Mets Merized Online

So far this offseason, the Mets have failed to lure a free agent pitcher to Flushing.  What was supposedly their top priority (signing a starting pitcher), has turned into an endless series of questions regarding why the Mets can’t get any pitchers to sign with them.  In a span of 24 hours, the Mets and their fans have once again been subjected to watching two more free agent pitchers who were supposedly on the Mets’ radar sign with other teams.

Ben Sheets parlayed his year off from baseball into a one-year, $10 million contract with Oakland and Jon Garland will now peddle his wares in San Diego after signing a one-year deal with the Padres.

I was looking at some of the free agent pitchers (Sheets and Garland included) who were supposedly being considered by the Mets to be a part of their 2010 roster and noticed something interesting.  Tell me if you notice any similarities between these pitchers:

• Doug Davis: signs with Milwaukee for one year, $5.25 million.
• Jon Garland: signs with San Diego for one year, $4.7 million.
• Jason Marquis: signs with Washington for two years, $15 million.
• Ben Sheets: signs with Oakland for one year, $10 million.
• Randy Wolf: signs with Milwaukee for three years, $29.75 million.

All of them signed relatively short deals.  All of them signed for less than the average annual value of Oliver Perez’s contract.  However, what I noticed the most is that all of them signed with teams that finished with losing records in 2009.

Davis and Wolf signed with the Brewers, who at 80-82, finished in third place in the NL Central, 11 games behind the first place Cardinals.  Similarly, Garland chose to sign with the fourth-place Padres, who finished 20 games out of first and Sheets signed with the last-place Athletics, who finished 22 games behind the Angels in the AL West.  To make matters worse, Marquis signed with the Nationals, who finished with the worst record in baseball.

Most free agents prefer to sign contracts that promise them big money, long-term security or the chance to play for a contender.  None of the pitchers listed above signed for anything near the amount of money given to this year’s top free agent pitcher, John Lackey.  Not only that, the teams who signed them were able to do so without investing too many years in them.

Why did those pitchers prefer to sign short-term deals with losing teams for reasonable dollars?  Isn’t Citi Field known as a pitcher’s park?  Why wouldn’t they want to come here where they can pitch in a spacious ballpark and put up good numbers so they can earn a fatter contract the next time they become free agents?

I guess word has gotten around that the Mets are no longer one of those teams that players would jump at the opportunity to play for.  They’d rather play for other second-division teams than the one currently playing in Flushing.  It’s a sad indication that this team is not going in the right direction.  They’re not doing enough to put a team on the field that can compete with the Phillies, Marlins and Braves.  Heck, even the Nationals have been making noise in the free agent market.

When the Mets signed Jason Bay last month, we thought it would be the beginning of many press conferences announcing new additions to the team that would help put them back into contention.  So far, that signing just looks like a piece of bubble gum placed over a leak in the Hoover Dam.  It served to hold things up temporarily, but as these other free agents are finding new addresses that do not begin with the letters N and Y, the dam is going to break and the fans are going to let their displeasure flood Citi Field.  Of course, that’s assuming the fans will even go to Citi Field…

In 2005, Jose Offerman was a Met for about 15 minutes.  In 72 at-bats for New York, Offerman hit .250, with one HR and 10 RBI.  Since his cup of coffee with the Mets, the 41-year old Offerman has been fighting to get back into the major leagues.  Unfortunately, he taken the fighting part a little too literally.

After playing 15 years in the major leagues, beginning with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1990 and ending his career with the New York Mets in 2005, Jose Offerman is currently the manager of the Licey Tigers in the Dominican League.

Last night, during a Dominican League playoff game, Offerman came out of the dugout to argue a call with umpire Daniel Rayburn.  A typical heated discussion ensued.  Perhaps Rayburn used an ill-timed “yo mama’s so fat” joke.  Perhaps he had garlic in his pre-game meal.  Whatever the case, he must have said something offensive to Offerman because he got a right cross to the face from the former Met (see video below):

The shocking behavior is not the first time we’ve seen an episode of “Offerman Gone Wild” on the field.  As a member of the Long Island Ducks in 2007, Offerman charged the mound with his bat after he was hit by a pitch thrown by Bridgeport Bluefish pitcher Matt Beech.  The catcher of the Bluefish, John Nathans, was struck in the head by the bat and suffered a concussion, effectively ending his playing career. (see video below):

Offerman was arrested by the Bridgeport Police for going batty on the field and was charged with two counts of second degree assault.  In October 2007, he was given two years probation for his crime.  Since then, John Nathans has filed a $4.8 million civil suit against Offerman, claiming that he still suffers from post-concussion syndrome and that Offerman’s bat caused his playing career to end.  That suit has not yet been resolved.

