Time to Worry About Santana, Bay?
I am not a worrier by nature. I always say, “Don’t worry. Things will work out just fine.” And usually, things do. But sometimes things don’t. For example, last year at this time, we were saying about David Wright: “Don’t worry. Things will work out just fine.” Well, things didn’t — he ended the year with like 2 homers and 12 RBIs.
Now we are saying the same thing about Johan Santana and Jason Bay. I do think things will work out for both of them this season, but maybe they won’t. Is now the time to start worrying?
Santana is a great pitcher who is tough enough to get through a game without his “A” stuff. He’s had to do that more and more this season. His velocity is down dramatically. His fastball barely reaches 90. That leaves his off-speed stuff just a few miles per hour slower than his fastball. That’s no way to fool hitters.
The Mets say Santana is still recovering from last year’s elbow surgery. Perhaps that is the case. But perhaps it’s not. Let’s hope it is, because Santana is signed through 2013 at nearly $25 million per season (and a buyout of $5.5 million if the Mets don’t pick up his 2014 option). That’s a large chunk of team salary to a pitcher who can’t break 90 on the radar gun. But again, I’m not worried. I think Santana will be fine.
Now to Bay. Not withstanding his two homers in Puerto Rico Monday night, should we be worrying about him? Bay has six home runs and 34 RBIs so far this season. That projects to 13 homers and 74 RBIs. That’s very 2009 David Wright. Not good for a guy making $16 million per year, a guy who was supposed to provide power in the middle of the lineup who was penciled in for 30 homers and 100 RBIs — at a minimum.
As Ralph Kiner pointed out during Sunday’s game, Bay is just not getting the ball in the air. That’s a problem. Bay has also fallen victim to Citi Field and its generous proportions. Just last week he hit two balls in the same game that would have been out of most stadiums, and I can remember him hitting that stupid tall wall several times already this season.
But that’s no excuse for Bay not hitting on the road (didn’t we say the same thing about Wright last season?). Bay is known as a streaky hitter, so I think he’ll get on a hot streak very soon and end the season with 20+ homers and close to 100 RBIs.
I’m not worried. Although maybe I should be.
Date: June 28, 2010


The Mets are said to be in the thick of things in the hunt for Cliff Lee. The Seattle Times is
That’s why I prefer to trade for Roy Oswalt. He’s signed for 2011 and 2012 at a reasonable $16 million per year (that includes a 2012 club option that I’m sure will have to be picked up in order for Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause). Lee will surely demand a 5-year deal at upwards of $20 million per year. Lee is excellent, but I’m not quite sure he’s worth that much. And with the Yankees making noise that they may get involved in the bidding for Lee, he’ll get that and maybe more. I’d much rather have Oswalt — whom I consider a better pitcher than Lee anyway — for fewer years and less money.
It’s taken around two months longer than expected, but Carlos Beltran is on the way back. Omar Minaya announced on Tuesday that Beltran will begin his minor league rehab assignment Thursday in Port St. Lucie. The team has 20 days from the beginning of the assignment to activate Beltran. That would put his return to the big leagues at around the All-Star break.
The Mets are once again the hottest team in baseball — winners of four straight, and eight of their last ten. They are in second place, just a game and a half behind the surprising Braves. But perhaps more importantly, they are two games in front of the Phillies, who are by far the best team in the division, but having trouble scoring runs without Jimmy Rollins (now Phillies fans know what the Mets went through last year without Jose Reyes — not to mention Beltran and Delgado).
And the Mets did just that, sweeping the Orioles out of Camden Yards, winning Sunday’s game 11-4 behind two David Wright homers (left). Now, naysayers will say it is only the Orioles, the worst team in the league. But these are the teams the Mets have to beat. Losing on the road in Baltimore would have been a horrible sign — not only can’t they win on the road, they can’t even beat the Orioles. Fortunately that didn’t turn out to be the case.
Following the two September collapses in 2007 and 2008 and the miserable 2009, the word “heart” is not one often used to describe the New York Mets. But that is changing, because the Mets have been showing a lot of heart lately. I’m sure I was not the only Mets fan who wrote them off on Sunday when they were down 5-0. But they fought their way back to win the game and sweep the Marlins.
I was flipping back and forth Tuesday between the Mets game and Stephen Strasburg’s debut with the Nationals. That guy is everything they’ve said, and more. He is simply incredible. His fastball reaches 100 mph. But more importantly, it has amazing movement that makes it impossible to hit. His off-speed stuff is 90 mph! And his breaking ball is simply unhittable.
One problem, though – he was out. By a lot (left).
Whom do you believe when one liar tells a story, and another liar denies it? It’s a tough spot, but at least there’s a hapless reporter to help further things along. In this case, the liars are agent Scott Boras and the Mets organization, and the hapless reporter is, of course, Peter Gammons.
Boras is not the most reliable person when it comes to telling the truth. Neither are the Mets, who have proven in the past that their officials are a bit truth-challenged as well.