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Sunday, April 29, 2001

After going 2 for 4 with a two-run double and a home run off prize Yankees free agent pitcher Mike Mussina in Boston's 8-3 victory last Saturday in front of 55,483 Yankee Stadium fans mainlining another near-lethal hit of the storied Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, rookie third baseman Shea Hillenbrand actually uttered the following with a straight face:

"If you can produce here, you can pretty much play anywhere."

Not exactly like Sinatra sang it, but The Guy In The Stands gets his reasoning if not his rhyme.

New York, New York. Yankee Stadium. Baseball's Carnegie Hall.

Rookies like Hillenbrand, who has hit in 22 of 24 games (.319) despite never having played above Class AA before this season, are making it everywhere this spring. And not just making it, but making it with substance and style.

Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, fans brought 21-year-old Albert Pujols out of the dugout for a curtain call after his three-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead that turned into a 5-2 victory against the Expos.

It was typical of Pujols' first month in the big leagues. Going into today's game against the Mets, he is first in the National League in hits (33), tied for second in RBIs (26), is third in hitting (.379), and tied for third in home runs (8, tied for most by a rookie in April). Of greater import for Cardinals fans -- and, mind you, with just a single season in pro ball behind him -- he's stepped into the power and personality void created when a hobbled Mark McGwire was forced onto the disabled list April 18.

"St. Louis' finest is emerging," exclaimed teammate Bobby Bonilla this week.

The same praises are being sung in Seattle, where outfield import Ichiro Suzuki -- a simple Ichiro will do -- is living up to his billing as the "Japanese Jordan." Skeptics scoffed: Let's see how that .353 career average in Japan translates to real at-bats vs. real pitching in America? Well, going into last night's game in Chicago, the answer was, um, .345 -- 10th-best in the American League. Put that together with 17 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and just six strikeouts in 110 at-bats and he's at very least one of the reasons the Mariners are off to a major-league best 20-4 start. And nothing has been lost in the translation.

Indeed, Ichiro is big at home and in Seattle. So big that Japanese tabloids have placed a $2 million bounty on the table for anyone who can produce a nude picture of him.

"Each time I see him he gets better and better," says Oakland General Manager Billy Beane. (The Guy presumes he means with uniform on.) "[The Mariners have] been a little bit surprising, but I think Suzuki was always the wild card and he's turned out to be a pretty good player."

That could be said for any of the following, too, who make this class reminiscent of the one in 1975 that produced Boston's Fred Lynn -- the only player to win rookie of the year and MVP in the same season.

Best of the rest

Alfonso Soriano, Yankees: age 23, 2B, .277, 15 runs. ... The untouchable in the franchise's minor-league system finally has his chance with Chuck Knoblauch's move to left field.

Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Mets: 29, OF, .263, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs. ... More big orange wristbands and layers of mustard than countryman Ichiro. That makes him perfect for New York.

C.C. Sabathia, Indians: 20, P, 2-1, 4.57 ERA. ... At 6 feet, 7 inches, and with a mid-90s fastball, he earned the No. 5 spot in Cleveland's rotation with power. Now, to harness that power.

David Eckstein, Angels: 26, 2B/SS, .313, .389 OBP. ... An injury to Adam Kennedy gave him an unexpected chance to play coming out of camp, but it was his ability to get on base that gave Mike Scioscia the confidence to drop All-Star Darin Erstad to No. 2 in the order and insert Eckstein at leadoff.

Julie Zuleta, Cubs: 26, 1B, .250, 2 HRs, 11 RBIs. ... A big reason Cubs mainstay Mark Grace was allowed to walk away from Wrigley.

Chris Reitsma, Reds: 23, P, 2-1, 3.00 ERA. ... Perseverance? Twice he sustained broken elbows in the minors, twice he has come back. Better than ever, apparently.

Jack Wilson, Pirates: 23, SS. ... Like so many in this class, he bypassed AAA. Despite five errors, his range is a big reason the Pirates lead the majors with 60 double plays.

Luke Prokopec, Dodgers: 23, P, 2-0, 2.61 ERA. ... Three times he has been called on to make emergency starts, three times he has dazzled, allowing six runs and striking out 17 in 202/3 IP.