For all the Mets fans who say the Mets lack fire on the field, be careful what you wish for.  You might end up with Jose Offerman on your team.

Keith Hernandez was the heart and soul of the 1980s Mets teams that went from languishing at the bottom of the National League East to winning two division titles and a World Series championship.  The former first baseman was a leader both on and off the field, and was given the captain’s “C” to honor his leadership on the team.  However, despite numerous pleas by Mets fans to retire his number 17, the Mets have not yet honored their former captain by doing so.

Let’s compare Keith’s career with the Mets to that of another first baseman who played on the West Coast for another expansion team from the 1960s.  Perhaps if the people from the Coalition To Decide New Reasons To Put Off Retiring Keith’s Number read the following, they might have to rethink things.

Keith Hernandez was a member of the Mets from 1983-1989.  Over his 6½ years with the team, he batted over .300 four times, scored over 80 runs four times and drove in over 80 runs four times (including two 90-RBI seasons).  He won six Gold Gloves while with the Mets, made the All-Star team three times, finished in the top ten in the MVP voting three times (including two top five finishes) and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1984.

During his first four full seasons with the Mets (1984-1987), an average season for Keith Hernandez looked like this: .305 batting average, .396 OBP, .836 OPS, 32 doubles, 14 HR, 89 RBI and 88 runs scored.  More importantly, he was an instrumental player in the Mets’ march to the 1986 World Series championship.

So which of his contemporaries am I comparing him to?  Let’s peruse over the numbers of a certain Steve Garvey, especially after he joined the San Diego Padres.

Steve Garvey joined the Padres as a free agent before the 1983 season (the same year Hernandez was traded to the Mets).  He played four full seasons as San Diego’s first baseman and part of a fifth in 1987, playing in only 27 games during his final season in the big leagues.  During his tenure in San Diego, Garvey did not win any Gold Gloves (Mr. Hernandez was winning all of those), made the All-Star team twice and never finished higher than 20th in the MVP voting.  He also did not win any Silver Slugger Awards.  Furthermore, he never batted over .300 in any of those four seasons, never scored more than 80 runs and drove in over 80 runs three times (but no 90-RBI seasons).

During those four full seasons in San Diego (1983-1986), these were the numbers for an average Steve Garvey season:  .278 batting average, .311 OBP, .725 OPS, 26 doubles, 15 HR, 77 RBI and 72 runs scored.  He helped lead the Padres to one National League pennant in 1984, but did not win the World Series that year.

Clearly, Hernandez’s numbers and awards with the Mets were superior to Garvey’s numbers and lack of awards with the Padres.  However, Garvey can claim one thing that Keith Hernandez can’t.

STEVE GARVEY’S NUMBER HAS BEEN RETIRED BY THE SAN DIEGO PADRES!

Apparently, the Padres cared enough to acknowledge the fact that Garvey was instrumental in bringing the team back from being also-rans prior to 1983 to pennant winners in 1984.  The Mets were cellar dwellers prior to 1983 as well.  Then Keith Hernandez came aboard and things started to change, eventually leading to the World Championship that Garvey wasn’t able to bring to San Diego.

How can the Mets not retire Keith Hernandez’s number when the Padres have bestowed that honor to Steve Garvey?  Instead, they continue to hand out the number to Fernando Tatis and various pitchers like Jose Lima, Graeme Lloyd and Dae-Sung Koo.  At least Gary Carter’s number hasn’t been worn by a Met since Matt Galante wore it as a coach in 2002.

It’s time for the Mets to retire the #17 in honor of their former captain and team leader, Keith Hernandez.  The left field wall at Citi Field is high enough for more retired numbers.  Let’s end this oversight once and for all by raising the #17 for all Mets fans to see.  Say it loud.  Say it proud.  Retire #17!

With all the recent talk about Mark McGwire, I’ve decided to think about first basemen and the Hall of Fame.  The last MLB first baseman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame was Eddie Murray in 2003.  Therefore, when the Class of 2010 was announced last week and only Andre Dawson was voted in, it marked the seventh consecutive season in which no MLB first baseman was inducted.  (I mention MLB because two Negro League first basemen, Mule Suttles and Ben Taylor, were inducted in 2006.)

