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Contra Costa Times
Mueller might be better off with the Cubs, says Estes
By Joe Roderick
Shawn Estes said the Giants may have done third baseman Bill Mueller a favor
when they traded him to the Chicago Cubs for reliever Tim Worrell in
November.
Estes, who was Mueller's best friend when the two were teammates, said
Mueller's disappointment over being traded has subsided and that his friend
will benefit from a change of scenery.
"He's in a better situation, not necessarily to make more money, but to go
to a new club where he can build a new reputation, where there's no
preconceived notion of what kind of third baseman he should be," Estes said.
"He's going to be a guy who hits for average and gets on base a lot, not the
guy the Giants wanted to hit 20 homers and drive in 80 runs. He's not the
prototypical third baseman.
"He does not have to live up to those expectations. It was probably a relief
for him. I've seen him a few times and he feels more like a veteran over
there."
It didn't take long for Mueller to get reacquainted with his old team. In
the Cactus League opener against the Giants on Thursday, Mueller looked out
of place in Cubs blue, wearing No. 33, one digit higher than his old number.
He tripled and singled in three at-bats during his team's 6-5 win.
"It's different," Mueller said before the game. "The only time I can
remember wearing blue was in Legion (ball). I can only remember wearing
black and orange. It definitely will be different for a while."
Mueller will be the 89th third basemen the Cubs have used in the 27 seasons
since Ron Santo retired after 14 seasons as a Cub. The leader among those
89, Ron Cey, appeared in 518 games as a Cub.
"I'm very surprised they got Mueller, but I'm very happy about it," Santo,
the team's longtime broadcaster, said before the game. "This guy, to me, is
a gamer. He plays the game hard and makes contact. Against us he drove in
some big, big runs. He can field. He looks more like a shortstop/second
baseman the way he plays third base."
Mueller will see a lot of the Giants this weekend. The teams will meet three
times in four days. Sunday, Mueller could face his old buddy Estes. It was
Estes who said over the winter that he was going to "drill him in the neck"
the first time he faced Mueller. Estes, of course, was joking.
"It'll be funny more than anything," he said of his first meeting against
Mueller. "I might start laughing."