All kidding aside, this move is a great one and I'm surprised Sandy Alderson and the Mets were able to make it. But what they may not realize is that this puts more pressure on them than if Bay was still on the team.
Like Oliver Perez and other failed signings before him, Jason Bay was the lighting rod for Mets aggravation. He was signed by Omar Minaya and never came close to even half of what the Mets expected of him. Regardless of what other players were doing or not doing, you could always count on blaming Jason Bay for something.
But that last remnant of the former GM regime is gone. The onus is now all on Alderson.
The central antagonist on the Mets will no longer be there to take the blame. Now the Mets and Alderson have to make their own moves to correct the situation in which they find themselves. At least with Bay, the Mets had a solid defender in one of the corner spots. Now all three outfield positions need filling. Duda should not be a lock to continue in right field. Hairston probably won't be resigned and isn't an everyday player anyway. Then you have the laundry list of young players that aren't quite ready for prime time in Baxter, Kirk, Valdespin, etc.
So where do the Mets go from here? Filling one starting outfield position is tough for any team, but filling three is bordering on impossible. The Mets will fill those spots, but the question remains how much of an upgrade will those fill-ins be?
2014 was supposed to be the year the Mets would make their moves. Bay would be off the books as would Santana. Now that Bay has exited early, does that give the Mets room to make moves in 2013? Only time will tell, but they'll have to look in the mirror to find someone to blame.
2 comments:
I smell Melky. And it smells bad...
please, no melky...
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