Mark McGwire and Fred McGriff were the two highest vote getters among first basemen in last week’s Hall of Fame election, with McGwire receiving 128 votes (23.7%) and McGriff receiving 116 votes (21.5%).  Carlos Delgado is still active, having last played for the Mets in 2009.  Let’s first compare the career numbers of McGwire and McGriff before we talk about Delgado.

Mark McGwire finished his career with a .263 batting average, .394 OBP and .982 OPS.  He hit 583 HR from his late season call-up in 1986 until his retirement in 2001 (currently tying him with Alex Rodriguez for eighth on the all-time career home run list). He also scored 1,167 runs and drove in 1,414 runs.  He won the 1987 AL Rookie of The Year Award and the 1990 AL Gold Glove Award.  During his 15-year career, he was selected to participate in 12 All-Star Games.  He also helped his Oakland Athletics team to three consecutive American League pennants from 1988-1990, winning the World Series in 1989.

Despite all his power, he only won three Silver Slugger Awards (1992, 1996, 1998).  Furthermore, he never won an MVP Award and only finished in the top ten in the MVP voting on five occasions.  He also never hit more than 28 doubles in a season.  Also, he only scored 584 runs over his career when he DIDN’T drive himself in with a home run.  He finished his career with 1,596 strikeouts, which was only thirty fewer than his lifetime hit total of 1,626.

Fred McGriff retired in 2004 with a .284 lifetime batting average, .377 OBP and .886 OPS.  He hit 493 HR over his 18-year career.  McGriff finished with a lifetime total of 2,490 hits, 1,349 runs scored and 1,550 RBI.  He was selected to five All-Star teams and helped the Atlanta Braves win two National League pennants, including their only World Series title in Atlanta when they won it all in 1995.

Like Mark McGwire, McGriff’s prodigious power only won him three Silver Slugger Awards, but he did finish in the top ten in the MVP voting six times.  He never hit 40 HR in a season (his career high was 37 when he split his 1993 season between the San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves), scored over 100 runs in a season only once and never collected more than 107 RBI in a single season.  Consistency from season to season, not gaudy numbers, was the trademark of Fred McGriff.  This was similar to the approach taken by Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, who hit 504 HR over his career, but never hit more than 33 in any individual season.

So when we compare McGwire and McGriff, it appears that McGwire was far more of a one-dimensional player than McGriff was.  It was all or nothing for Big Mac, whereas McGriff could beat you with a home run as well as with a two-run single.  McGwire hit 90 more home runs than McGriff, yet the Crime Dog scored 182 more runs and had 136 more RBI than McGwire.  McGwire had slightly over 1,000 hits that weren’t home runs, while McGriff had almost 2,000 hits that weren’t homers.

Now let’s look at Carlos Delgado.  Remember that his cumulative numbers will continue to go up as he continues to play in the major leagues.

Going into the 2010 season, Delgado’s career batting average stands at .280.  He also has a .383 OBP and .929 OPS.  He has hit 473 HR since making his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993 and has racked up 2,038 hits.  Delgado has scored 1,241 runs and has driven in 1,512 runs.

Unfortunately, Delgado has only appeared in the postseason once, with the 2006 Mets (Toronto won the World Series in 1993, but Delgado was not on their postseason roster).  He has four top ten finishes in the MVP voting, but only has three Silver Slugger Awards (a recurring theme in this blog) and two All-Star Game appearances to show for it.

Another negative about Delgado is his lofty strikeout total.  He has struck out 1,745 times in his career (first full season was 1996), including a stretch of 13 consecutive seasons in which he fanned over 100 times; a streak that only came to an end last year when he spent over four months on the disabled list for the Mets.

So who gets into the Hall of Fame first between McGwire, McGriff and Delgado?  Do any of them make it?  I think Delgado has the best chance of the three.  Here are some more stats that might help his cause.

Harold Baines has the most RBI for any player eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been elected.  Over his career, Baines collected 1,626 RBI.  Delgado needs 114 RBI to tie Baines.  It might be difficult for Delgado to do it in one season because of the uncertainty due to his hip injury, but if he doesn’t spend another four months on the DL, he should easily surpass 1,626 RBI before he retires.  Even two half-seasons should give him enough time to surpass Baines.

Al Oliver has the most doubles for any Hall of Fame eligible player who has not yet entered its hallowed halls.  He hit 529 doubles over his career.  Delgado has 483 doubles entering the 2010 season.  With 46 doubles, he will tie Oliver on the all-time doubles list.  This can be achieved in approximately two seasons, especially considering that Delgado has hit at least 26 doubles in every full season he has played.

