First off, I know the Mets won tonight, so maybe this rant is a bit over the top. Secondly, I also know that Jason Bay "broke out" of his slump with three hits, but what I saw him do in the bottom of the eighth inning is really inexcusable and tells me all I need to know about him as a player and perhaps why he is playing the way he is with the Mets.
Jason Bay is charging down the third baseline, the opposing catcher is in between his position and home plate. The Mets are leading by one run, but Bay's potential run is an insurance run that would make a rookie closer's job much easier. Where I come from and the way I was taught to play, nothing gets in the way of a potential run scored.
As Bay reaches home plate, he attempts some weird version of a slide, which looks more like Gerald Ford falling to the ground. This is done well to the side of the catcher and so far so, that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar couldn't have touched home plate. Despite the catcher mishandling the ball, he still has time to recover and tag Bay out as he lunges towards the plate.
Bay clearly lacks a "killer instinct" and it is the simple reason his play has been underwhelming since he got his big payday and landed in Flushing. He is just a nice guy, who never complains and tries really hard, I guess.
Do you think anyone from the Phillies gently slides/rolls past the catcher in that scenario? I don't and that is the main difference between that team and our team (plus a few Cy Young candidates, but I am on a roll). This reminds me of the lackluster Mets teams from about the middle of 2007 until this year.
To Terry Collins credit, the team seems to be more passionate and "gritty" now, but there are still a few players from the past (Bay, Pelfrey) who just don't seem to care a whole lot. That simply cannot happen in the future if we expect to compete again.
My wish for 2012 and beyond is to have "nice guys" move on to new places and the rest of the team show some heart, guts and a little bit of a mean streak. Sounds like the 1986 Mets to me.
Thanks and sorry for the rant...........Mike
Do not be sorry for being right. Todays catchers get to buy property around homeplate and build a vacation home. This needs to stop. My feeling is that Terry Collins, after watching that play, should have lit into Bay. If Bay's offense is going to be an anchor for this team, then showing done heart and guts is literally the very least he could do.
ReplyDelete