Well, it happened. The Mets negotiated a release with Jason Bay. I'm sure I'm just echoing the sentiments of every other fan on the internet, but what a shame this is. Not on anyone in particular, mind you, just a shame in general.
It's not like Bay is anywhere close to the first big free-agent flop in Mets history--or even recent history--but he's the only one I recall feeling sympathy toward. As much as his production may have stunk, there's nothing else negative to say about him. He played hard, he wasn't a pox upon the clubhouse. He struggled mightily, but never packed it in. He was at least once outright mistreated (seriously, I'd love to have a chat with whoever decided to put him on a plane from Atlanta to Denver mere hours after he was knocked senseless on the infield). He was subjected to the criticism and boos and whatnot that come when one's performance is wholly disproportionate to one's contract, but he never once complained, never once gave an excuse, never once said something derogatory about anyone else or otherwise put his foot in his mouth.
Now, I'm not going to lie. There were times I groaned when he came up to bat in a key situation. I even kinda groaned a little when he came back to a lineup that was otherwise clicking right before the All-Star break. Even so, the man was all class during his time with the Mets, and no matter how badly he may have been doing at any given time, all you could do was root for the guy and hope he somehow snapped out it.
Hopefully, this will be one of those "right time, right place" deals from which both Bay and the Mets benefit. Why he struggled as he did in New York will forever remain a mystery, but I know more than a few Mets fans will keep an eye out and hope Jason Bay finds his groove with a change of scenery.
Showing posts with label Jason Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Bay. Show all posts
08 November 2012
23 August 2011
More on the fences
OK, this is starting to get ridiculous. I can't run through my daily Mets internet rotation without coming across something about if/how/why the dimensions of Citi Field need to be changed. We've already experienced the ultimate irony on the subject, but I feel compelled to go more in-depth on what a waste of time the whole thing is.
Quite simply, this is yet again one more thing to talk about in lieu of a pennant race, one more distraction away from how to actually fix the franchise, one more case in which everyone in Metsdom has the answer and very few are asking the right question in the first place.
MLB home run/scoring information is not hard to find on the world wide web. I perused some this morning and discovered the following (click for the source):
1) The Mets' home runs per game rate is actually higher at Citi Field than on the road.
2) There are 5 National League parks more stingy with homers than Citi Field. Where's the outcry for the Pirates, Dodgers, 2010 World Champion Giants, and 2009 Division Champion Cardinals to reconfigure their fields? The Marlins, of course, are altogether moving out of their stadium (in which they won two World Series, by the way).
3) In terms of scoring, Citi Field is about as average as it can be. A score of 1 is the standard. Citi Field scores .973, placing it 16th out of 30 ballparks, which is incidentally all of one spot below the bandbox in Philadelphia.
Interesting sidebar: The Phillies' staff ERA is is better at home than it is on the road. Amazing how unlike Mets' hitters supposedly are, Philadelphia's pitchers aren't intimidated by the park in which they play 5 times as many games as anyone else.
All that said, yes, the Mets do struggle a little more to score at home than on the road. If you sort the stats here, you'll see as of this morning, they're scoring 4.25 runs per game at home and 4.63 (rounded) per game on the road. But 1) that only amounts to roughly one run every 3 games, and b) we already established above that as compared league-wide, scoring for ALL teams at Citi is perfectly normal. Also, the point of the game is to score more runs than the other team, right? Well, Mets pitching is slightly better at home, with a home ERA of 4.03 and a road ERA of 4.42, almost exactly the same 4/10ths or so of a run per game difference on offense, only this time in the Mets' favor.
If somebody wants the walls moved in just to see more homers hit, fine, just don't kid yourself that it's going to help the team all that much. It's just not that big a factor. Even to the extent it is, David Wright and Jason Bay being "robbed" once or twice a month is the least of your worries when the pitching staff is putting forth a daily effort to compile the league's 13th-worst ERA.
Quite simply, this is yet again one more thing to talk about in lieu of a pennant race, one more distraction away from how to actually fix the franchise, one more case in which everyone in Metsdom has the answer and very few are asking the right question in the first place.
MLB home run/scoring information is not hard to find on the world wide web. I perused some this morning and discovered the following (click for the source):
1) The Mets' home runs per game rate is actually higher at Citi Field than on the road.
2) There are 5 National League parks more stingy with homers than Citi Field. Where's the outcry for the Pirates, Dodgers, 2010 World Champion Giants, and 2009 Division Champion Cardinals to reconfigure their fields? The Marlins, of course, are altogether moving out of their stadium (in which they won two World Series, by the way).
3) In terms of scoring, Citi Field is about as average as it can be. A score of 1 is the standard. Citi Field scores .973, placing it 16th out of 30 ballparks, which is incidentally all of one spot below the bandbox in Philadelphia.
Interesting sidebar: The Phillies' staff ERA is is better at home than it is on the road. Amazing how unlike Mets' hitters supposedly are, Philadelphia's pitchers aren't intimidated by the park in which they play 5 times as many games as anyone else.
All that said, yes, the Mets do struggle a little more to score at home than on the road. If you sort the stats here, you'll see as of this morning, they're scoring 4.25 runs per game at home and 4.63 (rounded) per game on the road. But 1) that only amounts to roughly one run every 3 games, and b) we already established above that as compared league-wide, scoring for ALL teams at Citi is perfectly normal. Also, the point of the game is to score more runs than the other team, right? Well, Mets pitching is slightly better at home, with a home ERA of 4.03 and a road ERA of 4.42, almost exactly the same 4/10ths or so of a run per game difference on offense, only this time in the Mets' favor.
If somebody wants the walls moved in just to see more homers hit, fine, just don't kid yourself that it's going to help the team all that much. It's just not that big a factor. Even to the extent it is, David Wright and Jason Bay being "robbed" once or twice a month is the least of your worries when the pitching staff is putting forth a daily effort to compile the league's 13th-worst ERA.
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