
Coincidentally, about a half-hour later, McIlvaine, in town the last few days to observe the Tides, called Burnitz in to deliver just the message that he had been wondering about.
``All we're trying to do with Burnitz is what we did with (Ryan) Thompson last year - bring him down, let him get squared away and hope he'll never see Norfolk again,'' McIlvaine said after his meeting with Burnitz. ``We're trying to leave him here to let him play some, and already it's starting to pay dividends. He's hitting for a higher batting average than he's ever hit before.''
McIlvaine said he assured Burnitz that, despite Green's harsh public critique of his performance, Green doesn't want him to rot with the Tides.
``Players, especially if they're smart, and he's smart, sometimes tend to read things deeper than they really are,'' McIlvaine said. ``Dallas, like any major league manager, is interested in performance, and he didn't do very well.
``That doesn't put him in the doghouse. There's nothing personal about it. If you go up there and play the way you're playing right now, the manager will love you.''
Burnitz, batting .321 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 29 games before Tuesday, said he loved the way he was playing, too.
``I'm very proud of what I've done here, and what I'm going to continue to do,'' said Burnitz, who was chastised by Green for fundamental mistakes with the Mets. ``I'm not going to say I'll never (make those mistakes), but I've consistently not done that throughout my whole career. I did it then, made some mistakes. I don't think I'll make them anymore.''
In his third stint with the Tides, Burnitz, 25, the Mets' first draft pick in 1990, said his potential is there, begging to be realized.
``I'm starting to know how good I am, finally, at this game,'' said Burnitz, who was drafted out of Oklahoma State. ``Whether it's here or anywhere, I'll be a good player. I'll be a player in the big leagues, and it's not going to be to spite or to show anybody anywhere, because that's the least of my concerns, what another person thinks about me. I would never do anything ever to show somebody. Do I have something to prove? Absolutely not. Only to myself.''
McIlvaine said there was no hurry to get Burnitz back to New York, and that the possible player's strike could factor into that decision anyway. Burnitz is one player, McIlvaine said, who would probably not be brought up before a definite strike date, so that he could continue to play in Triple-A through a strike.
NO DOUG: Outfielder Doug Dascenzo did not arrive at Harbor Park for Tuesday's game. He is expected to be available for today's 1:15 p.m. game against Rochester that ends the Tides' homestand.
AT THE OPEN: Burnitz's brother, Willie, is a golfer who last week qualified for the U.S. Open that starts Thursday at Oakmont, Pa. Willie has played sporadically on the Nike tour recently, but the Open is his first PGA event.
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