Healthy Bay cleared for full workouts
Jason Bay looks on from the dugout during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Sept. 15, 2010) Credit: Jim McIsaac
With an eye on a bounce-back second season with the Mets, Jason Bay delivered some encouraging news Tuesday. He said he hasn't experienced any concussion-related headaches since the last week of the regular season in September and has no restrictions on his workouts.
Calling his first season with the Mets "a lost year for me as far as production and injury," Bay said he has made a point this offseason of doing the same exact training as he always has. The reason, he said, is because he at least wants this offseason to feel as normal as possible following an abnormal baseball season. "I'm going into this year looking to prove [last season] was an aberration and move forward," Bay said. "That's kind of my focus right now."
After signing a four-year, $66-million contract, Bay hit .259 with just six home runs in 348 at-bats in a season cut short by a concussion he suffered July 23 in a collision with the leftfield wall at Dodger Stadium.
Moises: No thanks
While manager Terry Collins was in the process of putting his coaching staff together, he reached out to former Mets outfielder Moises Alou to gauge his interest in becoming a coach. The 44-year-old Alou told him he wasn't interested "at this particular time." Alou, who last played in the major leagues during the 2008 season, currently acts as a general manager for a winter-league team in his native Dominican Republic.
Coat drive
As part of the Mets' annual coat drive, fans who drop off a used coat in good condition at Citi Field between 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Wednesday will receive a pair of tickets to a game next April. David Wright, Jason Bay, Ike Davis and Collins will be among those helping to collect coats.
Extra bases
Sandy Alderson laughed when told that Jose Canseco, 46, is pleading for a tryout with the Mets on Twitter. Considering the Phillies' addition of Cliff Lee, Alderson joked, "we might need some more righthanded hitting." That being said, don't expect Alderson to tweet an offer to Canseco anytime soon.
