Here is tonight’s Mets lineup against Braves righthander Jair Jurrjens:
Jose Reyes – SS
Justin Turner – 3B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Daniel Murphy – 1B
Angel Pagan – CF
Jason Bay – LF
Josh Thole – C
Ruben Tejada – 2B
Dillon Gee – P
It took me a minute to find Jason Bay, who was dropped to the 6-hole. Hopefully that move will take some pressure off, though I believe there is more to Bay’s hitting problems than stress.
About Joe Janish
Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at
@onbaseball and at the
On Baseball Google Plus page.
Joe,
I’ve read the theories on Jason Bay: stress, mechanics, Citi Field, vision, etc. What if it’s just a matter of his getting old very quickly? There is the theory that some athletes hit the age wall quite abruptly. I remember reading about Don Drysdale doing something like that with the Dodgers. I’m
wondering if Bay’s problems are compounded by this factor?
Age might absolutely have something to do with it. I distinctly remember Robin Ventura’s offensive talent dropping off the planet when he reached a certain age. In fact, it happened all the time to guys in their early- to mid-thirties — before HGH and steroids became the norm in MLB.