Every 500 HR hitter who is eligible for the Hall of Fame has been enshrined except for Mark McGwire, who has the steroid cloud raining down upon him.  Delgado is only 27 HR short of the coveted 500 HR plateau.

Only ten players in major league history have hit at least 500 doubles and 500 HR.  Those players are Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Ted Williams and Eddie Murray.  Of those ten, six are in the Hall of Fame, two are not yet eligible (Bonds and Palmeiro) and two are still playing (Griffey and Ramirez).  Carlos Delgado needs only 17 doubles and 27 HR to become the 11th member of this esteemed club.

Delgado has hit at least 30 HR in a season 11 times and has driven in 100 or more runs in a season nine times (plus three additional seasons where he drove in at least 90 runs).  These figures may still go up before he retires.

Mark McGwire was too one-dimensional and has too much controversy surrounding him.  Fred McGriff was consistently good, but never consistently great.  Carlos Delgado, however, has been putting up numbers that have been great for over a decade.  When you put Delgado’s stats against those of power hitters currently in the Hall of Fame, it should be clear that not only does Delgado get into the Hall of Fame before McGwire and McGriff, but he should go in on the first ballot.  With good health (certainly a question after the events of 2009), Delgado might put up numbers that put him among the best offensive first basemen of all-time.

With today’s press conference, Jason Bay has now been introduced to the New York media and to Citi Field.  So who is this man who’s supposed to be the big offensive addition to the New York Mets?

Jason Raymond Bay was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2000 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos.  He was traded by then-Expos GM Omar Minaya to the Mets in 2002, although he didn’t last a full season in the Mets’ minor league system.  Bay was then traded during the 2002 season to the San Diego Padres, the team for which he made his major league debut in 2003.

Unfortunately, his major league career in San Diego lasted all of eight at-bats, where he collected two hits in those eight at-bats (a double and a home run).  He was then traded to Pittsburgh during the 2003 season, where he picked up another 79 at-bats and continued to rack up extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, three home runs).

The Pirates gave Bay an everyday job in 2004 and he rewarded their faith in him by putting up spectacular numbers.  In only 120 games, Bay hit .282, with 26 HR and 82 RBI.  His tremendous first full season in the majors earned him the National League Rookie of The Year Award.

He followed up his ROY campaign with an even better season.  In 2005, Bay played in all 162 games, finishing with MVP-caliber numbers (.306 average, 44 doubles, six triples, 32 HR, 101 RBI, 110 runs scored, 21 SB).

Other than a fluke 2007 season in which Bay hit .247 with only 21 HR and 84 RBI, he has hit at least 30 HR and scored and driven in at least 100 runs in every season since 2005. He has also reached double digits in stolen bases in every season since 2005 except for the aforementioned 2007 season.

Although his strikeout total may be high (at least 129 strikeouts in each of his six full seasons in the majors), he makes up for it by drawing many walks. Other than the 2007 season, Bay has averaged 93 walks per season since 2005, including 94 bases on balls last season with the Red Sox.

Jason Bay gives the Mets their best leftfielder since the days of Kevin McReynolds. He plays every day and puts up solid numbers year after year. For the stat-freaks, here are some juicy numbers for you.

• Over his career, Jason Bay is a .343 hitter with a runner on third and less than two outs (62-for-181).

• With a runner on third and exactly two outs, Bay is a .283 career hitter (45-for-159). In 2009, the Mets as a team hit .186 (55-for-296) in such situations.

• Bay is extremely clutch when there are multiple men on base. With at least two men on base (first and second, first and third, second and third, bases loaded), Bay is a career .316 hitter (161-for-509).

• Bay will probably hit fifth in the Mets lineup (assuming the Mets’ top four hitters are Reyes, Castillo, Beltran and Wright). In the five-hole, Bay has accumulated 596 at-bats in his career, or the equivalent of a full season. In those 596 at-bats, Bay has hit .307, with 32 HR and 120 RBI, numbers very similar to Robin Ventura’s stats in 1999 when he helped lead the Mets to the playoffs (588 at-bats, .301, 32 HR, 120 RBI).

Jason Bay will be the Mets leftfielder for at least four years.  For all the naysayers who wish to question his defense, please note that Bay did not make a single error in 2009 and collected 15 outfield assists.  His experience playing in front of the Green Monster at Fenway Park should help him play the high left field wall at Citi Field.

