Jason Bay: The Human Windmill

For many years, environmentalists have been looking for energy sources that do not consume fuel or contribute to the excessive amounts of pollution in the air. One of the energy sources that satisfy those criteria is wind. And one of the best wind generators in recent times is right here in New York, wearing #44 for the Mets.

That's right, Mets fans. Jason Bay's daily strikeouts might be bad for the Mets, but they're quite good for the planet. If scientists can find a way to harness the wind generated by his repeated swings and misses, perhaps our leftfielder can actually earn his previously undeserved salary after all.

Since his last day off on July 1, Bay has been generating great quantities of wind energy. In 15 games, he has struck out 20 times in 58 at-bats. Over the same stretch of games, he is hitting .155 (9-for-58) with no home runs, which explains his barely-there .207 slugging percentage.

By comparison, over that same stretch, Johan Santana is batting .222, has picked up a home run and has a .556 slugging percentage. Basically, Johan Santana has been a better power threat in July than our $66 million man.

It should therefore come as no surprise that Jerry Manuel has decided to give Jason Bay the night off tonight in the first game of a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. In fact, all three members of the Not-So-Killer B's (Bay, Barajas, Beltran) will spend tonight's game on another B - the bench.

Jason Bay has never been a great contact hitter. In fact, he's struck out at least 129 times every full season he's been in the majors, including a career-high 162 whiffs last year with the Red Sox. However, he's also never looked so helpless at the plate, where the only positive Mets fans can draw from a Bay at-bat is that he hustles out every ground ball that more often than not becomes an out anyway.

Carlos Beltran had a subpar year in his first season with the Mets after signing a rich contract prior to the 2005 season. However, he was consistent from month to month, even if that consistency was below his standards. He also heated up in July, batting .290 and driving in 17 runs, which represented his highest monthly total that year.

Unlike Beltran in 2005, Bay has not had a July to remember. In fact, Bay has gone from consistently bad to consistently worse. After hitting a commendable .303 with 18 runs scored and 15 RBI in May, his numbers dipped to .250 with 11 runs scored and 13 RBI in June, followed by his forgettable July, in which he has hit .169 with three runs scored and 8 RBI (half of those eight runs batted in came in one game, on July 4 against the Nationals). And of course, there are those increasing strikeout totals...

It's not just THAT he's striking out, it's WHEN he's striking out. With men on base, Bay is only hitting .224. He's also more apt to go down swinging than go up hitting, as evidenced by his 49 strikeouts with men on base as opposed to his 36 hits in those situations. Similarly, with runners in scoring position, Bay morphs from run producer to windmill. In those situations, Bay has struck out 32 times in 94 at-bats, while picking up only 24 hits. That's right, he strikes out 34% of the time when he bats with runners in scoring position.

Perhaps Bay is just taking a full year to get used to playing in New York. Beltran had a poor first season in New York, then followed it up with an MVP-caliber season in 2006. However, at least Beltran showed some signs of life after the midpoint of the season. Bay has yet to do so. In fact, for every step he appears to take forward, he follows that up with two steps back (and probably a strikeout or four).

The world might have a use for Jason Bay's wind-generating ability when he comes to bat. But we Mets fans have a better use for a player that has contributed very little in clutch situations and has underperformed in almost every offensive category. Perhaps benchwarmer is a better position for Jason Bay than left field. Tonight, that's the position he will play. If he doesn't want to become a regular there, he'd better stop being the Human Windmill and start becoming the hitter we thought we were getting.

A Stunning Look Into The Mets' Offensive Woes

There are many question marks surrounding the Mets' offense this season. Why isn't Jose Reyes hitting? Why is David Wright striking out so much? Why can't Jason Bay get a clutch hit? Where did Jeff Francoeur's bat disappear to? Why isn't Luis Castillo on crutches yet?

It's enough to make a Mets fan go crazy when the team puts men on base only to strand them by striking out, popping up or grounding into a double play. Many fine pitching performances have been wasted because the offense decided to hit the snooze button on those days.

Sure, it's easy to point the finger at certain players. For example, David K. Wright has struck out 42 times in 32 games, putting him on a pace to strike out over 200 times. He recently struck out in nine consecutive at-bats, which is a mark usually held by graduates of the Al Leiter Hitting Academy, not a former Silver Slugger.

Jason Bay has not shown the 36-homer power he exhibited in Boston last year, although he is a notoriously streaky hitter. Jeff Francoeur lost his hitting shoes around the second week of the baseball season and Jose Reyes has been underwhelming in the #3 hole.

If you were to tell me that Rod Barajas and Ike Davis would be the hitting "stars" on the Mets after 32 games, I'd ask you to share your Kool-Aid with me. But that's exactly what they've been this year, as Barajas is already only three homers short of the 12 HR hit by team leader Daniel Murphy in 2009 and Ike Davis has been an OBP-machine, reaching base almost 43% of the time since being called up to the major leagues.

Unfortunately, Barajas and Davis are only two of eight regular hitters in the lineup. A team that is only getting production from 25% of the order surely cannot expect to win more often than it loses, so the Mets must consider themselves fortunate to be above .500 and only three games behind the division-leading Phillies.

What must the Mets improve upon at the plate to strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers? For one thing, they must make better contact, especially when they have a runner standing 90 feet away from the promised land.

With runners on second and third this year, the Mets are hitting an anemic .167 (3-for-18). In these situations, the batter is not apt to hit into a double play and is a single away from adding two RBI to his totals. However, the Mets have been more likely to strike out in these situations than get the timely hit (five strikeouts and three hits with runners on second and third).

What about when the Mets bat with the bases loaded? This is even more jaw-dropping than the second and third scenario. The Mets are hitting .185 in these situations (5-for-27) with six strikeouts. You may have heard of the old baseball adage, "a walk is as good as a hit". Well, with the bases loaded, that is most definitely the case, as a walk would drive in a run. However, the Mets on-base percentage with the bases loaded is only .250, as they have only drawn three bases-loaded walks this year. Even more stunning is their slugging percentage with the bases loaded (.259), as the Mets have picked up only one extra-base hit with the sacks full all season.

Here's one final stunning note on the Mets' offensive woes. It doesn't take a quantum physicist to know that once a batter has three balls on him, it becomes easier to hit. A pitcher doesn't want to walk the batter, so the pitches after ball three are usually more predictable. Translation: There's a better chance you see a fastball after ball three than on any other count. So how do the Mets fare after the opposing pitcher has thrown three balls? How about a .211 batting average?

That's right, Mets fans. In 152 at-bats this year where the opposing pitcher has thrown three balls to the batter, the Mets have only picked up 32 hits. Even knowing that the odds of seeing a fastball have greatly increased after taking ball three, they still have trouble hitting it where they ain't. And yes, in case you were wondering, the Mets are more likely to strike out after taking ball three than they are to pick up a hit (38 strikeouts, 32 hits).

The Mets have struck out 237 times in 2010, which puts them in the middle of the pack among National League teams (8th out of 16 teams). However, it's not the number of strikeouts that's most alarming; it's when they're striking out. In addition to the untimely whiffs, the Mets are not producing in situations where most batters salivate, namely situations with multiple runners in scoring position. Until they turn things around in those departments, can we really expect the Mets to be more than a .500 team?

Don't blame the inconsistent play on one player. It's been a team effort. And it's going to take the entire team to turn this ship around if they're going to remain in the hunt.