In an article entitled “Jason
Bay: The Bust Of All Busts?” the author, Jeff Freier, opines that on a
purely statistical basis Bay’s tenure in New York is worse than that of Jim
Fregosi, George Foster, Bobby Bonilla, Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar (though he
inexplicably left out Carlos Baerga).
The numbers would likely point to Fregosi actually being statistically
worse, but the Mets mercifully cut ties with him after one partial and one full
season.
The point is not whether their investment in Bay is
horrific. It is. That subject’s not up for debate. The question is why when they finally grew
half a pair and announced he was no longer an everyday starting player, did
they stop there? Let’s look at the
splits. As a right handed batter facing
left handed pitching Bay actually is hitting WORSE than he does against
righties – a paltry .140 to go with his somewhat more robust .167 when a
southpaw is not on the mound. Granted,
the sample size is small – just 50 ABs – and in 2011 he did hit .300 against
lefties. However that was also in a
small sample of 61 ABs while swatting 5 HRs and 17 RBIs. What are the odds that, if given an additional
11 ABs, Bay would be able to churn out 3 HRs and 10 RBIs to match his 2011
output? I think the President has a
greater probability of carrying my adopted home state of Texas in the 2012 election
than Bay does of hitting 3 HRs in his next 11 ABs.
The more you look at his numbers the uglier it gets. About the only positive offensive
contribution he’s making is in stolen base efficiency. He’s got 4 SBs and been caught only once,
though even that number pales alongside his 11 SBs with one caught stealing a
year ago.
What about his glove?
Well, there I’ll give the devil his due.
He came to the Mets with a reputation for being a subpar fielder, and
while this team has been known to trot out their share of Dr. Strangegloves (Roger
Cedeño and Lucas Duda come to mind), Bay has fielded his position selflessly
and with great competence.
So there you have it – Bay has become a $16 million dollar
late inning defensive replacement. That’s
all Bay can contribute anymore. You know
what? I’d rather see Matt den Dekker and
HIS sub-.200 batting average up here knowing that he not only has power but
still has the possibility of getting better.
Coca-Cola pulled the plug on New Coke. Sony stopped making the Betamax. General Motors shuttered Pontiac, Hummer and
Saturn. These businesses recognized that
it no longer made sense to continue down a losing path simply hoping that things
would turn around when all of the data was pointing to the contrary. They swallowed hard, bit the bullet and
recognized their bad investments for what they were – sunk costs. It’s now time for the Mets to grow the other
half of a pair and not simply play someone because of the size of his
paycheck. Admit you’ve made a mistake,
act like grown-ups for a change, and find someone else for that roster spot who
is or at least has the potential to be productive.
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