Bay is a player who takes the field every day, hits in the clutch and plays better defense than you think.  The Mets felt that they had 66 million reasons to bring him to Citi Field.  The fans hope that will be enough to spark some life into the Mets offense.  Welcome to New York, Jason Bay!

Randy Johnson, the dominant lefthander who scared hitters and low-flying doves alike, announced his retirement from baseball after 22 seasons.  Johnson finished his career with the San Francisco Giants, the team with which he achieved his 300th career victory on June 4, 2009.  Ironically, his 300th win came against the Washington Nationals, who used to play in Montreal, which was the team Johnson made his major league debut for in 1988.

Johnson’s blazing fastball and deceptive slider (nicknamed “Mr. Snappy” in a few 1990s commercials) frustrated hitters for over two decades.  In addition to his lofty win totals, Johnson finished his career with 4,875 strikeouts, second all-time behind former Met Nolan Ryan.  He struck out 200 or more batters in a season 12 times, including six 300-strikeout seasons, peaking in 2001 when he struck out 372 batters as a member of the World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

Johnson won five Cy Young Awards and finished second in the Cy Young voting three other times.  He also was voted co-MVP of the 2001 World Series with fellow D’Backs pitcher Curt Schilling after he was credited with three victories in their World Series victory over the Yankees.  Johnson was fortunate enough to pitch two no-hitters over his career, the second of which was a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves in 2004.

For all his success in the majors (303 wins, 166 losses, 3.29 ERA), he had difficulty against the Mets over his career.  Johnson had a 6-7 record against New York with a 4.26 ERA.  Johnson was also hit hard in his one postseason appearance against the Mets in Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS.  In that classic game, Johnson had already given up four runs through the first eight innings but was asked to start the ninth inning of a tie game.  He allowed the Mets to load up the bases before he was relieved by Bobby Chouinard.  With two outs, Edgardo Alfonzo (who had homered earlier in the game against Johnson) hit a tie-breaking grand slam off Chouinard to give the Mets an 8-4 lead.  Seven of the eight runs were charged to Johnson.  The seven runs represented the most runs Johnson gave up in any of his 16 career postseason starts.

Other Mets hitters who inexplicably fared well against Johnson were Joe McEwing (five doubles and a home run off Johnson) and Dae-Sung Koo (the reliever nicknamed “Mr. Koo”), who hit a long double off the Big Unit after looking foolish in his first major league at-bat earlier in the 2005 season.

Randy Johnson pitched for the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks (in two separate stints), New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.  In 22 major league seasons, he made knees buckle and All-Stars fear for their lives (just ask John Kruk and Larry Walker).  Until Randy Johnson came along, the majors had not seen a dominant lefthander that made opposing batters squirm at the plate since the days of Sandy Koufax.  It may some time before we see a pitcher like the Big Unit again.

Please join me in congratulating Randy Johnson on his retirement.  I’m sure we’ll see him again in Cooperstown in five years!

Andre Dawson finally received the call he’s been waiting nine years for.  However, he won’t be celebrating by going to Disneyworld.  Instead, he’ll be going to Cooperstown as the newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In one of the closest votes in Hall of Fame history, Dawson was named on 77.9% of the 539 ballots cast by the members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.  His 420 votes were fifteen more than the 405 needed to gain election into the Hall.  Dawson was the only player voted in by the BBWAA, as Bert Blyleven and former Met Roberto Alomar fell just short of baseball immortality.

Blyleven’s name was on 74.2% of the ballots (400 votes; five short of election) and Alomar was named on 73.7% of the ballots (397 votes; eight short of election).  No player receiving at least 70% of the vote has ever failed to eventually be elected into the Hall of Fame.

Dawson played 17 of his 21 seasons in the major leagues for the Montreal Expos and the Chicago Cubs, winning the 1977 NL Rookie of The Year Award for the Expos and the 1987 NL MVP Award for the Cubs.  He was a five-tool player who combined power, speed and a cannon for an arm.  Opposing pitchers feared him as did opposing baserunners, at least those who were smart enough not to try to take an extra base on him.  For his defensive excellence, Dawson earned eight Gold Glove Awards.  Offensively, very few hitters could compare to Dawson’s power-speed combination.  Only three players in baseball history have hit 400 HR while racking up 300 SB.  Those players are Barry Bonds (762 HR, 514 SB), Willie Mays (660 HR, 338 SB) and Andre Dawson (438 HR, 314 SB).

