BBTF.org/m/mets : Calcaterra: Jason Bay is no longer the Mets everyday left fielder

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Matt Harvey challenged Jon Rauch to a fight

(metsblog.com)

posted 5 hours ago by Repoz to history, mets | 66 comment(s)

Move over Bensonhurst Bomber! #jackiegleasonsucks

Matt Harvey challenged Jon Rauch to a fight last season, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.

Harvey was taking a nap when Rauch doused him with ice water, shocking him awake and also ruining Harvey’s phone.

“He bounded up and challenged Rauch to a fight. Right there. Right then. He gave up 7 inches, about 75 pounds and a gallon or so of bad ink. It didn’t matter that he was a rookie. Harvey would not be a joke. He would not be a ...

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >

1. Russlan is fond of Dillon Gee posted on August 07, 2012 at 10:24 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Bay has got a good attitude and works hard but there's really no reason why he is still on the team. He doesn't do anything well at this point.

2. Bruce Markusen posted on August 07, 2012 at 10:32 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

A "matchup" player? I've heard of a matchup reliever, but not a matchup outfielder.

It is rather amazing how quickly Bay lost it. He was 31 when this severe decline began. The ballpark may have been a factor, but that doesn't explain it all.

3. Benji posted on August 07, 2012 at 10:39 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

What is the point of keeping him around? You have to pay him, yes, but playing him gives you less of a chance to win, which then lowers attendance and interest. Which costs you more than releasing him and paying his replacement minimum salary. There's no upside to it.

4. Harveys Wallbangers

posted on August 07, 2012 at 10:44 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

jason bay vs. kevin mcreynolds

go.....

5. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines posted on August 07, 2012 at 10:45 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

It is rather amazing how quickly Bay lost it. He was 31 when this severe decline began. The ballpark may have been a factor, but that doesn't explain it all.

He was out for a while with a concussion in 2010. It seemed mild at the time...

6. gef the talking mongoose posted on August 07, 2012 at 10:58 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

jason bay vs. kevin mcreynolds

go.....

McReynolds is 52 (a month & 2 days younger than me, I see ... geez), & while he would almost certainly be an improvement, I'm not sure it'd be worth the trouble of bringing him back.

Depends on who the Mets have in the minors, I guess.

7. The District Attorney posted on August 07, 2012 at 11:00 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

So can we call Duda back up now and put him in LF?

8. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige posted on August 07, 2012 at 11:02 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

jason bay vs. kevin mcreynolds

go.....

Am I wrong in remembering McReynolds as a pretty good fielder? I think he was, and Bay wasn't/isn't, so I'd give McReynolds the advantage. Their offensive numbers are pretty similar when you factor in the eras in which they played, so I think fielding makes the difference. Again, I might not be remembering McReynolds' fielding correctly.

9. jack the seal clubber (on the sidelines of life) posted on August 07, 2012 at 11:13 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Mc Reynolds gained a lot of weight and went from being a good fielder to a statue.

10. JE (Jason Epstein)

posted on August 07, 2012 at 11:23 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

C'mon, guys, it's not even close.

McReynolds, wOBA: .348 , .375, .341, .357, .325, .325 ('04)
Bay, wOBA: .336, .315, .244

Also, McReynolds was far more durable, putting in 151, 147, 148, 147, and 143 games per season in his first stint with the Amazins.

11. TVerik posted on August 07, 2012 at 11:25 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

What is the point of keeping him around? You have to pay him, yes, but playing him gives you less of a chance to win, which then lowers attendance and interest. Which costs you more than releasing him and paying his replacement minimum salary. There's no upside to it.

Paying him to hit homers for another team (I don't think he's done) would definitely feel like a cost.

If they released Bay tomorrow, he'd be in some other uniform next week.

12. Steve Balboni's Personal Trainer posted on August 07, 2012 at 11:37 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Got to give Theo a little credit - getting Bay in exchange for the sure-to-be-dealt Manny Ramirez was way more than I ever thought the Red Sox could get for the malcontented Manny. Then, he left Boston just in time, before he started sucking.

Also, pretty cool that a no-name Jason Bay was traded for a no-name Brian Giles, and both ended up being pretty friggin' good after the trade.

Finally, it may be karma that the Mets got Bay for Lou Collier from the Expos, and then signed him for a lot of money on the way back down...

