Maybe if the batting average numbers didn’t look so much like a supermodel’s weight. Maybe if this whole situation hadn’t been dragging on since, seemingly, the U.S. flag had 36 stars. Maybe then Jason Bay could have put up an argument.
But with the batting average at .157, Bay admitted Mets manager Terry Collins’ decision to make him a platoon player in left — playing by “matchups” was the proper terminology — provided him little room for debate.
“This is not coming out of nowhere. I feel he gave me a lot of opportunities. Time missed with injuries aside, it’s irrelevant. I should be doing better,” Bay said after going 1-for-4 in the Mets’ home losing streak reached one month and eight games after a 4-2 defeat against the Marlins last night.
“If I had a better leg to stand on or if I was playing better or time was taken from me unjustly I think I would [fight it], but I try to be a realist,” Bay said. “I still feel it’s there but how many times you going to hear that? This didn’t blindside me.”
No, in fact Collins and Bay discussed the impending move before and during the Mets’ recent 6-5 road trip. And when the Mets returned with Bay, who gets $16 million this year and $16 million more in 2013, hitting .154, Collins acknowledged he would have to make his matchup move. After the loss, Collins said he had not yet had his “it’s happening now” chat.
“It’ll be fine. Jason Bay is a professional and he understands,” Collins said. “All he wants to do is help the club. We had a conversation on the road and he’s aware what we’re thinking about.”
As for the game, one major question arose concerning what Collins was thinking when he allowed Jon Niese (8-6) to hit in the bottom of the fifth in a two-out, bases-loaded situation after the Mets had cut a 4-0 Miami lead in half. Maybe the confidence in the bullpen for four innings was that low. Or maybe Collins had that much faith in Niese the hitter.
Whatever the rationale, Niese went fastball looking strike, fastball fouled off, slider looking strike three. End of at-bat. End of rally. Start second guessing, especially after Niese only pitched one more inning.
“I’m glad he let me hit,” Niese said. “I’m glad he had the confidence in me, but they made good pitches and I struck out.”
“It was early in the game,” Collins said. “I thought we had a lot more at-bats coming up and I’d already burned one guy [Ike Davis] and we were down a guy on the bench with [injured Rob] Johnson questionable. And Jon swings the bat as good as anybody on our staff and I thought we’d get some more innings out of him.”
The Mets’ offense essentially went to bed, managing one runner over the final four innings. Scott Hairston via a leadoff walk in the seventh. And the Mets’ bullpen did arise after the fact — Bobby Parnell, Manny Acosta and Jon Rauch each threw a scoreless inning. Carlos Zambrano (7-9) through an official scorer’s decision, got the win and Steve Cishek got his seventh save.
Jose Reyes extended his career-best and MLB’s longest hitting streak this season to 25 games with an infield single in the fourth.when he delivered the second straight infield hit for the Marlins with a dribbler down first during Miami’s four-run fourth inning that contained a Carlos Lee RBI single, a Giancarlo Stanton sac fly and a two-run double by Johns Buck when Niese hung a curve. The Mets got one back when Daniel Murphy slugged his fourth homer of the year off the second deck signage in right leading off the fifth. Then came the rally. Bay singled to left. Davis pinch hit for Ronny Cedeno and did the same. Andres Torres singled home Bay and Josh Thole walked, loading the bases. So Collins let Niese hit.