Perhaps the most well-known story about the Hawk, as Dawson was called, was how he gave Cubs GM (and former Mets manager) Dallas Green a blank contract so that he could play for the Cubs on natural grass after the artificial turf in Montreal had played havoc with his knees.  In 1987, while playing for only $500,000, Dawson had the best season of his career, leading the league with 49 HR and 137 RBI for the Cubs.  He won the MVP Award despite the fact that the Cubs finished in last place.

Numerous former Mets were also on the Hall of Fame ballot, led by the near-miss of Roberto Alomar.  Robbie was quite possibly the best second baseman of his generation.  He won ten Gold Gloves for his defensive excellence and was a 12-time All-Star.  Alomar retired at the relatively young age of 36, preventing him from reaching the coveted 3,000 hit plateau.  (He finished with 2,724.)  Other offensive highlights include a career .300 batting average, 1,508 runs scored, 210 HR and 474 SB.  He also helped his teams make the postseason seven times, winning two World Series rings with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993.

Unfortunately for the Mets and their fans, Alomar’s last good season was as a member of the Cleveland Indians in 2001, the year BEFORE he became a Met.  In his 1½ seasons in New York, Robbie only hit .265 with 13 HR and 22 SB, far below the offensive output expected of him.  His Gold Glove streak also ended once he came to the Mets, as did his streak of appearing in a dozen consecutive All-Star Games.

Four other former Mets were on the ballot, including Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.  The others were the mostly-forgotten Kevin Appier and David Segui.  None of the four players received the minimum 5% of the votes required to remain on the Hall of Fame ballot for future consideration.  Ventura and Zeile, both members of the 2000 National League Champion Mets received seven votes and no votes, respectively.  Appier and Segui somehow each managed to get one voter to feel sorry for them.

Next year, two former Mets will make their first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot, as John Franco and John Olerud will be eligible for enshrinement.  Other first-timers with the best chances for election include Jeff Bagwell, Rafael Palmeiro, Larry Walker and Juan Gonzalez.  It will be interesting to see how Palmeiro does with the voters, considering that he tested positive after adamantly saying before Congress that he had never taken steroids…period.  However, he is one of the few players in baseball history with 3,000 hits and 500 HR.

So how do the readers feel about this year’s Hall of Fame vote?  Were you surprised that Alomar didn’t get elected on his first try?  Did you think Edgar Martinez (.312 career average, two batting titles, over 500 doubles, over 300 HR) was slighted because he was primarily used as a DH?  What about Barry Larkin?  Should he have gotten more attention from the voters?  Would you like to give the writer who voted for David Segui a drug test?  Who do you think will be elected in 2011?  The floor is all yours.  Talk amongst yourselves!

When Jason Bay runs out to play left field for the Mets on Opening Day in April, he will be doing so with a #44 on his back.  It is the same number he wore during his season and a half in Boston.  Here’s a brief history for you on his uniform number choices.

Before being traded to the Red Sox in 2008, Bay wore #38 during his tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He changed from #38 to #44 after being shipped off to Boston because Curt Schilling was already wearing #38 (even though he never pitched for the Red Sox in 2008).  His reasoning for choosing #44?  Because it was the number of his boyhood idol, Eric Davis.

Generally, #44 is associated with power hitters.  Although Eric Davis was hurt most of the time, he still managed to hit 282 HR over the course of his career,  It was a fair amount of homers, but not as many as three of the best power hitters of all-time, all proud wearers of a #44 jersey.

Willie McCovey hit 521 HR over a 22-year career, mostly with the San Francisco Giants.  He won the NL Rookie of The Year Award in 1959 and when the Mets won the World Series in 1969, it was McCovey who won the NL MVP Award.  The cove behind the right field fence at AT&T Park in San Francisco is named after McCovey to honor the all-time great Giant.

Reggie Jackson hit 563 HR over 21 seasons in the major leagues playing mostly for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and California Angels.  Although he wore #9 in Oakland, which has since been retired by the A’s, he changed his number to #44 (in honor of Hank Aaron; more on him later) when he became a Yankee because Graig Nettles was already wearing #9.  Mr. October played for five World Series-winning teams (three with Oakland, two with New York) and won the AL MVP Award in 1973, the year the Mets lost the World Series to his Oakland team.

