Friday, January 08, 2010

(3) Comments

Mets free-agent signee Jason Bay is going to be bust in New York - Jeff Pearlman - SI.com

SS

GREAT read.

In the winter of 1981-82, the New York Mets were Big Apple nobodies -- a star-less, charisma-less franchise coming off of a miserable 41-62 strike-shortened season. The team had drawn 704,244 fans, seventh in the National League (and not even half the total of the cross-town Yankees), and its marketing exclamation, "The magic is back!" rang hollow. UnlessJoel YoungbloodandPete Falconepossessed some sort of secret, Houdini-esque abilities, the magic was not back. It was, in fact, dead.

With this as a backdrop,Frank Cashen, the team's general manager, pulled off a headline-stealing deal. In exchange for three middling players, Cashen landed slugging outfielderGeorge Fosterfrom the Cincinnati Reds, immediately signing him to a five-year, $10 million contract.

Did Cashen think the former National League MVP was the missing piece that New York needed to turn itself into a winner? Hardly. While the Mets offense was nothing to brag about, it was the club's rotten starting rotation and lowly middle infield that required the most attention. "But signing George was a message to baseball and to our fans that we were in it to win," Cashen said. "From here on out, we would do whatever it takes."


Continue....

Mets free-agent signee Jason Bay is going to be bust in New York - Jeff Pearlman
- SI.com




Main Mets Police page
Subscribe to The Mets Police by Email
Get Mets Police via reader/RSS
Follow us on twitter @metspolice
Facebook page
Contact: shannon at metspolice.com (Guest posts welcome!)
Share Photos: pictures at metspolice.com

Bookmark and Share
3 Responses to "Mets free-agent signee Jason Bay is going to be bust in New York - Jeff Pearlman - SI.com"
Don Cheech said :
January 8, 2010 at 1:16 PM
how is this a great read? How about this clown wrote a week prior that Bay would be an awesome fit for the Yankees or Red Sox. Now on the Mets, he's a bust? Give me a break
SS said :
January 8, 2010 at 1:20 PM
I personally enjoyed the front end of the article about the Foster signing, specifically the part I highlighted.
Anonymous said :
January 8, 2010 at 1:54 PM
If Pearlman actually did a bit of research, he would know that last year bay hit the majority of his home runs on the road (20 of 36), not at home. It can also be surmised that Wrights drop in HRs had a lot to do with the fact that he was, for most of the season, unprotected in the Mets lineup (his elevated strike outs as proof). Not to forget that Wright was also adjusting his hitting style because everyone told him that he couldn't hit HRs at Citi. Wrights BA soared not because he didn't have the power to clear the walls of Citi, but because he was hitting line drives where the outfielders weren't.

Yeah, Foster was a bust, but he was used up before signing with the Mets. His numbers started their rapid decline following the '77 season. Fosters numbers were in a large part due to his supporting line up in the Big Red Machine, and hitter friendly Riverfront Stadium.

Oh, and here Shannon, an old article you'll enjoy:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_rolfe/08/29/meltdown.team/index.html

Post a Comment