Thursday, February 28th 2002

11:35 PM

Spring training games have started. While the scores mean nothing, how the players preform do, and far more this year than others past.

This year's Met team has almost unlimited potential. If everything clicks (and I mean everything) a season such as the Mariners' 2001 campaign is not impossible. However, the downside is that everything is not going to click, and a lot of parts could do a lot less than click.

No one can deny our offense. From the heart of the order alone, we could easily have 90-100 homers. One through six we have arguably the best lineup in the majors, and while I disagree, some say one of the best lineups ever. And there's more. The seven and eight hitters, Jay Payton and Rey Ordoņez have both spent the off-season working hard on their swings, trying to get everything perfect.

By sheer coincedence, Payton, while at his home in Atlanta, ran into an old coach of his, Mike Lum, now a roving hitting coach in the White Sox organization. Payton worked with Lum on his swing, and Lum, instead of telling him anything new, reinforced all that Payton had already learned. So far this Spring, Payton has shown signs of an off-season devoted to getting his swing back to where it was in college, when he was the team's best hitter, over (believe it or not) Boston's Nomar Garciaparra. He has hit well in practices and intrasquad games, and has the Mets' only homer in a game, a 425 footer in an intrasquad game.

Ordoņez too spent the off-season working on his swing. While he has not changed anything mechanically, he spent most of his time in the weight room, surprising teammates and fans in Florida with his added muscle. In the Mets' first intra-squad game, Ordoņez picked up two hits, including a double, showing off new power. While he still won't be hitting homers, his number of gappers could increase, raising his slugging percentage.

The Mets have several big question marks this spring, and so far, each one has turned into a thumbs-up. While Jeff D'Amico hasn't pitched yet in a game, he is healthy, which is more than he can usually say. In 2000, when he was healthy most of the year, he was nothing short of amazing. We can't judge him yet, for we haven't seen him pitch, but we can be pretty sure that if he's healthy, he'll be a very pleasant surprise.

Pedro Astacio, who still has a torn labrum, opted not to have surgery this off-season, and instead have a balance of rest and light work, letting his arm heal, yet not lose the feel for pitching. Many were skeptical (and still are) of how well Astacio would pitch on a hurt arm. In his one outing, and intra-squad game, he pitched an inning, giving up hits to Edgardo Alfonzo and Roberto Alomar, yet pitched out a jam without giving up a run.

Probably the only questionable Met who's questions are not injury-related is Shawn Estes. Estes came over from San Francisco with the reputation of being a flaky lefty who loses it too often, a sight the Giants had seen too many times. Estes is going to have to prove himself to the fans and the media in the most scrutinizing city in the country that he's not what people say he is. He has been working this Spring with Al Leiter and John Franco, two veteran lefties. His main problem in the past has been occasional complete losses of control, something Leiter and Franco are looking to end. Leiter noticed something in the first few days of camp that may be part of the problem. He observed that Estes, before delivering, would often look down to check his footwork, and thus take his eye off his target. Estes has corrected this problem and since shown improvement with his control.

Probably the biggest question mark has been that of 270 pound Mo Vaughn. While he is in better shape injry-wise than other players, he is such a huge question because of how much he means to the team. Vaughn at his best is almost as good as Mike Piazza, and at his worst, is sitting on the bench, or rather the dugout floor because Met management is afraid he'll fall through the bench. Think of how much Mike Piazza adds to the Mets. Then multiply that by two. That's what you get with both Piazza and Vaughn in the lineup. So far, Vaughn has surprised many. Not only has he launch some pitches into orbit during batting practice, but he's shown exceptional agility around first base.

FINAL OUT: Japanese pitcher Satoru Komiyama gave up three runs and five hits in one inning in an intra-squad game. He attributed the poor outing to the American ball, which is larger and more slippery than the balls in Japan. Bobby Valentine backed him up, saying that it usually takes foreign pitchers around ten days to get used to the American ball... Edgardo Alfonzo hasn't shown anything surprising or special yet, though has reported no pain, which is always a good sign.