I have to be honest, I didn’t think GM Omar Minaya had it in him to land Jason Bay. I was ready to chalk up the 2010 season to rebuilding and maybe finishing in fourth place, but Minaya’s pursuit and subsequent landing of Bay to play left field for the Mets and possibly bat cleanup has changed my outlook of this team. Not entirely, of course, but this is a solid move that injects a huge dose of offense and defense, as well as confidence to a sagging franchise, almost immediately.
The questions remain, though, about the starting staff behind ace Johan Santana, and also whether Santana and other injured players who missed significant time in 2009 will be back, and/or back to form. That list is led by Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, John Maine and David Wright. It also includes Carlos Delgado, who is a free agent but still may be re-signed by the Mets.
That said, you have to like this lineup with Bay in it, because he’s still young (31), he’s a very adequate defensive outfielder, and he’s something that we’ve been lacking on this team for a while—a tough out. Last season with Boston, Bay had a .676 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position, second in the majors only to NL MVP Albert Pujols. So this is a guy we had to have, and while many of us doubted Minaya, he really came through this time.
Of course, we’re still bitter about 2009, so we’re all hoping for a few more tweaks and some better luck in 2010. But we sure do welcome Jason Bay with open arms.
Why were so many ready to give up the 2010 season to mediocrity when the off season wasn’t even close to being done yet? I admit I too, wondered about the snail’s pace of activity, but, I was comfortable waiting until the beginning of the spring to see what type of team the Mets’ assembled before passing my own judgement on this team’s intentions. Let’s see what else Chicho/Omar ( I still believe he’s in disguise here )does to upgrade the Mets.
I have to say I like the starting line-up. The Mets should be able to hit with anyone. I have two areas of huge concern though, and you hit on one of them, the starting pitching. Johan Santana, and a bunch of back end guys just isn’t going to get the job done. Maine, Pelfrey, and Perez are number 4 guys at best. They scare no one.
The second area is catching. I don’t get a happy vibe thinking of Omir Santos and Henry Blanco catching 162 games. Chris Coste isn’t the answer either.
So yeah, Bay is a great addition, but Omar still had a lot of heavy lifting to do to make the Mets competitive in the NL East.
Gregga, fear not, I truly believe both of your issues have one answer, Bengie Molina(certainly not for his offensive prowess); but like the frontoffice & fld mngt, i believe he has the chops & credentials based upon track record with both LAA & SF to finally convert the 3 enigmas(Pelfrey,Perez, Maine) from potential to doers. He can be the solution to finally enticing 40-50 victories out of those 3 ‘?’. I’ve said from the get go that 2y/12M gets that dog walked. Is there any question the franchise was vastly disappointed in the entire receiving crew from coach to #2 having purged Sandy Jr.,Schneider,Castro? 1y of Bengie #1 & Blanco, #2 + 1y of Bengie #1A & Thole #1B should do wonders for all of your concerns. Also a Bengie signing allows a lineup bottom of say Francoeur,perhaps Hudson & Molina which may translate into 50-60 HR from 6-7-8 in the lineup. Who has that in the NL? Probability? Possibility, certainly!
Excuse me while I go back to drinking(hic)LMAO!
I had no idea Bay was second in the Majors in slugging with RISP. That tells me everything I need to know about all the idiots who opposed this signing.
the mets will sign both delgado (if healthy and can move defensivly) and molina and the lineup will look like this:
1) reyes ss
molina c
2) castillo 2b
3) wright 3b
4) beltran cf
5) bay lf
6) delgado 1b
7) frenchy rf
9) pitcher
that lineup can contend with any in the national league and most in the american so long as every one stays healthy and produces the way they shud.
lmao sorry bout the face by molina i typed 8 with the closing parenthesis and thats wat i got lol
You must really think Molina is super-cool! Heh!
I was getting a little antsy myself, but 9 times outta 10 patience pays off. I found it extremely hilarious how some fans were complaining all the time when transactions were heating up at the start of Dec. Oh well, most things nowadays are all about instant gratification.
The starting staff will be good enough to keep the team in games till the 6th inninng.Then the revamped bullpen can take over.This Mets team will hit homers.
The Mets aren’t done yet with the rotation. They’re going to sign one of the Piniero/Garland/Davis group and maybe even a gamble in the Ben Sheets/Wang/Pedro category (if the price comes down on one of those guys, which it probably will.
plus, there’s alway the possibility that at least one and maybe two of the Maine/Pelfrey/Perez crew has a decent bounce-back year.Iwouldn’t bet on it, but you can’t rule that out either.
Dude we need a better catcher eye agree with that….and another pitcher too….the rest of the team is okay….it would be nice to sign delgado…
A solid #2, Molina and Delgado and staying healthy and we can compete for postseason play. Let’s go Mets!! We believe in comebacks in 2010!!
But aren’t you suspicious when the first words out of Jeff Wilpon’s mouth at the press conference are “Omar had a plan….” The one thing everyone is criticizing Omar for and here is Jeff, once again mouthing what he thinks are the appropriate platitudes? It is just like the Wilpons. They never do quite the right thing for quite the right reason. Lip service. I am more convinced than ever that they are calling the shot. Not that that makes me feel any better. I think Bay made a good impression. He sounds smooth and smart. The park should not kill him for HRs—he did play in Pittsburgh, which is huge for righties. He just won’t change our won-lost record much. And that kind of moolah should have gone to a pitcher.
The one thing that killed the Mets more than anything last year was obviously injuries. I blame the World Baseball Classic. When healthy, this Mets club is the team to beat in the divison. Let’s not forget, Delgado was lights out before the injury. You gotta believe. Let’s go Mets.