BAYSIDE, NY – Not sure if any of you have heard yet, but the Mets signed Jason Bay to a four-year deal worth $66 million. I’m sure the Amazin’s and their fans will be happy to have plugged one of the many gaps in their squad.
Bayside Residents Pumped For Canadian
I can already see Citi’s left field being renamed Bayside and fans along the foul line dressing as their favorite Saved By The Bell characters or more likely: Guidos. And if things are going badly for Le Big Bopper du British Columbia, LF could become the Bay Of Pigs. I can see the NY Post headlines already. But this signing marks more than another outfield gimmick for the Mets. It might be signaling a change in Omar “Big O†Minaya’s strategy.
It has certainly become a new-look Mets team over the past couple of seasons. With David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, and now Jason Bay, it seems that Omar Minaya’s Latin Revolution has started to peter (or Pedro) out. But that’s not to say that the team has completely lost its Latin flair. Johan Santana, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Francisco Rodriguez still have major parts to play in the success, or failure of the Mets in the near future.
Whether or not the revolution is truly over could be decided by whom Big O picks to fill the remainder of the voids in the Met roster. The Bay signing is a good start but the big contract, along with the Mets’ money that Bernie Madoff’d with, could leave them hamstrung for future signings. As Jose Reyes has shown, those hamstring injuries can be pretty tricky. The Mets still need a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, and two starting pitchers before they can be optimistic about baseball in Queens for 2010. And this is assuming that Reyes and Santana are their usual productive selves after coming back from injury.
It will be interesting to see who the Mets pick up to give their fans the best chance of watching respectable baseball. Will the revolution continue? Has it already ended? Who will the Big O go out and get? Will any of the acquisitions work out? Will the Mets and their fans have to watch the Yankees and Phillies play in the World Series again? It will all become clear in due time. And until then, I’ll just be enjoying another Yankee victory lap.
Happy New Year,
Dif’
P.s… Check out the New Year’s gift from The Matts; Chatting With A Champ: Part Dos and ready for Grote’s Gripes to start the decade!
