27
2011
So, Who Else Is Sick Of Jason Bay?
An article by 
Jason Bay has been a Met for a year and two months. During this time, he has been a major disappointment since signing a four-year, $66 million deal with a fifth-year vesting option.
Granted, Bay missed a significant chunk of time last season due to a concussion, but even before that, he struggled offensively. This was a guy who had six straight 20+ HR seasons, including a 36 HR campaign for the Boston Red Sox before the Mets signed him.
While Bay had trouble adjusting to Citi Field, that should only apply to his power numbers. The stadium is not the easiest to hit the ball out of, but it’s no excuse for a normally good offensive player recording a .230 batting average.
Bay looks lost at the plate. He has averaged almost a strikeout per game and has only eight RBI on the season. Eight RBI from the team’s cleanup hitter is downright unacceptable.
What’s worse is that Bay just can’t seem to get runs in when his teammates are in scoring position. There’s no excuse for not driving in the run when a runner is on third base with nobody out. However, Bay has made this customary.
How much more patient can the Mets be with Bay?
The problem is that Bay will earn a ton of money the next three seasons, so the Mets can’t afford to just release him.
Trading Bay will be an impossible task. No teams will want to take on his contract, and his lack of production will quell any interest another team has.
It looks as though the Mets will just have to sit back and hope that Bay can find himself. He’s a good defensive outfielder, but the Mets are paying him to drive in runs.
Since the Mets look like they’ll be stuck with Bay the next few years, Terry Collins has to find a way to properly utilize him.
The first step will be moving him down in the order. Right now, this isn’t really an option since David Wright and Ike Davis are on the shelf, but when they return, Bay should be hitting sixth in the order at best—Reyes, Pagan, Beltran, Davis, Wright, Bay, Turner/Murphy, Thole/Paulino.
If Bay can’t turn his Mets career around, this signing may go down as one of the worst in Mets history.
Follow me on Twitter @JMMancari.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 25 | 18 | .581 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 21 | .523 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 23 | .477 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 17 | 24 | .415 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 12 | 32 | .273 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/19/2013
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Sometimes in life you just have to suck it up and this is suck it up time for the Mets with Bay. Simple as that!
I agree with this statement 1000%. Even though we all think Jason Bay stinks, we just have to suck it up, deal with it, and move on.
I just can’t believe with his track record in the Bigs for 10 plus yrs. that this is what we get for our money???? I just want to know what the Hell happen to him?? You don’t just fall off a cliff like that!!!
What’s worse is that he just can’t seem to get runs in when his teammates are in scoring position”
While he had trouble adjusting to Citi Field, that should only apply to his power numbers. ”
he looks lost at the plate”
He has averaged almost a strikeout per game ”
if i would’ve said this ALMOST EVERYONE would’ve thought the writer is taking about DAVID WRIGHT!!! the comparisions are exactly the same… is very hard when you have 2 “stars” in the team with similar “chokestrikitis”
How does a guy that consistently has 100rbi seasons year after year NOT drive in his team mates? Who is he driving in with those RBI’s?
Are you another member of the “I hate David Wright and will go to any lengths to make up crap about him” club?
I guarantee you, if the Mets could find a sucker to trade him to, he would immeadiatly revert back to 25HR, 280BA, etc…etc…
I think so also, but he is not going to do it for us. The righthanded Burnitz. I think we have to stack the team with lefthanded hitters in this park.
There is no doubt in my mind Bay on another team where he is not relied upon would jump to 20+ HR’s. Even in a large park like SD, I bet he would hit 20+. Just not a NY type player. And for as much as Beltran IMO is overrated and Perez and Castillo were bad, they have produced at some point in their Met career. Bay. Nada. Nothing. Zippo. He will be the worst signing of all time.
why was he a Boston type player but he’s not a NY type player?
“he will be the worst signing of all time.”
yes way worse than Oliver Perez.
Remind me again WHY we picked him over Holliday…
Holliday wanted and got a lot more.
The Mets had no business going after either of them.
