link - Bay had a fantastic season and a half with the Boston Red Sox, helping to ease the loss of slugger Manny Ramirez. In 200 games with Boston, Bay hit 45 homers and batted .274 with a .915 OPS. Bay thought those numbers were good enough to earn him a five-year contract. But the Red Sox were only willing to give him four, not wanting to pay millions for a streaky, one-dimensional hitter who can't field. The Boston front office also had concerns over Bay's knees and downgraded their offer to only two years late in negotiations. Offended by the notion that he should have surgery even when he wasn't injured, Bay rejected the Boston offer and signed a four-year deal with the New York Mets for $66 million, with a $17 million vesting option in 2014.
link - Jose Reyes only makes this list because, quite frankly, there is no telling what to expect from the New York Mets this offseason. Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel could be long gone, and whomever takes their place could literally burn the place down. Reyes has an $11 million club option for next season, which should be picked up. Nevertheless, his declining stolen-base numbers and on-base percentage can't be ignored, and his defense at shortstop has been unreliable this season.
link - Last night against the Pirates, Mike Pelfrey let up just two runs in seven innings pitched last night for his 15th win of the season. Also, he is 10-3 in Citi Field this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Pelfrey joins Rick Reed and Mike Hampton as only the third Mets pitcher over the last 20 seasons to win at least 10 home games in one season. Pelfrey was having a very good season, then had a BRUTAL seven-week, mid-summer stretch going 3–7 in 10 starts with a 7.35 ERA, which is about when the wheels came off the Mets wagon.
link - Not only did Carlos Beltran mesmerize the baseball world during the 2004 playoffs by tying the record for home runs in a postseason (eight), and nearly taking the Astros to their first World Series, Beltran performed at his best, when the Astros needed him the most. Having sent closer Octavio Dotel to Oakland and catcher John Buck to Kansas City in a deal that would bring the five-time all-star and 1999 Rookie of the Year to Houston, Beltran hit .258 with 23 home runs and 53 RBI, to go along with a .926 OPS during the remainder of the season earning a wild-card berth
link - Figueroa saw the resumption of his major league career delayed by military service in 1969. Originally signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1966, Figueroa left temporarily to undergo a draft physical and then returned to minor league action, only to hurt his arm in his first game back. Lacking patience, the Mets released him. Figueroa, a native of Puerto Rico, decided to join the Marine Corps, and soon after served a tour in Vietnam. The experience left him dazed. “I didn’t know what the heck I was doing (there),“ Figueroa told the New York Daily News in 2008, “but I was there. I learned that life, it’s beautiful to be alive. I saw a lot of people dead there. When I got out of there, I was happy I was out, happy I was alive.” Figueroa missed all of the 1969 season while in the war, escaping with his life but losing a year of pitching development. After his tour ended, Figueroa forged a baseball comeback, signing with the Giants organization. Figueroa pitched three seasons in San Francisco’s system before being traded to the Angels for two minor league players. Figgy didn’t make the major leagues until 1974, when he was 25, having already compiled eight seasons of minor league time. It’s quite possible he would have arrived a year or two sooner if not for Nam
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