PITTSBURGH — Jason Bay returned to the Mets’ lineup last night, but not before Terry Collins fired back at former hitting coach Howard Johnson for questioning the manager’s decision to put the slumping left fielder on the bench for two games.
Johnson, who worked with Bay last season, was quoted in yesterday’s Post as saying he didn’t see the point in removing the left fielder from the lineup.
“I think the world of Howard Johnson, but he hasn’t got all the facts,” Collins said yesterday before the Mets faced the Pirates. “He should be careful with what he says when he hasn’t got all the facts.”
Bay, who returned to left field and batted sixth in the lineup, went 1-for-4, singling in the fourth inning to snap a career-worst 0-for-24
skid. It was Bay’s first action at PNC Park since the Pirates traded him to the Red Sox during the 2008 season.
Bay spent Thursday and Friday working with hitting coach Dave Hudgens and told Collins he liked the way he was swinging in batting practice. The $66 million man is back in the lineup to stay, according to Collins.
“He’s our left fielder,” Collins said. “We’ve got to get him going and we’ve got to get him right. He’s going to play and he’s going to continue the process of working on a couple of things.”
* With Justin Turner getting the night off, Collins said he wrote four different lineups before ultimately settling on one that had Ruben Tejada batting second. The rookie went 2-for-4 with a run and a walk, and is hitting .444 (8-for-18) over the first five games of the road trip.
“He’s disciplined at the plate, he’s taking pitches, which you’ve got to do to hit certainly behind Jose [Reyes],” Collins said. “If Jose ends up at second, because it seems like he ends up at second base all the time, [Tejada] can certainly hit the ball the other way.”
* Tim Byrdak is expected to leave the team within the next few days to attend a family funeral, but Collins was unsure if the lefty would be placed on the bereavement list, allowing the Mets to recall another pitcher.
The bereavement list requires a three-day absence by a player, and Byrdak might not be gone that long.
* The Mets called up pitcher D.J. Carrasco after the game and optioned reliever Dale Thayer to Triple-A Buffalo. Carrasco had allowed only one run over his last 15 2/3 innings at Buffalo.