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 [...]

While reading Joel Sherman’s latest column at the NY Post, he gave his take on what the Mets lineup would like if he were filling out the lineup card. He is operating on the assumption that the Mets will sign Bengie Molina and re-sign Carlos Delgado. If I were writing out the Mets’ lineup – especially if they land Delgado and Molina – this is what I would do: 1. Reyes. 2. Wright. 3. Beltran. [...]

Jason Bay just finished his long anticipated press conference, and in doing so he wiped away all the mud and filth that sports bloggers and journalists had been flinging since the Mets made him an offer after the Winter Meetings. Last week I warned against all these baseless accusations and innuendo that were casting Jason Bay in a bad light. It’s a wacky world where bloggers think they’re reporters, and reporters would rather make news than [...]

The Mets have started 2010 the right way as Jason Bay is officially a New York Met after passing a physical.  Later on today the Mets will have a press conference introducing Jason Bay as the newest Met.  The deal is for 4 years and is worth $66 million dollars with a vesting option for a 5th year.  Some have problems with the contract but the Mets needed Jason Bay to fill that very sizable [...]

Despite the ridiculous warnings of impending injuries that would be revealed during his physical, Jason Bay passed his much anticipated physical with flying colors. The anti-Bay contingency must now find another tactic to cast aspersions on this signing after failing to prove that Bay is a defensive black hole or that he had several unreported broken parts that were kept secret. What will they think of next? Luckily, the majority of us who applauded the move [...]

I hope all of you had a wonderful New Years Eve and Day. It’s been such a hectic two weeks… you can count me in among those suffering from a bad case of holiday fatigue. I’m so glad we still have Saturday and Sunday to relax and unwind. Can you imagine if today were a Tuesday or Wednesday and it was back to work? Small favors. Last week while I was looking back at some older [...]

Keith Law of ESPN, a disciple of advanced metrics, says that Bay’s defense will dictate whether the contract is a good one or not. Umm, really? Did Mike Piazza’s defense dictate whether his time with the Mets was good or bad too? Of course Law, a long time proponent of advanced metrics, was alluding to the debate emerging over Jason Bay’s UZR or Ultimate Zone Rating. It’s a stat that assumes how many balls a fielder [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I’ve literally read over a dozen tweets from different sources in the mainstream media and a dozen more from ordinary bloggers like me regarding the 5th year vesting option that was a part of the 4 year deal the Mets gave Jason Bay. The problem is that there’s a lot of chirping going on about it, almost all of them pounding the Mets for making the vesting option easily attainable. Others are clamoring that it was [...]