I will just come out and say it. Jason Bay is playing well, really well. And Jason Bay is in his contract year.
Now, I’m not suggesting that is why Bay is playing so well. And I do not think that Bay will kill the ball like this, all season long.
Actually the largest reason why Bay seems to be excelling is because pitchers just keep grooving pitches right into his “Hot Zone(s).”
Seriously, how many times are they going to make the same mistake? It was made last night. It was made Friday night. Just numerous times Jason Bay has received the exact pitch that he is looking for.
…And numerous times, the pitcher pays the price.
I sometimes wonder if a contract year would motivate me, if I were an athlete. And I do feel that it could very well give me that extra incentive, that extra focus.
That doesn’t make us greedy, necessarily, or does it?
Jason Bay may be great. And it may be because he is playing in a great hitters park. Or maybe because lineup “protection” does exist, we just don’t know that it does.
It is also possible that Bay is playing really well because he wants to give his family a great life, for the rest of their life.
Something tells me though, that feeding the ball–basically on a tee–is why Jason Bay has started off this hot.
But the bat speed is there, definitely. And Jason Bay has always been a good player.
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We get it. You hate the Jason Bay trade.
Apparently you don’t get it because he’s right. Bay has been ridiculously hot lately, no one stays that hot forever, he could cool off a little and still have a great season. The main gist of the post was basically to dispell the theory of the “contract year” and other various myths about how a player gets hot. if you read carefully and thought about it you would get that.
J, I was fine with the Bay trade. I like Bay. Bay is good. But as Bob said, he won’t stay THIS hot. He and Youkilis are both either good or great. But neither is as great as they have played in the month and a half that is the 2009 season.
Bob, I don’t know that the “contract year theory” doesn’t exist at all. I know there have been some studies to disprove it. But I think Bay is hot because good players get hot. And this seems to be no different.
My take is that Bay has always been a great player, but now that he’s on a team that actually stands a chance at winning it all he is better motivated. (I’m not trying to suggest that he ever quit on his Pirate teammates, just that sustaining that level of output is very hard with little to no payoff.) It must have been hard to put up good numbers in Pittsburgh while all but knowing they would be out of contention come August. I do think he’s playing a bit over his head now, but it’s because he sees light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in his career.
Tessie’s Dad, I thought about that too. Everyone always seems to point to players excelling in small markets/losing team because there is no pressure. But it seems that it would be much harder to focus on doing well when your team sucks. Maybe in the beginning of the season, but when you are 15-20 games out at the ASB, it just doesn’t seem like they want to play as hard as possible anymore.
Well, it seems to me that some of the pitches he is *crushing*, homers, doubles, are right down broadway. His double last night. His homer Friday. I know he can hit the ball on the outer half of the plate too, but anything he gets that he can pull, he seems to hit with power, a lot of power, currently. This is why I want to know a players Slugging in their “hot zones” rather than just BA.
By the way, Jason Bay must be given credit for capitalizing on these “mistakes.” Not every one can send a “mistake” to straight away center for a four-bagger. And Bay just isn’t missing these pitches.
Except for his injured 2007, Bay normally hits just under .300 with about 30HR, 100RBI, 100R. If he really cools down, he may cool down to that level.
But there is little reason why he should. He has changed his approach to be more selective, reduce K’s, and hit the wall (doubles) instead of his normal drive to CF. Having just turned 30 he has entered his prime. He is in fact playing on a contender in a powerful lineup, is well protected by an equally hot Mike Lowell, has more people on base when he comes to bat than ever before.
He is also playing in a smaller and easier to handle left field, has had enthusiastic fan support since day one, and is playing for perhaps his last contract. There’s never just one reason, and these are all good reasons to stay focused and play at the top of his game. Do you think 5/$65MM + options would sign him in this economy?
I would prefer to skip the fifth year…
I’m guessing the reference is also to last year’s notorious “contract year” escapades… if this is so i do not care if anyone wants to analyze if Bay is getting at mistakes by pitchers ( isn’t that what hitting is really all about?), whether he wants to set his family up for life( why not?), or even if he can keep it up (insert HCG joke here…). Bay and Youk are playing phenomenally well…why can’t we just enjoy the heck out of it and relish our good fortune?!
i am so glad we did not get Tex, got Manny out of that clubhouse, and kept Lowell and Tek. I do hope we can keep Bay, he is a grinder… and that what is making our team win now, even with our line up changes… these guys are grinding it out and making it happen!
I definitely enjoy watching Youk and Bay, Donna. And I have no problem with a player having *a little* extra incentive in a contract year. Whether that “extra” increases performance, I do not know.
Good point by Glorygame.
Every pitcher is gonna make “mistakes”. The great hitters are those who capitalize in those mistakes. This only shows how good and how dangerous Bay is as a hitter. Like Donna said, this is what hitting is all about.
Like Tessie’s Dad, I also think he is very motivated for playing for a competitor. He has shown he is a guy who thrive under pressure, and who raise his level when it matters the most. For me, that shows he is one of those guys for whom the game matters. And in Boston every game matters. And no, I don’t think he is doing it just because this is his contract year.
Bay is certainly having a hot start. Longoria, Dunn and others are having hot starts too. Like Joe said, good players get hot. As simple as that.
Jason Bay (from my home town)will hit 45+ HR and get 145+ RBI’s along with being near the top of the league in most categories this season 2009. He is an elite player, better than Holliday and is more of a team player than Manny was. He is excellent for team chemistry and will sign a very big multi-year contract befpre the 2010 season starts. He is at the peak of his prime and will continue to produce for many years yet to come.
You who don’t trust in the diligence and succes of Jason Bay need to take a good look at what your saying, especially when you say things like… “he can’t handle Boston’s pressure”…. just stop. He obviously bats a pretty good bat with runners in scoring position and maybe a key victory was when he hit a two run home run with TWO OUTS in the bottom of THE NINTH off MARIANO RIVERA, one of the game’s elite closers. nevermind, thats not clutch at all, is it?