The hits just keep on coming for Jason Bay, and not in a good way. Yesterday, Terry Collins spoke to reporters before the game and said, “I’m really worried about him”. Bay will be seeing a doctor today and the team will learn if he indeed suffered another concussion, his second in two years. When asked about the possibility of Bay missing the rest of the season, Collins responded, “anything’s possible.”
For now Bay is on the 7-day disabled list, but there is a strong possibility that he may have played his final game of the season. You may recall that Bay missed the final two months of 2010 after suffering his first concussion. A second concussion could keep him out longer than that and the Mets will make sure he doesn’t return until he becomes 100% symptom free.
It’s been one adversity after another for Bay ever since he signed his four-year, $66 million deal with the Mets. Whether it was fighting through his terrible slumps or missing time with a myriad of injuries, there hasn’t been much to smile about since his move from Beantown to New York. The frustration began almost immediately and has only snowballed since he first took the field as a Met in April of 2010.
Gone was his tremendous right-handed power. Gone was his great ability to drive in runs in droves. Gone was the intimidating presence in the middle of the lineup. All the things the Mets craved about him never materialized with his new team. Now at 33 and in the throws of a second debilitating concussion, the question many are now wondering is if we’ve seen the last of Jason Bay in 2012? And one more question to consider is this one: Despite one final year left on his ill-fated contract, will the Mets rely on him again in 2013 or will they simply cut him as they did with Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez?
Nobody wanted to see the Mets sign Jason Bay more than I did before the 2010 season. I kept holding out hope that he would turn it around, but how many years can one hang onto the same unfulfilled hope? I wish Bay a speedy recovery and truly hope he can comeback sooner than can reasonably be expected, but this is a different team than the one we had in 2010. Kirk Nieuwenhuis has emerged, Lucas Duda has become a legitimate power source, and soon Matt den Dekker will be knocking at the door.
Even before this latest setback for Jason Bay, I was already putting the odds of him returning in 2013 at less than 50/50. I’m not looking to kick a player and a great guy while he’s down, but I am curious to know how many of you think Jason Bay will be the Opening Day left fielder for the Mets in 2013.
Get well soon. Jason…
