Jason Bay admitted yesterday what every Mets fan has known for weeks.
Bay said he’s massively underachieved at the plate, and he can’t remember ever starting a season when he hasn’t felt comfortable this far into the season.
The $66 million left fielder goes into today’s doubleheader with one hit and five strikeouts in his last 13 at-bats. He hasn’t homered since slamming two — his second and third of the season — against the Yankees on May 23, a span of 13 games. He’s struck out 15 times in his past 12 games, has one RBI in his past eight games and went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts on Tuesday against the Padres, hearing boos.
“I haven’t been comfortable,” Bay said, talking about pretty much the whole season, not just the recent skid.
“Definitely,” he told The Post yesterday. “I’ve had good games and I’ve had stretches of days and maybe a week, but then all of a sudden it’s like, boom, you’re back to — you’re fighting it again.
“And it’s kind of been I’ve had stretches, weeks, months before, but usually you have some better ones and then kind of everything equals out, and I haven’t really had any good ones. I’ve had some decent games, but I really haven’t gotten on a roll. I’ve said it since I got here, you try to be consistent. Consistency speaks volumes, and I’ve been anything but consistent.”
Bay is hitting .286 with three homers, 24 RBIs and 58 strikeouts. He’s on pace for eight homers, 67 RBIs and 162 Ks. Last year, he ripped 36 homers and drove in 119, hitting .267 with 162 strikeouts for the Red Sox.
Bay said he knows he’s not hitting the way he’s capable.
“Obviously the home runs and the RBIs are down and then there are certain things that are up,” he said. “You can take some solace in the fact that those are there, but personally I don’t feel like I’ve really even come close to hitting like I can.”
Bay’s main problem is his timing, according to hitting coach Howard Johnson, and primarily the timing of Bay’s front foot. Johnson said that on Tuesday Bay “looked like he was just feeling for the ball. He really wasn’t in a confident position to hit.”
“Pitchers, their job is to disrupt timing,” Johnson said. “He’s being disrupted.”
And Bay knows it.
“I’m missing and fouling off a lot of fastballs, which is my bread and butter,” Bay said. “And then not hitting, that puts me in an even deeper hole. So we’re trying to address the reason why that is. I’m not getting my foot down in time and I’m kind of hovering and then all of a sudden I’m late.”
Bay is at such a loss that he said he’s adjusting his mechanics during games, between at-bats.
“You kind of feel like you’re working on something during the game,” he said, “which you can’t do.”
Bay maintains that he does not think his struggles are at all related to being with a new team in a new city, in a cavernous park.
And he said he still believes he can help a team that is 31-27 with him hardly contributing.
“The optimistic part [of me] is hey, I’m going to [hit more],” he said. “Hopefully that’ll make us even better.”
mark.hale@nypost.com