It's not official, but Manuel expects Bay to miss rest of season
New York Mets' Jose Reyes, left gets a low-five from teammate Ike Davis after scoring in the first inning. (Aug. 20, 2010) Credit: AP
PITTSBURGH - Manager Jerry Manuel said Friday that he expects Jason Bay to miss the remainder of the season because of his slow recovery from the July 23 concussion he suffered at Dodger Stadium.
"That's the way I see it," Manuel said before the Mets' 7-2 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. "I could be way out of line, way out of bounds, but that's the way I see it."
Bay has not played since July 25 in Los Angeles - he felt the concussion symptoms on the cross-country flight home that night - and was placed on the disabled list five days later.
The Mets have been told that Bay needs to be headache-free for a stretch of 48 hours before he can be cleared for any significant physical activity, and that has not happened yet. With the time that Bay has missed, a Mets official insisted that he would need a rehab assignment to prepare for a return, and there's less than two weeks left in the minor-league seasons.
That all points to Bay sitting out the final six weeks. After Friday's game, the Mets wanted to clarify that Bay has not been officially shut down and that he still is trying to come back.
The Mets' controversial handling of Ryan Church's dual concussions in 2008 has made the team much more cautious in such matters, and with the team fading from contention, there's no urgency to having Bay back.
For a change, the Mets didn't need the help Friday. Chris Carter, who started in rightfield and batted cleanup, homered for the first time since June 13 and sparked the Mets' three-run first inning with an RBI single. David Wright (3-for-5) and Jose Reyes (3-for-5) each scored two runs as the Mets rode a 15-hit attack to move back to .500 (61-61).
"I don't think we're out of it," Carter said. "I think we still have a chance. But to do it, we've got to hit."
Mike Pelfrey (12-7), battling stomach issues before the game, wasn't sure he would make it through five innings, never mind eight. After his bullpen warm-up, Pelfrey vomited in the tunnel on the way to the dugout, and he said it took five innings for the team to get him some medication for his upset stomach.
"I just wanted to get through five and get out of there," Pelfrey said. By then, he was rolling. He allowed one earned run as he pitched at least seven innings for the third consecutive start.
On a humid night, Pelfrey threw 119 pitches, striking out five and walking two for only his second win since June 25.
As for Bay, he has mostly remained at home, but he did visit Citi Field Aug. 13 and told Jeff Francoeur he expected to make it back. The problem with concussions, however, is that there is no timetable and the only treatment is rest.
Bay is batting .259 with six home runs, 47 RBIs, a .749 OPS and 91 strikeouts in 95 games. That is a big drop-off from last season, when Bay slugged 36 homers with 119 RBIs and a .921 OPS for the Red Sox.
"It's difficult not to ever see it [Bay's best]," Manuel said. "I think that's the strange thing about this particular season. He played good baseball . . . But we never saw that power and all that his history had indicated. The home runs, that would have been good. But the RBIs was the thing that I would have most liked to have seen."
