Power has its price. (Baseball).(trading of players, contracts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

The trade of Jeromy Burnitz intensified an increasingly relevant debate: How damaging are strikeouts to a team's offensive performance?

Not that damaging, according to the Mets' Steve Phillips, the general manager who acquired Burnitz.

Very damaging, according to the Brewers' Dean Taylor, the G.M. who traded the slugger.

"I don't look at strikeouts in a vacuum," Phillips said before landing Burnitz in a three-team, 11-player deal. "I tend to look at on-base percentage and slugging percentage rather than strikeouts."

Responded Taylor: "I don't disagree with Steve if you're looking at one player in an isolated observation. But when you look at the totality of strikeouts on our club, that's why the Brewers offense was dysfunctional last season."

And why the 2002 Mets, with two strikeout-prone sluggers (Burnitz and Mo Vaughn) and a third hitter (Mike Piazza) coming off his highest strikeout total since '96, are entering dangerous territory.

Their offense should be balanced enough to succeed with Roger Cedeno and Roberto Alomar hitting at the top of the lineup and Edgardo Alfonzo possibly settling between Vaughn and Burnitz. But high-strikeout teams often struggle to manufacture runs. They also are susceptible to better pitching, particularly in the postseason.