Ryan Kohlmeier, Orioles: 23, P, 1-0, 4 saves. ... Club has won 10 games, he's figured in half the decisions.

Paxton Crawford, Red Sox: 23, P, 2-0, 2.55 ERA. ... One of the reasons Boston has a team ERA of 2.39.

Jimmy Rollins, Phillies: 22, SS, .265, 4 SBs. ... Hit .390 (16 for 41) on a recent 10-game hitting streak. A more telling stat: He has only one error in 20 games.

Proof that it's not too early to begin thinking about postseason honors, someone brought up his rookie of the year chances to Rollins this week. Replied Rollins: "I watch ESPN and see what other youngsters are doing well. And I say 'Keep on doing it, so when I catch you, it looks even better.' "

This year, Jimmy, that could take some doing.

Oh, Rickey

What historians will long forget from Rickey Henderson's record-breaking 2,063rd career walk Wednesday night is the irony that followed. Ten years ago Tuesday, Henderson broke Lou Brock's career stolen base record of 938 and has gone on to set the bar so high (1,317) that no one might break it. So it was a strange twist of fate that one batter later, with the Padres down, 5-3, Henderson was thrown out by Mike Lieberthal trying to steal second.

In an even odder twist, the man who raised the base to the heavens and proclaimed "I am the greatest," after breaking Brock's mark in 1991, said something that brings into question whether this walk should count since The Guy In The Stands is convinced that wasn't really Rickey Henderson.

Said Rickey to the San Diego Union-Tribune: "I don't pay attention to the records. I really didn't know about them. When I first came to San Diego, somebody had to come and tell me about them."

Somebody call Bud Selig; Rickey's been kidnapped.

Stuck out

Add Boston shortstop Craig Grebeck's "injury" to the list of strange-but-trues. Grebeck had to leave last Saturday's game vs. the Yankees after rubbing his left eye ... with a hand that still had sticky-grip on it from his last time at bat.

A summer past

You're 8 years old and you can only wonder what it's like to sit in a major-league dugout, to wander through the clubhouse, to feel the steam from the showers and hear the banter of an inner sanctum that might as well as exist on Mars for all you'll ever see of it. It was this distance of imagination that producer Billy Crystal says he traveled in making "61*", the movie about his team (the Yankees), his heroes (Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris) and the summer of 61 in 1961, that premiered on HBO last night. If you missed it, HBO will rerun it 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Series of the week

Giants (12-11) at Pirates (9-12), Tuesday-Thursday. ... Barry Bonds (.239, 10 HRs, 21 RBIs), with nine homers in his past 13 games, gets his first crack at the Allegheny beyond PNC Park's right-field wall.

This 'n' that

A local kid figured, however indirectly, in Rickey Henderson's record-tying 2,062nd walk Tuesday night in San Diego. When Henderson came to the plate as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning against the Phillies, it was to bat for pitcher David Lee, a Langley product. ... Astros resident flake, Jose Lima (1-1, 8.61 ERA) swore off talking to the media this week. For how long? He says September, to which GM Gerry Hunsicker said: "He may not realize how many months there are in a year."

Shot and a jeer

Shot: Remember the Little League coach who kept hollering in at you from the third base coaching box that "A walk's just as good as a hit." Yeah, right. If that's so, then why didn't ESPN cut away to show Rickey Henderson take four pitches and trot to first with his record-setting walk?

Jeer: To critics of Kevin Young. He's hitting .310 with four homers and 10 RBIs, and of the Pirates' nine wins two have been the direct result of his bat.

Box score lines of the week:

His two homers gave him 13, tying the major-league record for April set by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997. But if you compare them, Gonzalez had the better month -- he hit his in 22 games; Griffey in 26.

Rare is the game when a pitcher hits twice as many batters (4) as he allows hits (2). He hit Luis Gonzalez twice, which, considering the month Gonzalez has had, might have been the best two pitches he made.

And Lennox Lewis thought he got hit hard last Saturday.

Steve Ziants can be reached at sziants@post-gazette.com.