Lee’s Bonus Looking Like Real Bargain

When the Arizona Diamondbacks talk about a high ceiling, they are not talking about the retractable roof at Bank One Ballpark, although that, too, has been a subject of much conversation recently--what with fans sitting in the upper levels complaining about heat stroke, depending on how soon before the game the roof was closed.

That high ceiling the Diamondbacks refer to is the potential Travis Lee exhibited as an amateur free agent and which he is delivering on as their rookie first baseman. Lee, only a second-year pro, led all major league rookies in homers (19), runs batted in (50), hits and total bases through Thursday.

Kerry Wood, the Chicago Cub phenom who is two different pitchers (he is 6-0 at Wrigley Field and 2-5 on the road), may be the National League’s rookie pitcher of the year, but Lee has a lock on the coveted Jackie Robinson Award as rookie of the year, barring injury and/or major slump.

“It’s not even fair how good a hitter he is,” Cincinnati Red second baseman Bret Boone said after last weekend’s series.

Boone describes Lee as a “freak of nature” in that regard, but the highest compliment paid the San Diego State product is that no one seems to be complaining about his then-record $10-million signing bonus now.

“That’s looking like it will be a bargain,” Red General Manager Jim Bowden said. “You tell me how many clubs wouldn’t want him right now at that price?”

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He has been up for less than two weeks, but the Diamondbacks are also raving about infielder Danny Klassen, whom the Milwaukee Brewers inexplicably left exposed through two rounds of the expansion draft.

Klassen is playing second base, but Jay Bell, signed to that ridiculous five-year, $34-million contract, already has begun taking grounders at second and probably will move from shortstop next year, making room at that position for Klassen.

“You watch his actions and the way he handles himself and you realize the kid’s got a chance to stay here for a long time,” Bell said. “He’s one of those guys you look at in 10 years and ask, ‘Are you going to manage next?’ ”

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Much has been made about the age vulnerability of a San Francisco Giant rotation that includes Danny Darwin, 42, Orel Hershiser, 39, and Mark Gardner, 36, but it was the youngest of the five, Shawn Estes, 25, who became the first to go on the disabled list Friday, necessitating a sixth starter for the first time in ’98. Estes has a shoulder condition that is not thought to be serious.

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How to measure a security blanket?

In the case of closer Trevor Hoffman, the San Diego Padres went into a weekend series against the Reds having won 138 consecutive games when leading after eight innings. The last time they blew a ninth-inning lead and lost was July 24, 1996. Hoffman had 28 saves in 28 chances this season, and 36 in a row dating to last August.

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Mike Piazza hasn’t delivered anticipated power and home run consistency with the New York Mets--his two home runs Saturday notwithstanding--but he has kept his mask to the grindstone, rejecting a safety-first course amid a continuing contract drive. The growing perception is, Piazza won’t re-sign with the Mets, but Manager Bobby Valentine likes Piazza’s attitude.

“Would a guy trying to protect his money put his face and body into the middle of three home-plate collisions?” Valentine asked. “If you are really cognizant of that, your major thought is ‘Don’t get injured.’ What I see is a guy grinding it out at bat and playing allout.”