13. Mark S. is bored posted on August 08, 2012 at 12:46 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

If they released Bay tomorrow, he'd be in some other uniform next week

2010 .259/.347/.402 age 31 - 95 games
2011 .245/.329/.374 age 32 - 123 games
2012 .154/.248..285 age 33 - 40 (out of 109) games

Would you sign this player?

And as for his splits in 2012
RHP .159/.222/.293
LHP .146/.288/.271

and 2011
RHP - .228/.297/.332
LHP - .300/.418/.500

Possibly hope that he can regain his left-mashing ways. But he's not making it easy for teams to want him.

14. Natty Fan posted on August 08, 2012 at 12:49 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

#12 - Brian Giles was an established star in Pittsburgh when he was traded for Bay (and Oliver Perez) in 2003. In 5 years with the Pirates, he hit .308/.426/.551 (158+) with 165 HRs and garnered MVP votes each year. I remember Pirates fans being very upset with the trade at the time. If he was a "no-name" to baseball fans outside of Pittsburgh, that's a shame.

Pirates fans probably felt a little better when Bay won NL ROY the following year, but Bay never matched Giles' production, and even accounting for PETCO, Giles never had a season in San Diego as good as any of his first four years in Pittsburgh.

15. Swedish Chef posted on August 08, 2012 at 04:01 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Would you sign this player?

For the minimum, yes. Andruw Jones have turned out to be an useful role player after a similar collapse.

16. Martin Hemner

posted on August 08, 2012 at 05:34 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

jason bay vs. kevin mcreynolds

Assuming you mean total career (since there is no comparison over their Mets' careers), I would probably take Bay by a small margin.

How about Jason Bay vs. Ben Ogilvie?

17. Hack Wilson posted on August 08, 2012 at 07:50 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The Mets traded Bay once before. Is Steve Reed available again?

18. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:14 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Jason Bay = George Foster, though Foster came back from his collapse to be cromulent for a couple of years and his collapse wasn't as bad as Bay's is currently. They seem to have caused an equal amount of loathing in the Mets hive-mind.

edit: Looking at BB-Ref, I don't recall Foster at all as being on the 86 Mets but he played a fair chunk of games for that team. The memory plays tricks!

19. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:24 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Of course he was on the '86 team! He was the mastermind behind "Get Metsmerized"!

20. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:35 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Get Metsmerized B!tches

When all those teams were making braggart videos in the 80's, was there a team that made one and didn't win a championship? The 85 Bears won it all, the 89 49ers won it all and the 86 Mets won it all. Even Liverpool won the Premier league the year they released their awesomely crappy music video.

21. Gonna break my Rusty Kuntz and run . . . Arbitol posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:36 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Yeah, Foster was released about this time of year 1986.

McReynolds? On what planet is his Mets career an appropriate comparison for Jason Bay? McReynolds put up 14.3 bWAR as a Met, including a 142 OPS+ as a member of the 100 win 1988 team. The Mets paid him about $9 million over 6 seasons. Bay? BAY?????!!!!!! BAAAAAAAY??????????!!!!!!????????

Most of the knock on K-Mac was his appearing not to give a sh*t out there, but he was usually productive enough (even if not usually a star).

22. Harveys Wallbangers

posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:47 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

metsies

i was just tossing it out there since mcreynolds was a guy who stopped hitting at roughly the same time as bay in terms of age

i was always a big mcreynolds fan.

23. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:47 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

It is rather amazing how quickly Bay lost it. He was 31 when this severe decline began. The ballpark may have been a factor, but that doesn't explain it all.

The main reason the Pirates traded him, rather than extending him, is that his body was falling apart. Two bad knees and a bad shoulder. That's the same reason his 2007 was so crappy (he tried to play hurt), and the same reason he failed his physical when the Red Sox tried to extend him.

24. Gonna break my Rusty Kuntz and run . . . Arbitol posted on August 08, 2012 at 09:21 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

He hasn't been healthy with the Mets, but the main reason Bay has lost playing time is that he keeps hitting his head. Or, in the case of the 2010 injury, not hitting his head but managing to sustain a concussion anyway. LOLMets.

25. zonk posted on August 08, 2012 at 09:49 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

metsies

i was just tossing it out there since mcreynolds was a guy who stopped hitting at roughly the same time as bay in terms of age

i was always a big mcreynolds fan.

Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to please not pound on the glass of the Mets enclosure... SIR - please take off that Kazmir jersey, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

26. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

posted on August 08, 2012 at 09:52 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I didn't realize Kevin McReynolds had ANY fans.

27. Tom Nawrocki posted on August 08, 2012 at 10:11 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

When all those teams were making braggart videos in the 80's, was there a team that made one and didn't win a championship? The 85 Bears won it all, the 89 49ers won it all and the 86 Mets won it all.

I can remember the Browns making one with Bernie Kosar.

28. Hack Wilson posted on August 08, 2012 at 10:25 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I can remember the Browns making one with Bernie Kosar.

They should have done one with Rube Waddell. Well a Vaudeville skit anyway.

29. Dingbat_Charlie

posted on August 08, 2012 at 10:26 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I can remember the Browns making one with Bernie Kosar.

It ends with Earnest Byner fumbling the mic.

30. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

posted on August 08, 2012 at 10:36 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I can remember the Browns making one with Bernie Kosar.

If such a video exists it is beyond my google skills.

31. Never Give an Inge (Dave) posted on August 08, 2012 at 11:48 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

When all those teams were making braggart videos in the 80's, was there a team that made one and didn't win a championship? The 85 Bears won it all, the 89 49ers won it all and the 86 Mets won it all. Even Liverpool won the Premier league the year they released their awesomely crappy music video.

The 1986 Dodgers had a music video (the "Baseball Boogie", according to the Internet) that I only saw for the first time quite recently...it looks like it's no longer on Youtube though.

32. Swoboda is freedom posted on August 08, 2012 at 12:31 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

The 1986 Dodgers had a music video (the "Baseball Boogie", according to the Internet) that I only saw for the first time quite recently...it looks like it's no longer on Youtube though.

Right here

33. attaboy posted on August 08, 2012 at 02:48 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Wow, an awesome video...Someone was 'sporting' a murse back in 1986! Priceless! Hershiser must have been dubbed in, sounds nothing like him. Back to the Mets video, Roger McDowell is the coolest, funniest player in the video and an absurdly awesome double play turned by the best fielding 1B I have ever seen.

34. Copronymus posted on August 08, 2012 at 04:20 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

The Calgary Flames made Red Hot in 1987 but didn't win a championship until 1989.

35. PreservedFish posted on August 08, 2012 at 04:29 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Who can find that Mets video where Mookie Wilson invents the internet?

36. Johnny Sycophant-Laden Fora posted on August 08, 2012 at 05:55 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Would you sign this player?

if he was a terrific defensive SS
sure

a bad LF

no.

If Bay gets released his career could be over at this point.

37. Johnny Sycophant-Laden Fora posted on August 08, 2012 at 05:59 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

As long as we have a Mets thread going on:

.301/.362/.361 in 670 PAs 2011-2012

There is a Met fan primate here who may possibly want to consider that they may have been wrong about Ruben Tejada.

38. PreservedFish posted on August 08, 2012 at 06:11 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I'm not sure who #31 refers to, but I'll admit that I was a Ruben Tejada doubter. Really impressed by him this year, on both sides of the ball. The walks are way down but he still seems like he has a great approach at the plate. Lots of line drives up the middle.

39. Lassus posted on August 08, 2012 at 06:23 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

There is a Met fan primate here who may possibly want to consider that they may have been wrong about Ruben Tejada.

Only one?

Actually, that .301 has me nervous, it's really been falling lately. I hope it's just a slump and not a trend.

40. Why Bloody Valdespin? posted on August 08, 2012 at 06:34 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Actually, that .301 has me nervous, it's really been falling lately. I hope it's just a slump and not a trend.

Even if his true talent level is something like .280, a .345/340 slash line with solid D makes for a perfectly cromulent player, which is more than I (and pretty much everyone else except you, Lassus) thought he was capable of. A year ago, that's what I thought his ceiling was.

Am I the only one who still thinks Bay could be good as the short end of a platoon? 60 horrible PAs isn't enough for to completely give up hope.

41. Benji posted on August 08, 2012 at 06:41 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

1. On the Met blogs, there are some posts that fear releasing Bay would lead to a renaissance in a new uniform. Do they mean like Luis Castillo's? Or George Foster's? He's finished.

2. I never liked Kevin McReynolds. I hated his "I'd just as soon be frog giggin' " apathetic play. But in '87 and '88 he played left field better than any Met before or since. Then he got fat.