I would offer Bay back to boston where he averaged 30 hr’s a season. Offer to pay half his yearly salary for whats left of his contract. Its not getting rid of all his salary but, half is better than none. HE will be happier, Boston will be happier and Mets fans will be so much happier. I just get the feeling one week back in Boston and he finds himself and we all move on
Boston wouldn’t touch Bay with a ten-foot pole. They let him go in the first place. Where would they play him, first of all.
you should know this by now X. all teams that the Mets want to trade players to HAVE to take them, and all players that the Mets want MUST play for the Mets. it’s in the baseball constitution.
where are they going to put Bay? Drew, Cameron, Ellsbury, Crawford and Kalish. No room, no need, no desire.
how bout this. Reyes, Beltran, and Bay, for Lester, Crawford, and Ellsbury.
bay at the plate reminds me of francouer last year when he went into his slump. flailing at anything. he seems like an intelligent guy. being caught btwn his old approach and his new appoach is a tired excuse at this point.
for the sake of the mets i hope he figures it out, but gotta wonder if his heart is in it.
we have the ollie perez of mlb left fielders and the ollie perez of owners.Good luck to mr einhorn.
Lets just wish Jason Bay ino the cornfield.
So you build a brand new stadium which is obviously a pitchers’ park and then you go out and spend big bucks on a home run hitter. The Mets’ personnel strategy is lacking common sense.
Nobody told them to make ridiculous dimensions in right-center and right field. If they had left field at least 10 feet in, a lot of people wouldn’t have a problem with “The Great Wall of Flushing”. Also, it doesn’t help the fact that the Mets picked up a notoriously streaky hitter. The guy hit .247 in one of the easiest/best parks to hit in if you’re a right handed batter in PNC Park! Pathetic.
Oh Please…Do we need to move the walls in everywhere in the MLB too? Cause whatever you think the walls are stopping him from getting in Citi they are not getting anywhere else either!
WOOSH! Why am I not surprised my comment went over someone’s head?
If you think Citi Field is not in his head, you’re delusional. He’s even spoken out about it. This is not even about the park in general. Bay is incapable of doing the one thing he was brought in to do (hit HRs). In case you don’t know, Citi is not Fenway or PNC.
Yeah but it’s not like Bay is scorching the cover off the ball away from Citi Field. I don’t buy that. sorry…
Typical awful mets fans. Ollie is gon and Luis is gone and the main object of your lives is to d ecide whioch met to hate the most. You all totally suck BIG TIME, especially the moron who wrote the stupid headline. I hope Bay enjoys all his money and you all keep on hatin and makin minimum wage.
Do you enjoy writing the same garbage under different aliases and STILL come out looking like a complete tool? You’re no fan, who are you fooling? At every single opportunity you get, you cry like a baby does when someone takes its pacifier. Typical drivel from a neanderthal who has no brain, no job and no life.
what lucky team has you for a fan?
No one cares what these guys make except for the fact that it takes away from more intelligent uses of the money.
When Benny Agbayani provides you with the best production of any LFer since we signed Cleon Jones in 1963 you would have to be a complete moron to not realize there is a big problem.
When we have gone through a succession of poor play or injuries over FOUR DECADES only a complete jackass wouldn’t question what the hell we have been doing.
Gilkey and McReynolds from trades for a few years, Otis, Singleton, Mitchell and Nelson Cruz traded away and about a million free agents who got hurt, sucked, had to be cut or all three. Some rejects from other teams like Sheffield. Free agents like Foster, Cedeno, Shinjo, Floyd, Alou, Coleman, Henderson, Orsalak. Even a few homegrowners, Ayala, Tyner, Duda, Agbayani, Fern, Blocker and a couple of throw ins, Reed, Segui, Ledee, Martin Ben Johnson even Hudley and Murphy. But not one guy that we signed or drafted since 1963 who made the All Star team. What a joke.
How long is this going to continue? What the hell is wrong with the Wilpon? Why do they continue to insist that we compete without at least a league average bat in LF and then spend millions of dollars and hand over draft choice after draft choice in order to get the worst possible production out of LF?
It has continually been this way with every position since the Wilpon arrived here. Just look around every December and see who we can get to clog up our roster, hamstring our payroll and suck in our lineup.
Can there really be any question why we have had eleven seasons out of the last twenty under .500?
