Poor Jay Bruce.
The guy was an All-Star this year, comes to the Mets and now couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. No one doubts that he’s trying. Yet it’s undeniable that he’s been lousy since arriving and he’s even turned it up a notch here lately. In his last 12 games he has a .079/.186/.079 slash line with 10 Ks in 43 PA. There’s only one thing to do when you see stats like that – wonder who were the two managers who decided to issue him an intentional walk?!?
Bruce has made 10 starts in this stretch and he’s started 13 times in 19 games this month. At least he’s not out there each and every game at this point. But it’s not enough. Remember the old Southwest Airlines ad campaign? The one where someone who do something horrible and then the tag line “Wanna Get Away?” would pop up. That’s where we’re at now. Send him away for three days. Tell him to go fishing or gambling or sightseeing – whatever he likes to do in his spare time. Have him clear his head and not think about chasing curves or popping up fastballs. Maybe he’ll come back refreshed. And even if he doesn’t, at least you had three games where he wasn’t dragging the offense down.
We’re so spoiled by what Yoenis Cespedes did last year after the club acquired him that it makes what Bruce has done all the worse. But, if you were paying attention, it wouldn’t have been a horrible surprise. For his career, Bruce has an OPS after the break 46 points lower than what he did in the first half of the year. Of course, we would be thrilled if he had an .807 OPS right now.
Here are his recent second half OPS numbers, starting with 2013:
.768
.568
.644
.667
Of course, he had played some with the Reds here in the second half. After the All-Star break and until the time of the trade, Bruce had a 1.014 OPS in 59 PA. Since joining the Mets, he has a .540 mark in 158 PA.
We hear all the complaints now. Some are follow-ups to original criticisms at the time of the deal, because there were plenty of people who were against the trade at the time. But it would be erroneous to pretend that some weren’t from the crowd who are always experts after the fact. We ran a poll right after the trade, with four potential responses. The top response, with 50% of the vote was, “A worthwhile gamble.”
If the Mets had gotten first half Bruce, they would be in a good place and that latter crowd would have been going on and on about how they were in favor of the deal, about how they weren’t worried about duplicating talents and skills already represented on the roster because he was a producer. C’mon, he was leading the league in RBIs! How could anyone not be in favor of that deal?
Even though they traded one of my favorite prospects in the deal, I understood why they did it and was generally in favor of the trade. But it would be a lie to suggest that my preference for a pinch-hitter last night with the bases loaded would have been Kevin Plawecki over Dilson Herrera, even if the latter was still battling his shoulder problems. Who gave Plawecki the green light on 2-0, anyway? If Plawecki has the same hobby as Bruce, perhaps they could take off three days together.
I still think it was a worthwhile gamble. Mets offense was in big trouble.
Never been a Jay Bruce fan — I shot all my anti-Bruce bullets last season, when Sandy was fixated on him — but it seemed better than nothing.
With, yes, the possibility of a real payoff.
My response was, I think, shrug, worth a try, I guess.
I don’t believe the Mets had the spare chips to get Lacroy. Wanted him, but my sense was we just don’t have the minor league system to get that done right now. The injuries to pitchers complicated it. A healthy Wheeler probably would have made all the difference.
Bruce was a gamble. Led the league in RBI at the trade. Mets needed (and more so than ever now) runs. He may have been on a bit of slope, but now he’s jumped off of Half Dome and in uncontrollable free fall. Giving him AB is a mistake.
We continue to see a sputtering, half-cooked offense that desperately prays for one magical swing. Its agony to watch this junk night after night. But after a season of not criticizing Collins, what we have seen in the past month, is at least 3 losses directly due to his ineptitude. He defends his actions worth words that make sense to people that dont know baseball. Pulling Reed was a travesty. Why in hell waste getting him warmed up for a 7th innning out and an 8th inning out. It is criminal. That sealed the fate of the loss.
Why dont we give him the rest of the year off.
The Collins bash is incredible— you might as well be fixated only on the Outs a Player makes, without regard to the hits.
The team would not be in the race without Collins
I no longer believe that. The level of incompetence is mind shattering. Ive spent the whole year with the whole idea there is way more to the job than between the lines. But when it comes to that aspect he would have to be in the bottom few of the league. I also cannot be convinced the team is “playing for him”. The shit we see game after game against lousy teams is beyond words. Further, I dont give a crap about Backman and whether he’s the answer or if he gets a job in the Show. The team needs a better manager. Period. Collins’ decision making is inexcusable. If I were Alderson, I would only allow the September roster go to 29 players. I mean seriously, pull Addison Reed, who has become a premier set-up guy just to go matchy matchy with Freeman against a guy who’s been up for a few weeks? Who the hell thinks that makes any sense at all? Ive crossed the threshold for bad manager vs. great clubhouse guy. Last night was the end.
But wait, we went 20-8 over a stretch…ahh yes if only every team could be the Reds.
Welcome across the threshold, Chris. It’s good to see you.
I know there is a lot of people welcoming me back to the looney bin, but I do so reluctantly and now venom filled. Like Big Papi says, Im not crying, my eyes are sweating.
Actually, I am crying.
I would need a supercomputer to analyze the moves he made in the 7th and after. They defy any sense of reason.
Smoker, Plawecki, Kelly, TdA…OMG that was literally the absolutely worst managing I have ever seen, from minor’s level Little League to the Bigs. I’m screaming.
Trading for Brice was the type of pivot move that Minaya would have made. Lucroy made all the sense in the world but according to some reports the Brewers insisted on either Conforto or Rosario plus more. I understand the hesitation there but that doesn’t mean you pivot to an illconceived plan B. Monday’s had his heart set on Derek Lowe and when the Braves jumped in and gave him an inflated take it or leave it deal, Minaya decided he just had to resign Ollie Perez. When Matt Holliday asked for the moon, Minaya went to plan B – Jason Bay. Sometimes the best move is no move and Alderson usually gets that but this time he blew it. I was against Bruce last year and this year. He’s completely redundant with this roster and an overrated player