The New York Mets avoided arbitration with utility man Joe McEwing when he signed a one-year, $750,000 contract Tuesday. His contract includes possible games played bonuses of up to $50,000.

One of the Mets' main objectives this off-season is to improve their offense, especially in their outfield where McEwing received the majority of his playing time last season, but this signing should not serve as a roadblock to that goal. Joe can handle multiple defensive positions with occasionally adequate production at the plate in his limited at bats, making him among the more useful utility players.

While the club is looking to add outfielders, there have also been abundant rumors about the players who currently populate their outfield. Matt Lawton, whose performance was subpar after being acquired in a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Twins, does not think he will be with the club when they break camp in the spring. He shares that opinion with a variety of baseball analysts. Benny Agbayani may not even get to stay in the U.S.; popular thought has him leaving for Japan.

The Mets' have the funds to actively participate in the free agent market and will most likely sign one of the bigger names available this year. However, Jason Giambi is not going to be among those the club heavily pursues. The team needs to leave 1B open for when Mike Piazza moves out from behind the plate, a transition the catcher has recently discussed as extremely likely in the next two years. Juan Gonzalez appears to be one of the top candidates to join the team in Queens, although there is still some concern about his health even with the new insurance policy. GM Steve Phillips is also actively pursuing options outside of the mainstream free agent market.

Last year's signing of Tsuyoshi Shinjo worked out fairly well for the team, and Manager Bobby Valentine's overseas' connections may once again have the opportunity to play a big part the Mets' new look. Japanese pitcher Satoru Komiyama may be added to the roster in the near future. He could possibly replace current Mets' pitcher Glendon Rusch, one of several players who are being actively shopped for a trade. It is quite likely that the team will do some of its remodeling in a deal for an outfielder; Milwaukee Brewer Jeromy Burnitz's name has been tossed around quite liberally.

If the club is to improve this year it will have to be through free agency or trade, because unlike their cross-town counterparts, the Mets' do not have a brimming farm system to supplement their endeavors.

After their abrupt trip to the series in 2000, the Mets had a disappointing year in 2001. Whatever form the changes to the team take, they will be looking for big improvements in 2002, and keeping their starters in good health would definitely be a positive step in that direction.

In the course of my research, I was checking the Mets' website and happened to read about a charity bowling event hosted by Met Robin Ventura. Now, I support charitable contributions as much as the next person. However, among the Mets pictured bowling was first baseman Todd Zeile.

Zeile underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow less than a month ago and won't be able to resume baseball activities until late December. During my past bowling experiences, I have noticed that the elbow plays a fairly important role in the sport. The ball is also usually a little bit heavier than your typical baseball.

Ventura, the event's host, was also pictured mid-bowl. Both infielders have been heavily shopped around with little interest from other teams due to their significant salaries and injury histories. As I recall, Ventura suffered some shoulder problems in the middle of his other injuries last season, and bowling doesn't strike me as overly therapeutic for his affliction either. Perhaps his off-season kickboxing training has completely rehabbed the damaged area, so that the problem isn't in danger of flaring up again.

The list goes on: John Franco and Edgardo Alfonzo, who both suffered back problems last year, were also there. While Alfonzo has altered his normal off-season routine with good results by remaining in New York with a personal trainer as opposed to returning to his home in Venezuela, one wonders if an activity that doesn't include quite so many potentially disabling opportunities might not be a wiser choice.

Lucky for New York, Manager Bobby Valentine had the sense to cancel and stay home when he injured his own back. I'm just not sure how the team would make it through next year if he aggravated his injury, leaving him unable to don the Groucho glasses that are necessary for him to continue managing after he's been ejected.

John Franco also hosts a yearly all-star bowl. Maybe its just me, but I think its about time that the team consider some other means of raising money. After all, won't the players have a lot more cash available for charity if their careers aren't prematurely ended? Following a brief consideration of the matter, I'm not sure what activities to suggest as safe. A bake sale leads to concerns about knives and more seriously could damage their masculinity. Car washes are very slippery and involve multi-ton machines. They could sell candy bars, but don't people normally wind up eating most of their own product? That could cost the team a lot of money in new pants.

I didn't intend to spend this entire article on the Mets. In fact, I am generally very much opposed to what I view as the excessive coverage of all things New York (a topic you will likely have the opportunity to hear more about at a later date). However, there was a good deal of material to discuss and the more I read about the bowling excursion (it was mentioned in at least three articles on the club's official homepage), the more absurd I found it to be.