This guy is a borefest ! It’s all Wilpon’s fault. He still thinks he’s directing a funeral !
I cant stand the guy anymore. When he comes up i usually get up and go get a drink or use the bathroom. What a bust.
Amen, CHris!
My sentiments exactly. Getting so I just cannot stand knowing he’s on deck.
I surely don’t hate Bay, except as a New York Met. Seems like a terrific person, so I’m sure we could have a grand ol’chat at Starbuck’s or a bar or some such, but we need the guy to make us winners, and he’s about as far from that as need be. Just painful!
I think this sums up exactly what Met fans have felt about the guy since last summer. Nice article.
#Mets lose the game and #RA_Dickey, ending a miserable trip to the so-called #Friendly_Confines. Read all about it: http://tiny.cc/54nqu
Funny how Fred Wilpon can criticize Beltran, Reyes, and Wright, and say nothing about Jason Bay. The Bay signing is the biggest bust since Mo Vaughn.
The biggest bust of all time is Perez. He couldn’t even be trusted to do anything at all. But the sheer number of busts we have had is staggering. Coleman, Vaughn, Alomar, Bonilla (twice) Bernitz, Saberhagen, Wagner, Alou, Schowenweiss, Weathers, Cedeno, Castillo, O’Brien, Appier, Mota, Bay.
It really amazes me that Met Fans still want to just go out and get whoever just happens to be available every year instead of building a team so we’re not painted into a corner all the time.
Billy Wagner doesn’t deserve to be put in your rogue’s list like the others. And Bay might yet make you retract your views. Let’s see.
The reason he mentiooned those players at all was because they were playing in the game that was going on during the conversation. And Fred made flippant remarks based on what they did in that game.
Bay wasn’t there he was hurt so his name didn’t come up!
Bay still could have a big comeback season. It’s early. He’s recovering from a bad side and a concussion. He will come around.
The only time this guy comes around is to deposit his million dollar paycheck.
Signed,
Jason Bay’s Banker
PS: He tells me he laughs all thw way to the bank!
Lou, my friend, let’s not play the class envy game. Your comment is funny if not overused.
Agreed. I wish I could remember the guy’s name but there was a pitcher for the Royals that due to a physical problem told the ballclub he could not earn the 12 million in his contract and voided the contract. That is a class act- I don’t see any other ballplayers giving money back due to their inability to play the game and Jason Bay along with others are in this category. The worst that happens is that they are pulled from the line-up. Big Deal! Is it any wonder the fan base is shrinking and attendance sucks. I remember going to Shea stadium over the memorial day weekend and we were packed in. How many empty seats will be in the stadiums this weekend?
Read some where that he has a no trade clause. If he does then Mets really deserve to keep him cause he is not good enough to be given a no trade clause.
Can’t compare him to David cause in spite of his problems at the plate David has over 20 rbi and 5 or 6 HR plus a good OBP and has stolen some bases.
Bay only gets hits when there is no one on base.
He is totally lost at the plate.
Agree that Wilpon did not comment on Bay while taking Reyes, David and Carlos to task.
Bay just doesn’t seem to be able to get it together.
-sigh
Bay through his 1st 30 games of 2011.
107/AB 25/H 16/BB 2/HR 4/2B 0/3B 8/RBI 14/R .234/BA
Bay through his 1st 30 games of 2010.
109/AB 26/H 14/BB 1/HR 6/2B 3/3B 12/RBI 16/R .239/BA
Bay through his 1st 30 games of 2009.
99/AB 32/H 28/BB 9/HR 6/2B 1/3B 32/RBI 27/R .323/BA
Will the Bay of 2009 ever show up?
Maybe the trick is to make Citi the new Wrigley Field and play Bay in as many day games as possible.
In 2011 Day games: .316/BA 12/H 38/AB
In 2011 Night games: .188/BA 13/H 69/AB
Cue the song, “I wear my sunglasses at night”
Trade him for worth. Both Washington and the Mets need to get rid of dead wood. Bay was a bad move from beginning. Look at Fenway and Look at Citi Field, no wonder he cant hit in NL. Over rated, over paid.