42. Johnny Sycophant-Laden Fora posted on August 08, 2012 at 06:47 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

but I'll admit that I was a Ruben Tejada doubter.

not you, there is someone here who was absolutely insistent for a very long time that Tejada was a non-prospect whose absolute upside was back-up 2b/ss.

Actually, that .301 has me nervous,

that .301 is his last 670 PAs, he's at .321 this year.

The one I'm thinking of had what many derided as an unduly optimistic take on Dan Murphy's hitting abilities... but of course has turned out more right than wrong on that score....

Actually I'm being a bit unfair on Sam, he did concede after last year that Tejada could be a league average starting SS... but Salfino, now that's another story

43. The District Attorney posted on August 08, 2012 at 07:46 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I suspect that more Met fans felt McReynolds should be the 1988 MVP than Darryl Strawberry (or Kirk Gibson), although of course this was primarily due to the insane expectations for Straw and to underrating OBP. Still, McReynolds was awfully good that year. He had one bad season for the Mets, but really, it's Royals fans who should hate him. Foster would be the better pick to needle the Met fan. (Or Bobby Bonilla, but the educated fan will know that Bonilla did not play all that terribly for the Mets. Or Roberto Alomar. Or Mo Vaughn. I could actually continue, but I won't.)

I didn't think Tejada would flop, but I thought he would just be cromulent, and I didn't think he should be a factor when deciding what to do about Reyes or other potential shortstops. It's great that he's playing so well. Ike, on the other hand, is scaring me. He has hit for about a three-week period all year.

44. PreservedFish posted on August 08, 2012 at 07:51 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I suspect that more Met fans felt McReynolds should be the 1988 MVP than Darryl Strawberry (or Kirk Gibson),

Led the league in GWRBI, if my memory of the Panini sticker album leaderboards can be trusted.

45. BWV 1129 posted on August 08, 2012 at 07:59 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Didn't McReynolds have some weird record for most SB in a season without a CS, or something like that?

46. The District Attorney posted on August 08, 2012 at 08:34 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Didn't McReynolds have some weird record for most SB in a season without a CS, or something like that?

Yes (with 21), and at least in NY, it was very well-publicized.

(The known record is now 23 by Chase Utley, 2009. Of course, we don't have CS for all seasons.)

47. CrosbyBird posted on August 09, 2012 at 09:10 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

not you, there is someone here who was absolutely insistent for a very long time that Tejada was a non-prospect whose absolute upside was back-up 2b/ss.

I thought Tejada's upside was "average offensive SS with good defense, might make a couple of All-Star games." I'm not sure if I'm ready to step off of that based on a half-season. Where Tejada really surprised me was in 2011, because I thought he'd be completely overmatched and he ended up putting up a very respectable performance.

48. Lassus posted on August 09, 2012 at 09:22 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

that .301 is his last 670 PAs, he's at .321 this year.

Yes, I saw that later, realized my error, thanks. Just about the only bright spot in last night's game was Tejada's 1-2 with 2 walks.

For anyone who's interested, here was the Tejada thread.

49. zack posted on August 09, 2012 at 10:27 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

But in '87 and '88 he played left field better than any Met before or since. Then he got fat.

That's an exceptionally low bar to clear, though, given the state of the Mets' corner outfield, and outfield in general other than Carlos Beltran's time there.

For the "Common starters" page on bb-ref, Mets LF or RF who managed to hold a job for more than one season, post-McReynolds:

Bernard Gilkey (1996!)
Benny Agbyani
Bobby Bo
Alex Ochoa
Cliff Floyd
Jeff Francouer
Zom Bay

Now that misses a lot of guys who were around for that time, like Rickey and Timo and Moises Alou, but that's kind of the point. In 42 position seasons, they've barely twice managed to find a guy to hold down what should be the easiest positions to field. Anyway, when your best competition is Bernard Gilkey and Scratch Floyd, you're probably gonna come out ok.

Also I was convinced that Jon Nunnally played more than half a season in NY. And I have no idea why he never sniffed the show again after that. Just constant injuries? (Another Mets OF theme).

50. zack posted on August 09, 2012 at 10:30 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Also also Cliff Floyd's twitter account is apparently sleepy30. And he's twit-friends with Preston Wilson. And he's President of the Cliff Floyd Foundation.

I love Cliff Floyd.

Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

/m/mets

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Matt Harvey challenged Jon Rauch to a fight

Reader Comments and Retorts

Mets Think Factory