Mets’ Floyd healthy, happy
Cliff Floyd is chatting on a cell phone as he cruises through the New York Mets’ clubhouse. He plops down at his locker, a massive man in a meager chair, and stares straight ahead at a stack of bats.
Moments later, he snaps the phone shut – no more time for distractions. For the first time in years, he can focus on baseball, just baseball, and that’s a relief.
“I think the most important thing for me is to stay mellow,” Floyd said. “It’s all coming around for me.”
With a healthy body and a level swing, the oft-injured outfielder finally sounds satisfied these days, though never complacent. The subject of trade rumors all winter, he’s been the best everyday player on a much-improved team, and his easy smile shows just how much he’s enjoying it.
Batting .284 with 21 homers and 53 RBIs, Floyd has carried the Mets at times this season with clutch hits and hustling defense.
He homered twice in a 2-0 victory over St. Louis. He hit two more in a rout of the Yankees. And he robbed Jason Michaels of a two-run shot in a 3-2 win against Philadelphia.
“He certainly has been putting on some kind of show this year,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.
Still, Floyd was deprived of an All-Star spot Sunday (costing him a $50,000 bonus) because the National League is loaded with power-hitting outfielders. Never one to hide his feelings, he didn’t protest, didn’t blame anyone, just handled the oversight with grace.
“Players with better stats than mine have been left off the All-Star team,” he said.
He wasn’t always so modest. In 2001, he had a huge first half for Florida and was outraged when then-Mets manager Bobby Valentine left him off the N.L. roster.
Floyd claimed Valentine had told him he would make the team, prompting the slugger to buy nearly $16,000 worth of plane tickets for family and friends.
Valentine eventually selected Floyd as an injury replacement, leading to a reconciliation. But maybe the feud made an impact, because this time the left fielder was all class.
That’s been the case all year in the Mets’ clubhouse, where the 32-year-old Floyd clowns around with buddy Mike Cameron and still draws plenty of respect from teammates young and old.
“I think he feels good about being responsible, being the guy in the middle of our lineup that we depend on,” manager Willie Randolph said.
Dodgers’ Drew breaks wrist
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew broke his left wrist Sunday night when he was hit by a pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Brad Halsey.
It wasn’t immediately known how long Drew would be sidelined, but one Dodger said Drew told a few teammates, “I’ll see you in about 6-8 weeks.”
All-Star bonuses earned
Forty-eight of the 62 All-Stars earned a total of $2.26 million in bonuses, up from 43 players earning $2.05 million in bonuses among last year’s original All-Star picks.
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who has baseball’s richest contract at $252 million over 10 years, earned a $100,000 bonus, as did New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, Los Angeles Angels outfielders Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero, and pitcher Bartolo Colon. Cubs’ first baseman Derrek Lee also earned $100,000.
Toronto pitcher Roy Halladay and Boston outfielder Manny Ramirez earned $75,000 apiece, while 22 players got $50,000 each, 14 earned $25,000 bonuses and four made an extra $15,000.
Bonds rehabbing knee
Barry Bonds is in Southern California rehabilitating his surgically repaired right knee and probably won’t rejoin the San Francisco Giants until after the All-Star break.
The Giants remain hopeful he will play sometime this summer – though there still is no timetable for the slugger’s return.
•Boston’s Curt Schilling allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings in a rehab start at Triple-A Pawtucket.