Jason Bay Signing Might Appease Disgruntled Mets Fan Base

News Of Bay Signing First  Reported By Mets' Flagship

The Mets Tuesday reached a contract agreement with LF Jason Bay, which "may quiet some of the grumbling from their fans, who watched in recent weeks as the champion Yankees continued to make major acquisitions while their team signed backup catchers and low-profile relievers," according to David Waldstein of the N.Y. TIMES. News of the four-year deal, worth about $66M, broke Tuesday afternoon on WFAN-AM, the Mets' flagship station. The team "may have wanted word of the deal to get out before a Dec. 31 deadline for fans to renew their season tickets for 2010." That deadline had "already been extended once, presumably because of sluggish sales" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/30). In Newark, Brian Costa notes the Mets are "trying to invigorate a fan base that has been angry with -- or worse, apathetic about -- the Mets' lack of activity this winter." It seemed "hardly a coincidence that the news was leaked to the team's flagship radio station two days before the deadline for fans to renew their season tickets" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 12/30). In N.Y., John Harper writes the Mets "got their man at what appears to be the best possible price," so it "was a good day" for GM Omar Minaya and the Wilpons (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/30). However, YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan writes, "Here the New York Mets go again, throwing money at a big-name free agent whom they misguidedly convince themselves will solve their troubles." The signing "highlights an endemic problem with the Mets that they try to cover with their payrolls, which provided among the highest cost per win in baseball this past decade: Their player-development system is a mess" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/30).

PLAYING THE WAITING GAME: ESPN.com's Buster Olney noted the "three highest-profile clients of Scott Boras -- Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon and Adrian Beltre -- remain unsigned." Some agents this offseason "moved aggressively," seemingly to "ensure that their clients got a piece of the diminished money pie." And some Boras clients "with less stature signed relatively quickly," including Andruw Jones. Boras historically "will wait longer for offers to develop on his most prominent clients," and his "stature within the sports industry has reached a point where it doesn't seem to matter whether his strategy works out well or not." Boras "continues to talk with teams about Holliday, Damon and Beltre, team executives say, in an attempt to stir the market for his players" as he "waits for better offers to come." Olney: "Will his strategy work? Time will tell. Either way, Boras' reputation will remain cemented" (ESPN.com, 12/29).