Extra! extra! The Yankees and Mets pulled off HUGE offseason deals, but the final judgment on those moves will be splashed in bold, blaring type on the back pages of New York's tabloids

"Every player does his own thing off the field," Phillips says. "As long as it's legal and doesn't get in the way of his responsibility as a player, we tend not to have a right to have an opinion about it. I don't think it's ever gotten in the way with Mo."

As Phillips notes, Vaughn is terrific in the community, and his recent appearance at Ground Zero was well-received. But even if he becomes a monk off the field, he could get into trouble between the lines.

The Mets are satisfied Vaughn is healthy--his left arm is now stronger than his right, Phillips says, and his sprained left ankle also has healed, enabling him to stay back and drive balls the other way. But Vaughn, who will bat cleanup behind Mike Piazza, is almost certain to be rusty at the plate, and pitchers likely will try to bust him inside in the fastball-oriented N.L.

Lest anyone forget, Mo struck out 181 times with the Angels in 2000.

Then there is his defense.

Alomar's superior range at second will help. ("I'd be very curious to see how many steps Mo will take to his right," one scout cracks.) But Valentine likes his first basemen to hold runners on by playing off the bag and screening the runner from watching the pitcher's move. The first baseman then must scurry back to the bag to field pickoff throws.

That strategy takes agile feet, and even if Mo fulfills his goal of reducing his weight to 260 pounds from his listed 275, no one ever will confuse him with Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Will Mo grow frustrated adjusting to Valentine's positioning in spring workouts? Will Valentine long for the return of Todd Zeile? Will the N.L. adopt the DH in time to save our hero?

Projected NBP-to-PBP ratio: 5-to-2.

JEROMY BURNITZ Potential back-page headline:

BURNIE K-ARBO

BURNITZ, LIKE VAUGHN, strikes out a ton. The chances of his flopping, however, would be greater if he were the Mets' principal offseason addition. Burnitz, 32, puts tremendous pressure on himself, and he's returning to his original team with unfinished business. The Mets traded him after he clashed with former manager Dallas Green in 1994.

"Like a lot of players, he tends to be hard on himself when he doesn't have success," says Burnitz's previous G.M., the Brewers' Dean Taylor. "But last year, he made a lot of improvement in that area. His year was much more consistent than it was in 2000."

This is Burnitz's chance to get it right in New York, and he's in an ideal position to succeed. He'll receive less media attention than Alomar and Vaughn, and he will bat sixth behind Piazza, Vaughn and Edgardo Alfonzo. With the Brewers, Burnitz hit higher up in the middle of the order.

His numbers may suffer in the move from Miller Park to Shea Stadium. He projects to a .235 batting average and 23 homers over 515 at-bats, using data by STATS Inc.

Then again, the park effect may be diminished if Burnitz bats with as many runners on base as the Mets expect. He hit well at County Stadium before the Brewers moved to Miller Park last season, and he has finished with at least 30 homers and 98 RBIs the past four seasons. No one should be surprised if he extends the streak to five.