Lest we forget, the man who held the all-time home run record for over three decades, Hank Aaron, also wore #44.  He finished his 23-year career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers with 755 HR.  He was an All-Star every year from 1955-1975 and won the NL MVP Award in 1957 when he helped the Milwaukee Braves win the World Series.

Jason Bay has hit 185 HR over his six full seasons in the major leagues, an average of slightly over 30 HR per year.  He is already 31 years old, so he has practically no chance of reaching the three Hall-of-Famers mentioned above.  However, he is still very much a significant power threat, as evidenced by his career-high 36 HR this past season as a member of the Boston Red Sox, which tied him with the Blue Jays’ Aaron Hill for third place in the American League home run race.

The #44 has been associated with power hitters for many generations.  When Jason Bay dons the number for the Mets, he will be following the footsteps of legends like Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson and Hank Aaron.  Those are big names to live up to, but Bay has proven that he can compete with the current big boppers in the major leagues.  At the very least, he should do far better than previous Mets players who wore #44.  After all, he’s no Ryan Thompson.

With the acquisition of free agent Jason Bay, the Mets have filled the hole they had in left field.  For the next four years, they do not have to employ platoons or put in players more suited for the fourth outfielder’s job (Endy Chavez a few years ago and Angel Pagan this past year).  They won’t have to put players there out of position (I’m talking to you, Daniel Murphy) and they won’t have to hand the job over to guys like the great Tsuyoshi Shinjo.

Cliff Floyd was supposed to be the answer for the Mets in left field when he was signed by the team prior to the 2003 season.  Unfortunately, he was only healthy for one out of his four years in Flushing.  So who was the last leftfielder for the Mets who was supposed to be the answer in left field and actually was able to produce four good seasons like the Mets are expecting from Jason Bay?  You have to jump into the wayback machine and travel back two decades to find him.  His first name was Walter, but we all knew him as Kevin McReynolds.

After winning the World Series in 1986, the Mets were looking for a full-time leftfielder.  George Foster had started the 1986 season in left field, but he was released in August.  After Foster’s release, the Mets used Mookie Wilson and the reacquired Lee Mazzilli to play left field.  During the offseason, the Mets made a trade with the San Diego Padres to acquire Kevin McReynolds, sending three players, including future National League MVP Kevin Mitchell to the west coast.

During his first four years with the Mets, McReynolds was as good as advertised.  These were his numbers from 1987-1990, which corresponds to when K Mac was ages 27 to 30:

• 1987:  .276 average, 29 HR, 95 RBI, 14 SB
• 1988:  .288 average, 27 HR, 99 RBI, 21 SB
• 1989:  .272 average, 22 HR, 85 RBI, 15 SB
• 1990:  .269 average, 24 HR, 82 RBI, 9 SB

• Four year average:  .276 average, 26 HR, 90 RBI, 15 SB

Over the past four seasons, Jason Bay was also in the age 27 to 30 range.  His numbers were very similar to Kevin McReynolds’ numbers, slightly better in some and slighty worse in others:

• 2006:  .286 average, 35 HR, 109 RBI, 11 SB
• 2007:  .247 average, 21 HR, 84 RBI, 4 SB
• 2008:  .286 average, 31 HR, 101 RBI, 10 SB
• 2009:  .267 average, 36 HR, 119 RBI, 13 SB

• Four year average:  .272 average, 31 HR, 103 RBI, 10 SB

Although Jason Bay is being paid an average of $16.5 million per season over the length of his four-year contract with the Mets, fans and the front office might expect the type of season Bay produced last year with Boston and would be disappointed if he didn’t repeat those numbers.

However, if the Mets can get the consistent seasons from Bay that Kevin McReynolds gave them 20 years ago, I think I’d be more than happy with that.  The Mets haven’t had that kind of consistency from their left field position since McReynolds’ first stint with the team (let’s not talk about his return to the Mets in 1994).

The only thing consistent with the left field position over the years for the Mets has been the inconsistency of the team to find a player healthy enough to hold down the position and a player who could put up the numbers expected of a corner outfielder.  Not since the first four years of the Kevin McReynolds Era has the team had such a player.  With the acquistion of Jason Bay, it appears that the Mets are finally going to get some of that consistency back.

After watching other teams sign free agent after free agent, the Mets finally made some headlines with a signing of their own. There will be no more Baywatch in Flushing as the Mets have signed Jason Bay to be their leftfielder for the next four years, pending the obligatory physical.

