J.B. These could be the initials that live forever in Mets’ infamy.
For the last few years a Mets fan would associate the initials with Jason Bay, a free agent bust that played for the team in 2010 through 2012.
This year’s trade deadline acquisition is also a J.B., Jay Bruce. We Met fans may start thinking that J.B. for our team stands for “just brutal.”
While Bay as a Met batted .259, .245, and .165 with OPS’s of 749, 703, 536 respectively we have not quite three dozen games to judge Bruce.
Here are the stats Bruce has put up for the Reds paired with the ugly numbers he has given New York.
| Years | G | AB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN (9 yrs) | 1220 | 4481 | 238 | 27 | 233 | 718 | 454 | 1196 | 0.249 | 0.319 | 0.470 | 0.789 |
| NYM (1 yr) | 33 | 119 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 36 | 0.193 | 0.267 | 0.328 | 0.595 |
On August 1st shortly after the trade was consummated one of the Reds’ writers was quoted as saying that Bruce typically is a streak hitter and that this year he has avoided any prolonged slumps. When he arrived in Queens he had a batting average of .265, had blasted 25 home runs, knocked in 80 runs, and carried an OPS of 875 which was approximately 100 points higher than his career average.
As you are well aware the move to the Big Apple has coincided with a slump that rivals anything we have seen in past years from another classic slumper, Lucas Duda.
Last year the Mets caught lightning in a bottle when the Carlos Gomez almost-trade fell through resulting in a deal with Detroit for Yoenis Cespedes. This year the team did not catch lightning in a bottle but rather got hit square in the face by the bottle.
Bruce seems lost at the plate and one has to wonder whether he will have even a tiny hot streak between now and the regular season’s end in early October.
The Law of Averages or fate or karma or something has decreed that if you get a Cespedes and all his magic one year you are destined to suffer a J.B. the next.
The ABs have not been encouraging.
TC has to walk a tightrope on this one. He can’t mothball the guy. I’d play Conforto and De Aza today. A good day to rest Bruce and Granderson. Hope somebody does something that makes the decision-process easier.
In the teams I managed, I often said that managers don’t “decide” who plays, the players reveal it. Who is my shortstop? Go take some grounders and you tell me.
Somebody needs to make a case for playing time.
Two other things:
* Dodgers can’t hit LHP, shut out by C.C. last night. Matz could be key against them.
* Giants can’t close out games. A horrible, devastating loss last night to a crappy Padres team. I have a lot of respect for Bochy and that club, but it’s hard to overcome a lousy pen.
* I want Game 163 in Citi.
Granderson goes through some rough slumps too, but he draws more walks, seems to advance more runners and has enough speed to beat out an occasional infield hit. Bruce, on the other hand is just a strikeout/pop-up/DP machine when he’s slumping. I was not in favor of trading for him last year or this year and just hope that a) we can get something in return for him in the offseason (career power numbers and one reasonable year left on his deal give him value) and b) Dilson Herrera doesn’t blossom into an All-Star.
Jay Bell was pretty horrific as a Met, too.
As I mentioned in the GR earlier, I think Bruce needs to sit for a few days, not just one. Let him try to relax for a bit and use the opportunity to get Conforto some ABs. But then get him back in there and see if he’s rejuvenated.
A career .249 hitter is not what this team needed.
Especially not with having lost Murphy.
He’s completely useless, but what’s worse, is that he’s blocking Conforto from playing regularly. I’d rather have Conforto playing and maybe getting back to where he was last year.
Conforto should play, but I know it won’t happen, they made too much of a commitment to Bruce.
The question is what do they do next year? Do they exercise the option on him? Another reason they got him was in case they lose Cespedes. He’s no Cespedes, and never will be anything close.
The Jay Bruce we are seeing is not the 25+ home run hitter and 784 career OPS player we traded for. He is in a horrendous slump. The Mets are in a playoff race and he has not contributed so he needs to be sat, not buried. In the last 30 games, encompassing this playoff run, the reserve outfielder playing the best is DeAza with a 782 OPS and centerfield experience. Conforto may be the future but DeAza is now and should get the Bruce AB’s. Before this is over I expect to get something positive out of Bruce.
Terry Collins said to Bruce, “Look, we’re going to run you in there this week and see if we can get you started.”
Bruce is killing us as the strikeout with the bases loaded proved yesterday. It set the tone. Bruce isn’t washed up just slumping. Collins has also dismissed Conforto as a likely replacement (which he never should have verbalized) and I can understand that. After all, this is a playoff race. DeAza desrves more at bats. I hope Terry is right.
Grandy (CF) and Bruce (RF) both in tonight’s lineup with Cespy in LF.
…apparently not
The Reds seem to have snookered us.
Terry may be right, re: Bruce. He’s the horse that his boss brought in, a player with a track record of mercurial success.
In real baseball, played by actual men, change is always slower than in the blogosphere. Usually that’s a good thing, though at times it is incredibly frustrating. The Mets GM is particularly methodical in his approach. You can’t over-react to small sample size or else your players will be jumping at shadows. They can’t always be looking over their shoulders.
Moreover, I don’t think Terry has a choice. He knows who is boss, and he’s always been a good soldier. He’ll take the bullet, because it’s part of the job.
Right now, his job is to stand by Jay Bruce.
I don’t love it, I don’t even like it, but I understand. i don’t think it would be my approach to this situation, but I recognize the value of stability and support. Sometimes there has to be an odd-man out.
Let’s hope we’re not witnessing one of the historic player fails in Mets history. Because he’s been awful.
Oh, yeah: Hate Granderson and Bruce next to each other in lineup — or even on the same team — but oh well.
In the end, ya gotta believe, especially when there are doubters all around you.