Robin’s Journal @ www.athletedirect.com

November 11, 1999

Whether it's the first one or the sixth, I've got to say winning a Gold Glove still feels really good. And this one seems a little more special since it comes after my first season on a new team, in a new league. Of course, it was a little easier for me out there having a guy like Rey Ordonez at shortstop. He's able to close ground better than anybody else and he makes it easier for me to play third base every day.

It would have been sweet if my teammates John Olerud and Edgardo Alfonzo could also have been recognized in the same way. But, it's a very close call with most of these awards. It's not as though the winners are leaps and bounds above anyone else, so you just accept it and enjoy it when it happens to you. And really, it's not a personal achievement like this that makes me look back on a season fondly. This was a great year, especially the last month of the season. It was a little crazy, but it was fun and exciting at the same time. I don't necessarily want to go through all that again, but it was fun.

Like just about everyone else, I've been following the news about trades. As far as the Mets go, Olerud is a free agent, and we know that Seattle has really been after him, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him. I'd really like for us to be able to keep our team intact, because I think we're capable of some great things. Of course, Griffey is the biggest story right now and you never know what's going to happen there. It could actually be difficult to trade him because he's such a great player. For the Mariners to get what they think he's worth, other teams are going to have to give up a lot, and many teams aren't willing to do that. I personally wouldn't like to see us give up five guys for one, because I like the way our team is set up. Certainly, Seattle could get a number of minor-league players in a trade, but I don't think they want to rebuild, they want players who are ready to go now. It's going to be tough for them to find a team that's willing to part with four or five of their regular players.

A Griffey or A-Rod trade is the most the highly-anticipated right now, but it's not the only thing going. We've already seen some pretty huge trades with Juan Gonzalez going to Detroit, and the Green-Mondesi trade earlier this week. Toronto is not done trading yet and they've got some big names with Delgado and Wells, so there could be some more excitement there too.

I've been keeping a pretty low profile since the season ended. I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee a couple days after we finished playing and it's healing well. It certainly feels better than it did the last month of the season, so I'm pretty optimistic. I haven't really gotten into any weightlifting yet, but I'll probably start some more aggressive training early next week.

Thanks for checking in.

Robin