Seven years after then-Expos GM Omar Minaya traded Jason Bay from Montreal to the Mets, he has brought Bay back to the team that foolishly traded him away with Bobby “I wasn’t the one who pitched the one-hitter in the 2000 NLDS against the Giants” Jones and Josh Reynolds to the San Diego Padres for Jason Middlebrook and Steve Reed.  Middlebrook pitched all of 23 innings for the Mets, while Reed had a much longer Mets career, logging 26 innings during his tenure at Shea.

Assuming Bay passes his physical, (he should take it on Friday, when it’s officially 2010.  We all know that 2009 wasn’t good for Mets players and doctor’s offices.)  he will give the Mets a Bay-Beltran-Francoeur outfield, giving the Mets three legitimate 20+ HR threats in the middle of the order.  How rare is that in franchise history?  The Mets have NEVER had three outfielders hit 20 or more home runs in the same season.

So with Baywatch off the air, what does Omar Minaya focus on now?

Clearly the first option for the Mets now is acquiring a starting pitcher.  After Johan Santana, the rotation is very thin.  In 2006, the Mets bashed their way to a division title.  The offense carried the team throughout the regular season, but the lack of a dependable pitching staff cost them in the playoffs.  In 2006, the Mets used 13 different starting pitchers.  Only Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel were able to make more than 23 starts.  The Mets went into the postseason with Glavine, Trachsel, John Maine and Oliver Perez.  As of now, the top four starters for the 2010 Mets are Johan Santana (a lefty like Glavine), Mike Pelfrey (a righty like Trachsel) and the aforementioned Maine and Perez, both of which now have an injury history that they didn’t have in 2006.

Although it would be nice to have, the Mets don’t need a Cy Young caliber pitcher to join the rotation.  They just need a guy who can give them 200 innings and give them more quality starts than Jose Lima-type outings (Lima was the king of the four-inning start in 2006).  Joel Piñeiro would fit that description.  So would Jon Garland.  Neither pitcher will start an All-Star Game, but both will be able to stay on the mound and keep the team in the game more often than not.  Pitchers like Ben Sheets and Erik Bedard are also available, but with their health issues, they’re no lock for pitching 200 innings combined.

The Mets have also been looking into acquiring a first baseman.  However, with the signing of Bay, the Mets now have a predominantly righty hitting lineup, as Bay, Francoeur and David Wright all swing from the right side.  Perhaps the signing of a power hitter like Bay will allow the Mets to keep the lefty-swinging Daniel Murphy at first base.  But judging by the way Mets hitters all developed warning track power instead of home run power once they took residence at Citi Field, they may need another powerful bat at first base in addition to Bay’s lumber in left.

Lefty-hitting first basemen include Adam LaRoche, but he’s a Type B free agent and has only hit more than 25 HR once in his career (136 career HR in 2,877 at-bats).  He would also probably look for a multi-year deal.  A wiser choice at first might be the lefty-hitting Russell Branyan.  He can hit balls out of Yellowstone Park, which might be just enough to get one out of Citi Field.  He also has 28 more home runs than LaRoche in his career in 446 fewer at-bats.  It’s true that LaRoche’s career .274 batting average is significantly better than Branyan’s .234 average, but the Mets finished tied for the league lead in batting average in 2009 and that didn’t get them anywhere.  They tried to “single” the opposition to death and it failed miserably.  The Phillies only hit .258 as a team, but because they led the league in home runs, they scored far more runs than the Mets, even though the Mets’ team batting average was .275.

I haven’t forgotten about Carlos Delgado.  Like Branyan, he could also be signed to a one-year deal in case Ike Davis is ready to take over at first base in 2011.  However, there are still questions about his hip and he should only be signed if he can play winter ball productively and painlessly.  Too bad he won’t be playing until mid-January at the earliest.

As of this writing, the Mets are reportedly close to signing Bengie Molina to be their catcher, so that position might be filled soon and will not be discussed in this blog.

I’m glad Omar Minaya was able to get Jason Bay to come to New York.  However, this took longer than expected, especially considering that Bay didn’t have a dozen suitors clamoring for his services.  If Omar dilly-dallies with starting pitchers and first basemen, the Mets might come to spring training with Jason Bay being their only upgrade (although the potential Molina signing would also count as an upgrade).  That might get the Mets back to .500, but it won’t get them anywhere near the Phillies or the wild card.  Let’s hope that when the calendar changes, the outlook changes and that the front office can continue to put together a team that can compete for a postseason spot in 2010.  The fans won’t accept anything less.