article from the U-T

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports...s19padres.html

New Padres CF has 20-15 vision

By Tom Krasovic
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER November 19, 2005

The Mike Cameron era has begun with eyes wide open.

Cameron, as the Padres expected, passed an eye exam yesterday, cementing Wednesday's trade that brought the speedy center fielder from the New York Mets for Xavier Nady.


Mike Cameron
Because of the multiple facial fractures Cameron suffered when he collided with Mets teammate Carlos Beltran on Aug. 11, the Padres subjected him to more medical testing than is normal to consummate a trade, General Manager Kevin Towers said.

The exam of nearly five hours included a CT-scan and an MRI, plus vision tests for Cameron, who suffered from blurry vision and headaches even after surgeons used titanium to help repair fractures to his right orbital socket and both cheekbones.

Towers said he has "absolutely no" concerns about Cameron's eyesight and expects him to patrol Petco Park with the aplomb that won him Gold Gloves in 2001 and 2003.

Cameron, who turns 33 in January, reported that his vision tested at 20-15 yesterday, an improvement over his preinjury results of 20-20. Wearing a white Padres jersey and blue cap as he sat next to Towers in a room at Petco, Cameron smiled as he spoke of returning to the same field where his career nearly ended.

"I get a chance to return to the scene of the crime to put all my fears away of what happened back in August," he said. "I'm excited about it, just the chance to go back on the baseball field and have that enjoyment of running on the field again."



The next time he plays, Cameron will be the center fielder. He was the right fielder on that sunny afternoon in August when he and Beltran, the center fielder, gave fearless chase to a looping fly ball by the Padres' David Ross.

When Mets GM Omar Minaya guaranteed $119 million to Beltran last winter, Cameron vacated his preferred position for the greater good, although Mets staffers later rated Cameron, a 6-foot-2 athlete with a long, powerful stride, superior to Beltran in center.

The Padres believe Cameron, over the 2006 season, will save 15-25 runs more than an average center fielder would. "That's what I do best," Cameron said. "That's a craft that I tried to perfect."

That Towers got Cameron for Nady alone surprised some baseball executives. Nady, 27, flashed exiting power, but the first baseman/outfielder sat on manager Bruce Bochy's bench for long stretches, including much of September when the Padres were still trying to win their division.

"I think Xavier Nady, given an opportunity to play every day, is going to put up very good numbers," said Towers, who had lobbied publicly for Bochy to give more playing time to Nady. "A lot of this just had to do with, I kind of wore Omar out over the years over Cameron."



Mets stirring the pot

Nady isn't the only former Padre on Minaya's radar. The agent for utility player Mark Sweeney said the Mets have offered Sweeney a "significant" increase on the $575,000 salary the Padres paid him last season. Sweeney, 36, gave robust returns that included a .395 on-base percentage. Bochy used him in 135 games, a career best for the left-handed first baseman/corner outfielder. Agent Barry Axelrod said Sweeney's first choice remains the Padres; Towers said he's on the verge of signing utility man Eric Young and is "working on" bringing back Sweeney.

The Mets are also among the four clubs bidding for Ramon Hernandez, the Padres' primary catcher in 2004-05. The Padres aren't among the four. "Ramon would like to be a Padre, but he's being pushed out the door," said his agent, Eric Goldschmidt. "They have made no attempt to sign the player."

Towers said Cameron's arrival isn't an indictment of Dave Roberts, the team's center fielder in 2005. He said Roberts – a subject of trade talks – could move to left field, filling the club's preference for two center fielders.

Roberts' agent, John Boggs, said Towers' glowing praise of Cameron's defense shouldn't slight Roberts, who ranked fourth in fielding percentage among NL center fielders and seventh of 10 in range factor. "Dave is saying, 'I may not be Willie Mays out there, but I'm not Willy Wonka, either,' " Boggs said.